cUL 


POPULAR    EDITION 


FARTHEST    NORTH 

Being  the  Record  of  a  Voyage  of  Exploration 

of  the  Ship  ''Fram  "  i8gj-g6  and  of  a 

Fifteen  Months   Sleigh  fourney  by 

Dr.  Nansen  and  Lieut,  fohansen 


BY 

DR.  FRIDTJOF  NANSEN^  /<ffe^-|^'30 

WITH  AN  APPENDIX 

BY    OTTO    SVERDRUP 

CAPTAIN  OF  THE  FRAM 


ILLUSTRATED 


HARPER    &    BROTHERS    PUBLISHERS 

NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON 

1898 


THE   TWO  VOLUME   EDITION. 

FARTHEST  NORTH.  Being  the  Record  of  a  Voyage  of 
Exploration  of  the  Ship  From  (1893-1896),  and  of  a  Fifteen 
Months'  Sleigh  Expedition  by  Dr.  Nansen  and  Lieut.  Jo- 
HANSEN.  By  Dr.  Fribtjof  Nansen.  With  an  Appendix 
by  Otto  Sverdrup,  Captain  of  the  From.  With  over  100 
Full-page  and  Numerous  Text  Illustrations,  Sixteen  Colored 
Plates  in  Facsimile  from  Dr.  Nansen's  own  Water- Color, 
Pastel,  and  Pencil  Sketches,  an  Etched  Portrait,  Two  Pho- 
togravures, and  Four  Maps.  2  Volumes,  Large  8vo,  Uncut 
Edges  and  Gilt  Tops,  $10  00. 

These  volumes  will  fascinate  the  reader.  .  .  .  The  most  impor- 
tant addition  to  the  literature  of  arctic  exploration  since  our  Peary 
told  the  story  of  his  work  in  the  interior  of  Greenland.  Nansen 
writes  with  a  simple  dignity  of  style  that  is  in  itself  attractive.  .  .  . 
He  has  the  supreme  faculty  of  catching  the  salient  points  of  what 
must  oftentimes  have  been  a  tedious  experience.  In  a  word,  his 
book  is  a  profoundly  attractive  account  of  a  wonderful  adventure. 
— Brooklyii  Eagle.  

HARPER    &    BROTHERS,   PUBLISHERS, 
NEW   YORK   AND    LONDON. 


^ 


Copyright,  1897,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 
Cop3rright,  1898,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 

jiU  rights  reser-otd. 


6  Kt)  i 

BiBCfoft  Libntt7 


TO 

HER 

WHO  CHRISTENED  THE  SHIP 
AND 

HAD  THE  COURAGE  TO  REMAIN  BEHIND 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/farthestnorthbeiOOnansrich 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  FAGB 

I.  Introduction i 

II.  Preparations  and  Equipment 34 

III.  The  Start 51 

IV.  Farewell  to  Norway 61 

V.  Voyage  through  the  Kara  Sea 82 

VI.  The  Winter  Night 125 

VII.  The  Spring  and  Summer  of  1894 234 

VIII.  Second  Autumn  in  the  Ice 268 

IX.  We  Prepare  for  the  Sledge  Expedition 302 

X.  The  New  Year,  1895 323 

XI.  We  Make  a  Start 345 

XII.  We  Say  Good-bye  to  the  "Fram" 370 

XIII.  A  Hard  Struggle 383 

XIV.  By  Sledge  and  Kayak 425 

XV.  Land  at  Last 467 

XVI.  The  New  Year,  1896 533 

XVII.  The  Journey  Southward 553 


APPENDIX 

Report  of  Captain  Otto  Svbrdrup  on  the  Drifting  of  the  "  Fram  " 
FROM  March  14,  1895. 

I.     March  15  to  June  22,  1895 603 

II.    June  22  to  August  15,  1895 616 

III.  August  15  to  January  i,  1896 623 

IV.  January  i  to  May  17,  1896 636 

V.     The  Third  Summer 644 

Conclusion  by  Dr.  Nansen 660 

Index 665 

V 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PORTRAIT  OF  NANSEN Frontispiece 

DESIGNS   FOR   THE   "  FRAM  " Page        4I 

THE   "FRAM"   LEAVING  BERGEN Facing  p.    56 

"THE  SALOON  WAS   CONVERTED   INTO   A  READING-ROOM" "           130 

A  CHRONOMETER   OBSERVATION   WITH  THE  THEODOLITE "           1 64 

PROMENADE  IN   TIMES  OF  PEACE  WITH  SVERDRUP'S  PATENT  FOOT-GEAR  Page       180 

"FRAM"   FELLOWS    ON    THE    WAR-PATH:     DIFFERENCE    BETWEEN    THE 

SVERDRUP   AND  THE  LAPP   FOOT-GEAR "181 

"FRAM"   FELLOWS   STILL   ON   THE  WAR-PATH "           182 

DIAGRAMS  OF   ICE  WITH   LAYERS "          21 5 

AT  THE  COMING  OF  THE   SPRING Facing  p.  226 

HOME-SICKNESS "          238 

OUR   KENNELS / 

\ "          250 

THE  SEVENTEENTH-OF-MAY    PROCESSION    \ 

A    SUMMER   EVENING "           258 

HJALMAR  JOHANSEN "          302 

THE    "  FRAM  "    AFTER   AN    ICE-PRESSURE "           336 

LOWER  END   OF   SUPPER-TABLE "          342 

THE   START  FROM  THE    "  FRAM  " "          370 

OVER   DIFFICULT   PRESSURE-MOUNDS "          386 

"YOU    MUST   LOOK   SHARP  !"         ) 

A "474 

"SAILING   ALONG   THE  COAST      ) 

OUR   WINTER  HUT "          534 

NANSEN   AT   CAPE  FLORA "           575 

PLANT   FOSSILS Page      585 

ORIGINAL  MAP   OF   THE   KAISER   FRANZ   JOSEF   LAND Facing  p.  602 

vii 


FARTHEST    NORTH 


CHAPTER  I 
INTRODUCTION 


•*A  time  will  come  in  later  years  when  the  Ocean  will  unloose  the 
"bands  of  things,  when  the  immeasurable  earth  will  lie  open,  when  sea- 
farers will  discover  new  countries,  and  Thule  will  no  longer  be  the  ex- 
treme point  among  the  lands." — Seneca. 

Unseen  and  untrodden  under  their  spotless  mantle  of  ice  the 
rigid  polar  regions  slept  the  profound  sleep  of  death  from  the 
earliest  dawn  of  time.  Wrapped  in  his  white  shroud,  the  mighty 
giant  stretched  his  clammy  ice-limbs  abroad,  and  dreamed  his 
age-long  dreams. 

Ages  passed — deep  was  the  silence. 

Then,  in  the  dawn  of  history,  far  away  in  the  south,  the 
awakening  spirit  of  man  reared  its  head  on  high  and  gazed  over 
the  earth.  To  the  south  it  encountered  warmth,  to  the  north, 
cold ;  and  behind  the  boundaries  of  the  unknown  it  placed  in 
imagination  the  twin  kingdoms  of  consuming  heat  and  of 
deadly  cold. 

But  the  limits  of  the  unknown  had  to  recede  step  by  step  be- 
fore the  ever-increasing  yearning  after  light  and  knowledge  of 
the  human  mind,  till  they  made  a  stand  in  the  north  at  the  thresh- 
old of  Nature's  great  Ice  Temple  of  the  polar  regions  with  their 
endless  silence. 

Up  to  this  point  no  insuperable  obstacles  had  opposed  the 
progress  of  the  advancing  hosts,  which  confidently  proceeded  on 
their  way.  But  here  the  ramparts  of  ice  and  the  long  darkness 
of  winter  brought  them  to  bay.     Host  after  host  marched  on 


2  FARTHEST  NORTH 

towards  the  north,  only  to  suffer  defeat.  Fresh  ranks  stood  ever 
ready  to  advance  over  the  bodies  of  their  predecessors.  Shrouded 
in  fog  lay  the  mythic  land  of  Nivlheim,  where  the  "  Rimturser  "  * 
carried  on  their  wild  gambols. 

Why  did  we  continually  return  to  the  attack  ?  There  in  the 
darkness  and  cold  stood  Helheim,  where  the  death-goddess  held 
her  sway  ;  there  lay  Nastrand,  the  shore  of  corpses.  Thither, 
where  no  living  being  could  draw  breath,  thither  troop  after 
troop  made  its  way.  To  what  end  ?  Was  it  to  bring  home  the 
dead,  as  did  Hermod  when  he  rode  after  Baldur  ?  No  !  It  was 
simply  to  satisfy  man's  thirst  for  knowledge.  Nowhere,  in  truth, 
has  knowledge  been  purchased  at  greater  cost  of  privation  and 
suffering.  But  the  spirit  of  mankind  will  never  rest  till  every 
spot  of  these  regions  has  been  trodden  by  the  foot  of  man,  till 
every  enigma  has  been  solved. 

Minute  by  minute,  degree  by  degree,  we  have  stolen  forward, 
with  painful  effort.  Slowly  the  day  has  approached  ;  even  now 
we  are  but  in  its  early  dawn  ;  darkness  still  broods  over  vast 
tracts  around  the  Pole. 

Our  ancestors,  the  old  Vikings,  were  the  first  Arctic  voyagers. 
It  has  been  said  that  their  expeditions  to  the  frozen  sea  were  of 
no  moment,  as  they  have  left  no  enduring  marks  behind  them. 
This,  however,  is  scarcely  correct.  Just  as  surely  as  the  whalers 
of  our  age,  in  their  persistent  struggles  with  ice  and  sea,  form 
our  outposts  of  investigation  up  in  the  north,  so  were  the  old 
Northmen,  with  Eric  the  Red,  Leif,  and  others  at  their  head,  the 
pioneers  of  the  polar  expeditions  of  future  generations. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  as  they  were  the  first  ocean 
navigators,  so  also  were  they  the  first  to  combat  with  the  ice. 
Long  before  other  seafaring  nations  had  ever  ventured  to  do 
more  than  hug  the  coast  lines,  our  ancestors  had  traversed  the 
open  seas  in  all  directions,  had  discovered  Iceland  and  Greenland, 
and  had  colonized  them.  At  a  later  period  they  discovered 
America,  and  did  not  shrink  from  making  a  straight  course  over 
the  Atlantic  Ocean,  from  Greenland  to  Norway.  Many  and 
many  a  bout  must  they  have  had  with  the  ice  along  the  coasts  of 
Greenland  in  their  open  barks,  and  many  a  life  must  have  been  lost. 

And  that  which  impelled  them  to  undertake  these  expeditions 

*  Frost-giants. 


INTRODUCTION  3 

was  not  the  mere  love  of  adventure,  though  that  is,  indeed,  one 
of  the  essential  traits  of  our  national  character.  It  was  rather 
the  necessity  of  discovering  new  countries  for  the  many  restless 
beings  that  could  find  no  room  in  Norway.  Furthermore,  they 
were  stimulated  by  a  real  interest  for  knowledge.  Othar,  who 
about  890  resided  in  England  at  Alfred's  Court,  set  out  on  an 
errand  of  geographical  investigation  ;  or,  as  he  says  himself, 
"  he  felt  an  inspiration  and  a  desire  to  learn,  to  know,  and  to 
demonstrate  how  far  the  land  stretched  towards  the  north,  and 
if  there  were  any  regions  inhabited  by  man  northward  beyond 
the  desert  waste."  He  lived  in  the  northernmost  part  of  Helge- 
land,  probably  at  Bjarkoi,  and  sailed  round  the  North  Cape  and 
eastward,  even  to  the  White  Sea. 

Adam  of  Bremen  relates  of  Harald  Hardrade,  "  the  experienced 
king  of  the  Northmen,"  that  he  undertook  a  voyage  out  into  the 
sea  towards  the  north  and  "  explored  the  expanse  of  the  northern 
ocean  with  his  ships,  but  darkness  spread  over  the  verge  where 
the  world  falls  away,  and  he  put  about  barely  in  time  to  escape 
being  swallowed  in  the  vast  abyss.  This  was  Ginnungagap,  the 
abyss  at  the  world's  end.  How  far  he  went  no  one  knows,  but  at 
all  events  he  deserves  recognition  as  one  of  the  first  of  the  polar 
navigators  that  were  animated  by  pure  love  of  knowledge.  Nat- 
urally, these  Northmen  were  not  free  from  the  superstitious  ideas 
about  the  polar  regions  prevalent  in  their  times.  There,  indeed, 
they  placed  their  Ginnungagap,  their  Nivlheim,  Helheim,  and 
later  on  Trollebotn  ;  but  even  these  mythical  and  poetical  ideas 
contained  so  large  a  kernel  of  observation  that  our  fathers 
may  be  said  to  have  possessed  a  remarkably  clear  conception 
of  the  true  nature  of  things.  How  soberly  and  correctly  they 
observed  may  best  be  seen  a  couple  of  hundred  years  later  in 
Kongespeilet  ("  The  Mirror  of  Kings  "),  the  most  scientific  treatise 
of  our  ancient  literature,  where  it  is  said  that,  "  as  soon  as  one 
has  traversed  the  greater  part  of  the  wild  sea,  one  comes  upon 
such  a  huge  quantity  of  ice  that  nowhere  in  the  whole  world  has 
the  like  been  known.  Some  of  the  ice  is  so  flat  that  it  looks  as 
if  it  were  frozen  on  the  sea  itself ;  it  is  from  8  to  10  feet  thick, 
and  extends  so  far  out  into  the  sea  that  it  would  take  a  journey 
of  four  or  more  days  to  reach  the  land  over  it.  But  this  ice  lies 
more  to  the  northeast  or  north,  beyond  the  limits  of  the  land, 
than  to  the  south  and  southwest  or  west.  .  .  . 


4  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  This  ice  is  of  a  wonderful  nature.  It  lies  at  times  quite  still, 
as  one  would  expect,  with  openings  or  large  fjords  in  it ;  but 
sometimes  its  movement  is  so  strong  and  rapid  as  to  equal  that 
of  a  ship  running  before  the  wind,  and  it  drifts  against  the  wind 
as  often  as  with  it" 

This  is  a  conception  all  the  more  remarkable  when  viewed  in 
the  light  of  the  crude  ideas  entertained  by  the  rest  of  the  world 
at  that  period  with  regard  to  foreign  climes. 

The  strength  of  our  people  now  dwindled  away,  and  centuries 
elapsed  before  explorers  once  more  sought  the  northern  seas. 
Then  it  was  other  nations,  especially  the  Dutch  and  the  English, 
that  led  the  van.  The  sober  observations  of  the  old  Northmen 
were  forgotten,  and  in  their  stead  we  meet  with  repeated  instances 
of  the  attraction  of  mankind  towards  the  most  fantastic  ideas ; 
a  tendency  of  thought  that  found  ample  scope  in  the  regions  of 
the  north.  When  the  cold  proved  not  to  be  absolutely  deadly, 
theories  flew  to  the  opposite  extreme,  and  marvellous  were  the 
erroneous  ideas  that  sprang  up  and  have  held  their  own  down  to 
the  present  day.  Over  and  over  again  it  has  been  the  same — 
the  most  natural  explanation  of  phenomena  is  the  very  one  that 
men  have  most  shunned ;  and,  if  no  middle  course  was  to  be 
found,  they  have  rushed  to  the  wildest  hypothesis.  It  is  only 
thus  that  the  belief  in  an  open  polar  sea  could  have  arisen  and 
held  its  ground.  Though  everywhere  ice  was  met  with,  people 
maintained  that  this  open  sea  must  lie  behind  the  ice.  Thus  the 
belief  in  an  ice-free  northeast  and  northwest  passage  to  the  wealth 
of  Cathay  or  of  India,  first  propounded  towards  the  close  of  the 
15th  century,  cropped  up  again  and  again,  only  to  be  again  and 
again  refuted.  Since  the  ice  barred  the  southern  regions,  the 
way  must  lie  farther  north ;  and  finally  a  passage  over  the  Pole 
itself  was  sought  for.  Wild  as  these  theories  were,  they  have 
worked  for  the  benefit  of  mankind  ;  for  by  their  means  our 
knowledge  of  the  earth  has  been  widely  extended.  Hence  we 
may  see  that  no  work  done  in  the  service  of  investigation  is 
ever  lost,  not  even  when  carried  out  under  false  assumptions. 
England  has  to  thank  these  chimeras  in  no  small  degree  for  the 
fact  that  she  has  become  the  mightiest  seafaring  nation  of  the 
world. 

By  many  paths  and  by  many  means  mankind  has  endeavored 
to  penetrate  this  kingdom  of  death.     At  first  the  attempt  was 


INTRODUCTION  5 

made  exclusively  by  sea.  Ships  were  then  ill  adapted  to  combat 
the  ice,  and  people  were  loath  to  make  the  venture.  The  clinker- 
built  pine  and  fir  barks  of  the  old  Northmen  were  no  better  fitted 
for  the  purpose  than  were  the  small  clumsy  carvels  of  the  first 
English  and  Dutch  Arctic  explorers.  Little  by  little  they  learned 
to  adapt  their  vessels  to  the  conditions,  and  with  ever-increasing 
daring  they  forced  them  in  among  the  dreaded  floes. 

But  the  uncivilized  polar  tribes,  both  those  that  inhabit  the 
Siberian  tundras  and  the  Eskimo  of  North  America,  had  dis- 
covered, long  before  polar  expeditions  had  begun,  another  and 
a  safer  means  of  traversing  these  regions  —  to  wit,  the  sledge, 
usually  drawn  by  dogs.  It  was  in  Siberia  that  this  excellent 
method  of  locomotion  was  first  applied  to  the  service  of  polar 
exploration.  Already  in  the  17th  and  i8th  centuries  the  Russians 
undertook  very  extensive  sledge  journeys,  and  charted  the  whole 
of  the  Siberian  coast  from  the  borders  of  Europe  to  Bering  Strait. 
And  they  did  not  merely  travel  along  the  coasts,  but  crossed  the 
drift-ice  itself  to  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  and  even  north  of 
them.  Nowhere,  perhaps,  have  travellers  gone  through  so  many 
sufferings  or  evinced  so  much  endurance. 

In  America,  too,  the  sledge  was  employed  by  Englishmen  at 
an  early  date  for  the  purpose  of  exploring  the  shores  of  the 
Arctic  seas.  Sometimes  the  toboggan,  or  Indian  sledge,  was  used, 
sometimes  that  of  the  Eskimo.  It  was  under  the  able  leadership 
of  M^Clintock  that  sledge  journeys  attained  their  highest  devel- 
opment. While  the  Russians  had  generally  travelled  with  a  large 
number  of  dogs  and  only  a  few  men,  the  English  employed  many 
more  men  on  their  expeditions,  and  their  sledges  were  entirely, 
or  for  the  most  part,  drawn  by  the  explorers  themselves.  Thus 
in  the  most  energetic  attempt  ever  made  to  reach  high  latitudes, 
Albert  Markham's  memorable  march  towards  the  north  from  the 
Alerfs  winter  quarters,  there  were  33  men  who  had  to  draw  the 
sledges,  though  there  were  plenty  of  dogs  on  board  the  ship.  It 
would  appear,  indeed,  as  if  dogs  were  not  held  in  great  estimation 
by  the  English. 

The  American  traveller  Peary  has,  however,  adopted  a  totally 
different  method  of  travelling  on  the  inland  ice  of  Greenland, 
employing  as  few  men  and  as  many  dogs  as  possible.  The  great 
importance  of  dogs  for  sledge  journeys  was  clear  to  me  before 
I  undertook  my  Greenland  expedition,  and  the  reason  I  did  not 


6  FARTHEST  NORTH 

use  them  then  was  simply  that  I  was  unable  to  procure  any 
serviceable  animals.* 

A  third  method  may  yet  be  mentioned  which  has  been  em- 
ployed in  the  Arctic  regions — namely,  boats  and  sledges  combined. 
It  is  said  of  the  old  Northmen  in  the  Sagas  and  in  the  Kongespeilet, 
that  for  days  on  end  they  had  to  drag  their  boats  over  the  ice  in 
the  Greenland  sea  in  order  to  reach  land.  The  first  in  modern 
times  to  make  use  of  this  means  of  travelling  was  Parry,  who,  in 
his  memorable  attempt  to  reach  the  Pole  in  1827,  abandoned  his 
ship  and  made  his  way  over  the  drift-ice  northward  with  boats, 
which  he  dragged  on  sledges.  He  succeeded  in  attaining  the 
highest  latitude  (82^  45')  that  had  yet  been  reached  ;  but  here 
the  current  carried  him  to  the  south  more  quickly  than  he  could 
advance  against  it,  and  he  was  obliged  to  turn  back. 

Of  later  years  this  method  of  travelling  has  not  been  greatly 
employed  in  approaching  the  Pole.  It  may,  however,  be  men- 
tioned that  Markham  took  boats  with  him  also  on  his  sledge  ex- 
pedition. Many  expeditions  have  through  sheer  necessity  accom- 
plished long  distances  over  the  drift-ice  in  this  way,  in  order  to 
reach  home  after  having  abandoned  or  lost  their  ship.  Especial 
mention  may  be  made  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  Tegeihoff  ex^^di- 
tion  to  Franz  Josef  Land  and  the  ill-fated  An\QY\c2in /eaftnette 
expedition. 

It  seems  that  but  few  have  thought  of  following  the  example 
of  the  Eskimo  —  living  as  they  do,  and,  instead  of  heavy  boats, 
taking  light  kayaks  drawn  by  dogs.  At  all  events,  no  attempts 
have  been  made  in  this  direction. 

The  methods  of  advance  have  been  tested  on  four  main 
routes  :  the  Smith  Sound  route,  the  sea  route  between  Greenland 
and  Spitzbergen,  Franz  Josef  Land  route,  and  the  Bering  Strait 
route. 

In  later  times  the  point  from  which  the  Pole  has  been  most 
frequently  assailed  is  Smith  Sound,  probably  because  American 
explorers  had  somewhat  too  hastily  asserted  that  they  had  there 
descried  the  open  Polar  Sea,  extending  indefinitely  towards  the 
north.  Every  expedition  was  stopped,  however,  by  immense 
masses  of  ice,  which  came  drifting  southward  and  piled  them- 
selves up  against  the  coasts.     The  most  important  expedition  by 

*  First  Crossing  of  Greenland,  Vol.  I.,  p.  30. 


INTRODUCTION  7 

this  route  was  the  English  one  conducted  by  Nares  in  1875-76, 
the  equipment  of  which  involved  a  vast  expenditure.  Markham, 
the  next  in  command  to  Nares,  reached  the  highest  latitude  till 
then  attained  {2>2t°  20'),  but  at  the  cost  of  enormous  exertion 
and  loss ;  and  Nares  was  of  opinion  that  the  impossibility  of 
reaching  the  Pole  by  this  route  was  fully  demonstrated  for  all 
future  ages. 

During  the  stay  of  the  Greely  expedition  (from  1881  to  1884) 
in  this  same  region,  Lockwood  attained  a  somewhat  higher  record, 
viz.,  83°  24',  the  most  northerly  point  on  the  globe  that  human 
feet  had  trodden  previous  to  the  expedition  of  which  the  present 
work  treats. 

By  way  of  the  sea  between  Greenland  andSpitzbergen,  several 
attempts  have  been  made  to  penetrate  the  secrets  of  the  domain 
of  ice.  In  1607  Henry  Hudson  endeavored  to  reach  the  Pole 
along  the  east  coast  of  Greenland,  where  he  was  in  hopes  of  find- 
ing an  open  basin  and  a  water-way  to  the  Pacific.  His  progress 
was,  however,  stayed  at  73°  north  latitude,  at  a  point  of  the  coast 
which  he  named  "  Hold  with  Hope."  The  German  expedition 
under  Koldeway  (1869-70),  which  visited  the  same  waters,  reached 
by  the  aid  of  sledges  as  far  north  as  77°  north  latitude.  Owing 
to  the  enormous  masses  of  ice  which  the  polar  current  sweeps 
southward  along  this  coast,  it  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  unfavor- 
able routes  for  a  polar  expedition.  A  better  route  is  that  by 
Spitzbergen,  which  was  essayed  by  Hudson,  when  his  progress 
was  blocked  off  Greenland.  Here  he  reached  80°  23'  north  lati- 
tude. Thanks  to  the  warm  current  that  runs  by  the  west  coast 
of  Spitzbergen  in  a  northerly  direction,  the  sea  is  kept  free  from 
ice,  and  it  is  without  comparison  the  route  by  which  one  can  the 
most  safely  and  easily  reach  high  latitudes  in  ice-free  waters. 
It  was  north  of  Spitzbergen  that  Edward  Parry  made  his  attempt 
in  1827,  above  alluded  to. 

Farther  eastward  the  ice-conditions  are  less  favorable,  and 
therefore  few  polar  expeditions  have  directed  their  course  through 
these  regions.  The  original  object  of  the  Austro-Hungarian  ex- 
pedition under  Weyprecht  and  Payer  (1872-74)  was  to  seek  for 
the  Northeast  Passage  ;  but  at  its  first  meeting  with  the  ice  it 
was  set  fast  off  the  north  point  of  Novaya  Zemlya,  drifted  north- 
ward, and  discovered  Franz  Josef  Land,  whence  Payer  endeavored 
to  push  forward  to  the  north  with  sledges,  reaching  82°  5'  north 


8  FARTHEST  NORTH 

latitude  on  an  island  which  he  named  Crown-Prince  Rudolf's 
Land.  To  the  north  of  this  he  thought  he  could  see  an  extensive 
tract  of  land,  lying  in  about  83°  north  latitude,  which  he  called 
Petermann's  Land.  Franz  Josef  Land  was  afterwards  twice 
visited  by  the  English  traveller  Leigh  Smith  in  1880  and  1881-82  ; 
and  it  is  here  that  the  English  Jackson-Harmsworth  expedition 
is  at  present  established. 

The  plan  of  the  Danish  expedition  under  Hovgaard  was  to 
push  forward  to  the  North  Pole  from  Cape  Chelyuskin  along  the 
east  coast  of  an  extensive  tract  of  land  which  Hovgaard  thought 
must  lie  to  the  east  of  Franz  Josef  Land.  He  got  set  fast  in  the 
ice,  however,  in  the  Kara  Sea,  and  remained  the  winter  there, 
returning  home  the  following  year. 

Only  a  few  attempts  have  been  made  through  Bering  Strait. 
The  first  was  Cook's,  in  1776  ;  the  last,  th^  Jeafineite  expedition 
(1879-81),  under  De  Long,  a  lieutenant  in  the  American  navy. 
Scarcely  anywhere  have  polar  travellers  been  so  hopelessly 
blocked  by  ice  in  comparatively  low  latitudes.  The  last-named 
expedition,  however,  had  a  most  important  bearing  upon  my 
own.  As  De  Long  himself  says  in  a  letter  to  James  Gordon 
Bennett,  who  supplied  the  funds  for  the  expedition,  he  was  of 
opinion  that  there  were  three  routes  to  choose  from — Smith 
Sound,  the  east  coast  of  Greenland,  or  Bering  Strait  ;  but  he  put 
most  faith  in  the  last,  and  this  was  ultimately  selected.  His 
main  reason  for  this  choice  was  his  belief  in  a  Japanese  current 
running  north  through  Bering  Strait  and  onward  along  the  east 
coast  of  Wrangel  Land,  which  was  believed  to  extend  far  to  the 
north.  It  was  urged  that  the  warm  water  of  this  current  would 
open  a  way  along  that  coast,  possibly  up  to  the  Pole.  The  experi- 
ence of  whalers  showed  that  whenever  their  vessels  were  set  fast 
in  the  ice  here  they  drifted  northward ;  hence  it  was  concluded 
that  the  current  generally  set  in  that  direction.  ''  This  will  help 
explorers,"  says  De  Long,  "  to  reach  high  latitudes,  but  at  the 
same  time  will  make  it  more  difficult  for  them  to  come  back." 
.The  truth  of  these  words  he  himself  was  to  learn  by  bitter  ex- 
perience. 

TYiQ  Jean7tette  stuck  fast  in  the  ice  on  September  6th,  1879,  i^ 
71°  35'  north  latitude  and  175°  6'  east  longitude,  southeast  of 
Wrangel  Land — which,  however,  proved  to  be  a  small  island — 
and  drifted  with  the  ice  in  a  west  -  northwesterly  direction  for 


INTRODUCTION  9 

two  years,  when  it  foundered,  June  12th,  1881,  north  of  the  New 
Siberian  Islands,  in  77°  15'  north  latitude  and  154°  59'  east  longi- 
tude. 

Everywhere,  then,  has  the  ice  stopped  the  progress  of  man- 
kind towards  the  north.  In  two  cases  only  have  ice-bound  ves- 
sels drifted  in  a  northerly  direction — in  the  case  of  the  Tegethoff 
and  the  Jeannette — while  most  of  the  others  have  been  carried 
away  from  their  goal  by  masses  of  ice  drifting  southward. 

On  reading  the  history  of  Arctic  explorations,  it  early  oc- 
curred to  me  that  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  wrest  the  secrets 
from  these  unknown  regions  of  ice  by  adopting  the  routes  and 
the  methods  hitherto  employed.  But  where  did  the  proper  route 
lie? 

It  was  in  the  autumn  of  1884  that  I  happened  to  see  an  article 
by  Professor  Mohn  in  the  Norwegian  Morgenblad^  in  which  it 
was  stated  that  sundry  articles  which  must  have  come  from  the 
Jeannette  had  been  found  on  the  southwest  coast  of  Greenland. 
He  conjectured  that  they  must  have  drifted  on  a  floe  right 
across  the  Polar  Sea.  It  immediately  occurred  to  me  that  here 
lay  the  route  ready  to  hand.  If  a  floe  could  drift  right  across 
the  unknown  region,  that  drift  might  also  be  enlisted  in  the  ser- 
vice of  exploration — and  my  plan  was  laid.  Some  years,  how- 
ever, elapsed  before,  in  February,  1890,  after  my  return  from  my 
Greenland  expedition,  I  at  last  propounded  the  idea  in  an  ad- 
dress before  the  Christiania  Geographical  Society.  As  this  ad- 
dress plays  an  important  part  in  the  history  of  the  expedition,  I 
shall  reproduce  its  principal  features,  as  printed  in  the  March 
number  of  Naturen^  1891. 

After  giving  a  brief  sketch  of  the  different  polar  expeditions 
of  former  years,  I  go  on  to  say  :  "  The  results  of  these  numerous 
attempts,  as  I  have  pointed  out,  seem  somewhat  discouraging. 
They  appear  to  show  plainly  enough  that  it  is  impossible  to  sail 
to  the  Pole  by  any  route  whatever  ;  for  everywhere  the  ice  has 
proved  an  impenetrable  barrier,  and  has  stayed  the  progress  of 
invaders  on  the  threshold  of  the  unknown  regions. 

"  To  drag  boats  over  the  uneven  drift-ice,  which,  moreover,  is 
constantly  moving  under  the  influence  of  the  current  and  wind, 
is  an  equally  great  difficulty.  The  ice  lays  such  obstacles  in  the 
way  that  any  one  who  has  ever  attempted  to  traverse  it  will 
not  hesitate  to  declare  it  wellnigh  impossible  to  advance  in  this 


10  FARTHEST  NORTH 

manner  with  the  equipment  and  provisions  requisite  for  such  an 
undertaking." 

Had  we  been  able  to  advance  over  land,  I  said,  that  would 
have  been  the  most  certain  route ;  in  that  case  the  Pole  could 
have  been  reached  "in  one  summer  by  Norwegian  snow-shoe 
runners."  But  there  is  every  reason  to  doubt  the  existence  of 
any  such  land.  Greenland,  I  considered,  did  not  extend  farther 
than  the  most  northerly  known  point  of  its  west  coast.  "  It  is  not 
probable  that  Franz  Josef  Land  reaches  to  the  Pole  ;  from  all  we 
can  learn  it  forms  a  group  of  islands  separated  from  each  other 
by  deep  sounds,  and  it  appears  improbable  that  any  large  con- 
tinuous tract  of  land  is  to  be  found  there. 

"  Some  people  are  perhaps  of  opinion  that  one  ought  to  defer 
the  examination  of  regions  like  those  around  the  Pole,  beset,  as 
they  are,  with  so  many  difficulties,  till  new  means  of  transport 
have  been  discovered.  I  have  heard  it  intimated  that  one  fine 
day  we  shall  be  able  to  reach  the  Pole  by  a  balloon,  and  that  it 
is  only  waste  of  time  to  seek  to  get  there  before  that  day  comes. 
It  need  scarcely  be  shown  that  this  line  of  reasoning  is  untenable. 
Even  if  one  could  really  suppose  that  in  the  near  or  distant  fut- 
ure this  frequently  mooted  idea  of  travelling  to  the  Pole  in  an 
air-ship  would  be  realized,  such  an  expedition,  however  inter- 
esting it  might  be  in  certain  respects,  would  be  far  from  yielding 
the  scientific  results  of  expeditions  carried  out  in  the  manner 
here  indicated.  Scientific  results  of  importance  in  all  branches 
of  research  can  be  attained  only  by  persistent  observations  dur- 
ing a  lengthened  sojourn  in  these  regions,  while  those  of  a  bal- 
loon expedition  cannot  but  be  of  a  transitory  nature. 

"  We  must,  then,  endeavor  to  ascertain  if  there  are  not  other 
routes — and  I  believe  there  are.  I  believe  that  if  we  pay  atten- 
tion to  the  actually  existent  forces  of  nature,  and  seek  to  work 
zvith  and  not  against  them,  we  shall  thus  find  the  safest  and 
easiest  method  of  reaching  the  Pole.  It  is  useless,  as  previous 
expeditions  have  done,  to  work  against  the  current ;  we  should 
see  if  there  is  not  a  current  we  can  work  with.  Th^  /ea7inette 
expedition  is  the  only  one,  in  my  opinion,  that  started  on  the 
right  track,  though  it  may  have  been  unwittingly  and  un- 
willingly. 

"  The  Jeannette  drifted  for  two  years  in  the  ice,  from  Wrangel 
Land  to  the  New  Siberian  Islands.     Three  years  after  she  foun- 


INTRODUCTION  n 

dered  to  the  north  of  these  islands  there  was  found  frozen  into  the 
drift-ice,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Julianehaab,  on  the  southwest 
coast  of  Greenland,  a  number  of  articles  which  appeared,  from 
sundry  indubitable  marks,  to  proceed  from  the  sunken  vessel. 
These  articles  were  first  discovered  by  the  Eskimo,  and  were 
afterwards  collected  by  Mr.  Lytzen,  Colonial  Manager  at  Juliane- 
haab, who  has  given  a  list  of  them  in  the  Danish  Geographical 
Journaliox  1885.  Among  them  the  following  may  especially  be 
mentioned : 

"  I.  A  list  of  provisions,  signed  by  De  Long,  the  commander 
of  t\i&  Jeamiette. 

"  2.  A  MS.  list  of  Wi^Jeannette's  boats. 

"  3.  A  pair  of  oilskin  breeches  marked  *  Louis  Noros,'  the  name 
of  one  of  the  Jeannette's  crew,  who  was  saved. 

"  4.  The  peak  of  a  cap  on  which,  according  to  Lytzen's  state- 
ment, was  written  F.  C.  Lindemann.  The  name  of  one 
of  the  crew  of  the  Jeayinette^  who  was  also  saved,  was 
F.  C.  Nindemann.  This  may  either  have  been  a  cleri- 
cal error  on  Lytzen's  part  or  a  misprint  in  the  Danish 
journal. 

"  In  America,  when  it  was  reported  that  these  articles  had 
been  found,  people  were  very  sceptical,  and  doubts  of  their  genu- 
ineness were  expressed  in  the  American  newspapers.  The  facts, 
however,  can  scarcely  be  sheer  inventions  ;  and  it  may  therefore 
be  safely  assumed  that  an  ice-floe  bearing  these  articles  from 
the  Jeaniiette  had  drifted  from  the  place  where  it  sank  to  Ju- 
lianehaab. 

"By  what  route  did  this  ice-floe  reach  the  west  coast  of 
Greenland  ? 

"  Professor  Mohn,  in  a  lecture  before  the  Scientific  Society  of 
Christiania,  in  November,  1894,  showed  that  it  could  have  come 
by  no  other  way  than  across  the  Pole.* 

*  Mr.  Lytzen,  of  Julianehaab,  afterwards  contributed  an  article  to  the 
Geografisk  Tzdsskrt/t  {^ih.  Vol.,  1885-86,  pp.  49-51,  Copenhagen),  in  which 
he  expressed  himself,  so  far  at  least  as  I  understand  him,  in  the  same  sense, 
and,  remarkably  enough,  suggested  that  this  circumstance  might  possibly 
be  found  to  have  an  important  bearing  on  Arctic  exploration.  He  says : 
"  It  will  therefore  be  seen  that  polar  explorers  who  seek  to  advance  towards 


12  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  It  cannot  possibly  have  come  through  Smith  Sound,  as  the 
current  there  passes  along  the  western  side  of  Baffin's  Bay,  and 
it  would  thus  have  been  conveyed  to  Baffin's  Land  or  Labrador, 
and  not  to  the  west  coast  of  Greenland.  The  current  flows  along 
this  coast  in  a  northerly  direction,  and  is  a  continuation  of  the 
Greenland  polar  current,  which  comes  along  the  east  coast  of 
Greenland,  takes  a  bend  round  Cape  Farewell,  and  passes  upward 
along  the  west  coast. 

"  It  is  by  this  current  only  that  the  floe  could  have  come. 

"  But  the  question  now  arises  :  What  route  did  it  take  from 
the  New  Siberian  Islands  in  order  to  reach  the  east  coast  of 
Greenland  ? 

"  It  is  conceivable  that  it  might  have  drifted  along  the  north 
coast  of  Siberia,  south  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  up  through  the 
sound  between  Franz  Josef  Land  and  Spitzbergen,  or  even  to 
the  south  of  Spitzbergen,  and  might  after  that  have  got  into 
the  polar  current  which  flows  along  Greenland.  If,  however,  we 
study  the  directions  of  the  currents  in  these  regions  so  far  as 
they  are  at  present  ascertained,  it  will  be  found  that  this  is  ex- 
tremely improbable,  not  to  say  impossible." 

Having  shown  that  this  is  evident  from  the  Tegethoff  drift 
and  from  many  other  circumstances,  I  proceeded  : 

"The  distance  from  the  New  Siberian  Islands  to  the  8oth 
degree  of  latitude  on  the  east  coast  of  Greenland  is  1360  miles, 
and  the  distance  from  the  last-named  place  to  Julianehaab  1540 
miles,  making  together  a  distance  of  2900  miles.  This  distance 
was  traversed  by  the  floe  in  iioo  days,  which  gives  a  speed  of 
2.6  miles  per  day  of  24  hours.  The  time  during  which  the  relics 
drifted  after  having  reached  the  80th  degree  of  latitude  till  they 
arrived  at  Julianehaab  can  be  calculated  with  tolerable  precision, 
as  the  speed  of  the  above-named  current  along  the  east  coast  of 
Greenland  is  well  known.  It  may  be  assumed  that  it  took  at 
least  400  days  to  accomplish  this  distance ;  there  remain,  then, 

the  Pole  from  the  Siberian  Sea  will  probably  at  one  place  or  another  be 
hemmed  in  by  the  ice,  but  these  masses  of  ice  will  be  carried  by  the  cur- 
rent along  the  Greenland  coast.  It  is  not,  therefore,  altogether  impossible 
that,  if  the  ship  of  such  an  expedition  is  able  to  survive  the  pressure  of 
the  masses  of  ice  for  any  length  of  time,  it  will  arriv^e  safely  at  South 
Greenland ;  but  in  that  case  it  must  be  prepared  to  spend  several  years  on 
the  way." 


INTRODUCTION  13 

about  700  days  as  the  longest  time  the  drifting  articles  can  have 
taken  from  the  New  Siberian  Islands  to  the  80th  degree  of  lati- 
tude. Supposing  that  they  took  the  shortest  route — i,  ^.,  across 
the  Pole — this  computation  gives  a  speed  of  about  2  miles  in  24 
hours.  On  the  other  hand,  supposing  they  went  by  the  route 
south  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  and  south  of  Spitzbergen,  they  must 
have  drifted  at  much  higher  speed.  Two  miles  in  the  24  hours, 
however,  coincides  most  remarkably  with  the  rate  at  which  the 
Jeannette  drifted  during  the  last  months  of  her  voyage,  from 
January  i  to  June  12,  1881.  In  this  time  she  drifted  at  an  aver- 
age rate  of  a  little  over  2  miles  in  the  24  hours.  If,  however,  the 
average  speed  of  the  whole  of  \.h.Q/ea?metie's  drifting  be  taken,  it 
will  be  found  to  be  only  i  mile  in  the  24  hours. 

"  But  are  there  no  other  evidences  of  a  current  flowing  across 
the  North  Pole  from  Bering  Sea  on  the  one  side  to  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  on  the  other  ? 

"  Yes,  there  are. 

"  Dr.  Rink  received  from  a  Greenlander  at  Godthaab  a  remark- 
able piece  of  wood  which  had  been  found  among  the  drift-timber 
on  the  coast.  It  is  one  of  the  'throwing -sticks'  which  the 
Eskimo  use  in  hurling  their  bird -darts,  but  altogether  unlike 
those  used  by  the  Eskimo  on  the  west  coast  of  Greenland.  Dr. 
Rink  conjectured  that  it  possibly  proceeded  from  the  Eskimo  on 
the  east  coast  of  Greenland. 

"  From  later  inquiries,*  however,  it  appeared  that  it  must  have 
come  from  the  coast  of  Alaska  in  the  neighborhood  of  Bering 
Strait,  as  that  is  the  only  place  where  'throwing-sticks'  of  a  similar 
form  are  used.  It  was  even  ornamented  with  Chinese  glass 
beads,  exactly  similar  to  those  which  the  Alaskan  Eskimo  obtain 
by  barter  from  Asiatic  tribes  and  use  for  the  decoration  of  their 
*  throwing-sticks.' 

"  We  may,  therefore,  with  confidence  assert  that  this  piece  of 
wood  was  carried  from  the  west  coast  of  Alaska  over  to  Green- 
land by  a  current  the  whole  course  of  which  we  do  not  know,  but 
which  may  be  assumed  to  flow  very  near  the  North  Pole,  or  at 
some  place  between  it  and  Franz  Josef  Land. 

"  There  are,  moreover,  still  further  proofs  that  such  a  current 

*  See,  on  this  point,  Dr.  Y.  Nielsen,  in  Forhandlinger  i  Videnskabssel- 
skabet  i  Christiania.    Meeting  held  June  11,  1886. 


H  FARTHEST  NORTH 

exists.  As  is  well  known,  no  trees  grow  in  Greenland  that  can 
be  used  for  making  boats,  sledges,  or  other  appliances.  The 
driftwood  that  is  carried  down  by  the  polar  current  along  the 
east  coast  of  Greenland  and  up  the  west  coast  is,  therefore,  essen- 
tial to  the  existence  of  the  Greenland  Eskimo.  But  whence  does 
this  timber  come  ? 

"  Here  our  inquiries  again  carry  us  to  lands  on  the  other  side 
of  the  Pole.  I  have  myself  had  an  opportunity  of  examining 
large  quantities  of  driftwood  both  on  the  west  coast  and  on  the 
east  coast  of  Greenland.  I  have,  moreover,  found  pieces -drift- 
ing in  the  sea  off  the  east  coast,  and,  like  earlier  travellers,  have 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  much  the  greater  part  of  it  can 
only  have  come  from  Siberia,  while  a  smaller  portion  may  pos- 
sibly have  come  from  America.  For  amongst  it  are  to  be  found 
fir,  Siberian  larch,  and  other  kinds  of  wood  peculiar  to  the  North, 
which  could  scarcely  have  come  from  any  other  quarter.  Inter- 
esting in  this  respect  are  the  discoveries  that  have  been  made 
on  the  east  coast  of  Greenland  by  the  second  German  Polar  Ex- 
pedition. Out  of  twenty-five  pieces  of  driftwood,  seventeen  were 
Siberian  larch,  five  Norwegian  fir  (probably  Picea  obovata),  two 
a  kind  of  alder  (A/nus  incaiia  f),  and  one  a  poplar  {Populus 
treimila?  the  common  aspen),  all  of  which  are  trees  found  in 
Siberia. 

"  By  way  of  supplement  to  these  observations  on  the  Green- 
land side,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  th^Jeafmette  expedition  fre- 
quently found  Siberian  driftwood  (fir  and  birch)  between  the  floes 
in  the  strong  northerly  current  to  the  northward  of  the  New 
Siberian  Islands. 

"Fortunately  for  the  Eskimo,  such  large  quantities  of  this 
driftwood  come  every  year  to  the  coasts  of  Greenland  that  in  my 
opinion  one  cannot  but  assume  that  they  are  conveyed  thither 
by  a  constantly  flowing  current,  especially  as  the  wood  never 
appears  to  have  been  very  long  in  the  sea  —  at  all  events,  not 
without  having  been  frozen  in  the  ice. 

"  That  this  driftwood  passes  south  of  Franz  Josef  Land  and 
Spitzbergen  is  quite  as  unreasonable  a  theory  as  that  the  ice-floe 
with  the  relics  from  Xh^/eannette  drifted  by  this  route.  In  further 
disproof  of  this  assumption  it  may  be  stated  that  Siberian  drift- 
wood is  found  north  of  Spitzbergen  in  the  strong  southerly  cur- 
rent against  which  Parry  fought  in  vain. 


INTRODUCTION  15 

"  It  appears,  therefore,  that  on  these  grounds  also  we  cannot 
but  admit  the  existence  of  a  current  flowing  across,  or  in  close 
proximity  to,  the  Pole. 

"  As  an  interesting  fact  in  this  connection,  it  may  also  be  men- 
tioned that  the  German  botanist  Grisebach  has  shown  that  the 
Greenland  flora  includes  a  series  of  Siberian  vegetable  forms 
that  could  scarcely  have  reached  Greenland  in  any  other  way 
than  by  the  help  of  such  a  current  conveying  the  seeds. 

"On  the  drift-ice  in  Denmark  Strait  (between  Iceland  and 
Greenland)  I  have  made  observations  which  tend  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  this  ice  too  was  of  Siberian  origin.  For  instance,  I  found 
quantities  of  mud  on  it,  which  seemed  to  be  of  Siberian  origin, 
or  might  possibly  have  come  from  North  American  rivers.  It  is 
possible,  however,  to  maintain  that  this  mud  originates  in  the 
glacier  rivers  that  flow  from  under  the  ice  in  the  north  of  Green- 
land, or  in  other  unknown  polar  lands ;  so  that  this  piece  of  evi- 
dence is  of  less  importance  than  those  already  named. 

"  Putting  all  this  together,  we  seem  driven  to  the  conclusion 
that  a  curre7it  flows  at  some  poiiit  between  the  Pole  and  Franz 
Josef  Land  from  the  Siberian  Arctic  Sea  to  the  east  coast  of  Green- 
land. 

"  That  such  must  be  the  case  we  may  also  infer  in  another  way. 
If  we  regard,  for  instance,  the  polar  current — that  broad  current 
which  flows  down  from  the  unknown  polar  regions  between  Spitz- 
bergen  and  Greenland — and  consider  what  an  enormous  mass 
of  water  it  carries  along,  it  must  seem  self-evident  that  this  can- 
not come  from  a  circumscribed  and  small  basin,  but  must  needs 
be  gathered  from  distant  sources,  the  more  so  as  the  Polar  Sea 
(so  far  as  we  know  it)  is  remarkably  shallow  everywhere  to  the 
north  of  the  European,  Asiatic,  and  American  coasts.  The  po- 
lar current  is  no  doubt  fed  by  that  branch  of  the  Gulf  Stream 
which  makes  its  way  up  the  west  side  of  Spitzbergen ;  but  this 
small  stream  is  far  from  being  sufficient,  and  the  main  body  of 
its  water  must  be  derived  from  farther  northward. 

"  It  is  probable  that  the  polar  current  stretches  its  suckers,  as 
it  were,  to  the  coast  of  Siberia  and  Bering  Strait,  and  draws  its 
supplies  from  these  distant  regions.  The  water  it  carries  off 
is  replaced  partly  through  the  warm  current  before  mentioned 
which  makes  its  way  through  Bering  Strait,  and  partly  by  that 
branch  of  the  Gulf  Stream  which,  passing  by  the  north  of  Nor- 


i6  FARTHEST  NORTH 

way,  bends  eavStward  towards  Novaya  Zemlya,  and  of  which  a 
great  portion  unquestionably  continues  its  course  along  the 
north  coast  of  this  island  into  the  Siberian  Arctic  Sea.  That  a 
current  coming  from  the  south  takes  this  direction — at  all  events, 
in  some  measure  —  appears  probable  from  the  well-known  fact 
that  in  the  northern  hemisphere  the  rotation  of  the  earth  tends 
to  compel  a  northward-flowing  current,  whether  of  water  or  of 
air,  to  assume  an  easterly  course.  The  earth's  rotation  may  also 
cause  a  southward-flowing  stream,  like  the  polar  current,  to  direct 
its  course  westward  to  the  east  coast  of  Greenland. 

"  Biit  even  if  these  currents  flowing  in  the  polar  basin  did  not 
exist,  I  am  still  of  opinion  that  in  some  other  way  a  body  of 
water  must  collect  in  it,  sufficient  to  form  a  polar  current.  In 
the  first  place,  there  are  the  North  European,  the  Siberian,  and 
North  American  rivers  debouching  into  the  Arctic  Sea,  to  sup- 
ply this  water.  The  fluvial  basin  of  these  rivers  is  very  considera- 
ble, comprising  a  large  portion  of  Northern  Europe,  almost  the 
whole  of  Northern  Asia  or  Siberia  down  to  the  Altai  Moun- 
tains and  Lake  Baikal,  together  with  the  principal  part  of  Alaska 
and  British  North  America.  All  these  added  together  form  no 
unimportant  portion  of  the  earth,  and  the  rainfall  of  these  coun- 
tries is  enormous.  It  is  not  conceivable  that  the  Arctic  Sea  of 
itself  could  contribute  anything  of  importance  to  this  rainfall ; 
for,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  for  the  most  part  covered  with  drift- 
ice,  from  which  the  evaporation  is  but  trifling ;  and,  in  the  next 
place,  the  comparatively  low  temperature  in  these  regions  pre- 
vents any  considerable  evaporation  taking  place  even  from  open 
surfaces  of  water.  The  moisture  that  produces  this  rainfall 
must  consequently  in  a  great  measure  come  from  elsewhere, 
principally  from  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans,  and  the  amount 
of  water  which  thereby  feeds  the  Arctic  Sea  must  be  very  con- 
siderable. If  we  possessed  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  rainfall 
in  the  different  localities  it  might  be  exactly  calculated.* 

"  The  importance  of  this  augmentation  appears  even  greater 

*  Since  writing  the  above  I  have  tried  to  make  such  a  calculation,  and 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  aggregate  rainfall  is  not  so  large  as 
I  had  at  first  supposed.  See  my  paper  in  The  Norwegian  Geographical 
Society's  Annual,  III.,  1891-92,  p.  95;  and  The  Geographical  Journal,  Lon- 
don, 1893,  p.  5. 


INTRODUCTION  ij 

when  we  consider  that  the  polar  basin  is  comparatively  small, 
and,  as  has  been  already  remarked,  very  shallow,  its  greatest 
known  depth  being  from  60  to  80  fathoms. 

"  But  there  is  still  another  factor  that  must  help  to  increase 
the  quantity  of  water  in  the  polar  basin,  and  that  is  its  own 
rainfall.  Weyprecht  has  already  pointed  out  the  probability  that 
the  large  influx  of  warm,  moist  atmosphere  from  the  South,  at- 
tracted by  the  constant  low  atmospheric  pressure  in  the  polar 
regions,  must  engender  so  large  a  rainfall  as  to  augment  con- 
siderably the  amount  of  water  in  the  Polar  Sea.  Moreover,  the 
fact  that  the  polar  basin  receives  large  supplies  of  fresh  water 
is  proved  by  the  small  amount  of  salt  in  the  water  of  the  polar 
current. 

"  From  all  these  considerations  it  appears  unquestionable  that 
the  sea  around  the  Pole  is  fed  with  considerable  quantities  of 
water,  partly  fresh,  as  we  have  just  seen,  partly  salt,  as  we  in- 
dicated further  back,  proceeding  from  the  different  ocean  cur- 
rents. It  thus  becomes  inevitable,  according  to  the  law  of  equi- 
librium, that  these  masses  of  water  should  seek  such  an  outlet  as 
we  find  in  the  Greenland  polar  current. 

"  Let  us  now  inquire  whether  further  reasons  can  be  found  to 
show  why  this  current  flows  exactly  in  the  given  direction. 

"  If  we  examine  the  ocean  soundings,  we  at  once  find  a  con- 
clusive reason  why  the  main  outlet  must  lie  between  Spitzbergen 
and  Greenland.  The  sea  here,  so  far  as  we  know  it,  is  at  all 
points  very  deep  ;  there  is,  indeed,  a  channel  of  as  much  as  2500 
fathoms*  depth  ;  while  south  of  Spitzbergen  and  Franz  Josef 
Land  it  is  remarkably  shallow — not  more  than  160  fathoms.  As 
has  been  stated,  a  current  passes  northward  through  Bering 
Strait  and  Smith  Sound,  and  the  sounds  between  the  islands 
north  of  America,  though  here,  indeed,  there  is  a  southward  cur- 
rent, are  far  too  small  and  narrow  to  form  adequate  outlets  for 
the  mass  of  water  of  which  we  are  speaking.  There  is,  there- 
fore, no  other  assumption  left  than  that  this  mass  of  water  must 
find  its  outlet  by  the  route  actually  followed  by  the  polar  cur- 
rent. The  channel  discovered  by  th^  Jea?tneite  expedition  be- 
tween Wrangel  Land  and  the  New  Siberian  Islands  may  here  be 
mentioned  as  a  notable  fact.  It  extended  in  a  northerly  direc- 
tion, and  was  at  some  points  more  than  80  fathoms  deep,  while 
at  the  sides  the  soundings  ran  only  to  40  or  50  fathoms.     It  is 


i8  FARTHEST  NORTH 

by  no  means  impossible  that  this  channel  may  be  a  continuation 
of  the  channel  between  Spitzbergen  and  Greenland,*  in  which 
case  it  would  certainly  influence,  if  not  actually  determine,  the 
direction  of  the  main  current. 

"  If  we  examine  the  conditions  of  wind  and  atmospheric  press- 
ure over  the  Polar  Sea,  as  far  as  they  are  known,  it  would  ap- 
pear that  they  must  tend  to  produce  a  current  across  the  Pole  in 
the  direction  indicated.  From  the  Atlantic  to  the  south  of  Spitz- 
bergen and  Franz  Josef  Land  a  belt  of  low  atmospheric  pressure 
(minimum  belt)  extends  into  the  Siberian  Arctic  Sea.  In  ac- 
cordance with  well-known  laws,  the  wind  must  have  a  prepon- 
derating direction  from  west  to  east  on  the  south  side  of  this 
belt,  and  this  would  promote  an  eastward-flowing  current  along 
the  north  coast  of  Siberia,  such  as  has  been  found  to  exist  there. f 
The  winds  on  the  north  side  of  the  minimum  belt  must,  how- 
ever, blow  mainly  in  a  direction  from  east  to  west,  and  will  con- 
sequently produce  a  westerly  current,  passing  across  the  Pole 
towards  the  Greenland  Sea,  exactly  as  we  have  seen  to  be  the 
case. 

"  It  thus  appears  that,  from  whatever  side  we  consider  this 
question,  even  apart  from  the  specially  cogent  evidences  above 
cited,  we  cannot  escape  the  conclusion  that  a  current  passes 
across  or  very  near  to  the  Pole  into  the  sea  between  Greenland 
and  Spitzbergen. 

"  This  being  so,  it  seems  to  me  that  the  plain  thing  for  us  to 
do  is  to  make  our  way  into  the  current  on  that  side  of  the  Pole 
where  it  flows  northward,  and  by  its  help  to  penetrate  into  those 
regions  which  all  who  have  hitherto  worked  agaifist  it  have 
sought  in  vain  to  reach. 

"  My  plan  is,  briefly,  as  follows :  I  propose  to  have  a  ship 
built  as  small  and  as  strong  as  possible  —  just  big  enough  to 
contain  supplies  of  coals  and  provisions  for  twelve  men  for  five 
years.  A  ship  of  about  170  tons  (gross)  will  probably  suffice. 
Its  engine  should  be  powerful  enough  to  give  a  speed  of  6  knots  ; 
but,  in  addition,  it  must  also  be  fully  rigged  for  sailing. 

*The  discovery  during  our  expedition  of  a  great  depth  in  the  polar 
basin  renders  it  highly  probable  that  this  assumption  is  correct. 

tThe  experience  of  our  expedition,  however,  does  not  point  to  any 
such  eastward-flowing  current  along  the  Siberian  coast. 


INTRODUCTION  19 

"  The  main  point  in  this  vessel  is  that  it  be  built  on  such  prin- 
ciples as  to  enable  it  to  withstand  the  pressure  of  the  ice.  The 
sides  must  slope  sufficiently  to  prevent  the  ice,  when  it  presses 
together,  from  getting  firm  hold  of  the  hull,  as  was  the  case  with 
the  Jeannette  and  other  vessels.  Instead  of  nipping  the  ship,  the 
ice  must  raise  it  up  out  of  the  water.  No  very  new  departure  in 
construction  is  likely  to  be  needed,  for  the  Jcannette^  notwith- 
standing her  preposterous  build,  was  able  to  hold  out  against  the 
ice  pressure  for  about  two  years.  That  a  vessel  can  easily  be 
built  on  such  lines  as  to  fulfil  these  requirements  no  one  will 
question  who  has  seen  a  ship  nipped  by  the  ice.  For  the  same 
reason,  too,  the  ship  ought  to  be  a  small  one ;  for,  besides  being 
thus  easier  to  manoeuvre  in  the  ice,  it  will  be  more  readily  lifted 
by  the  pressure  of  the  ice,  not  to  mention  that  it  will  be  easier 
to  give  it  the  requisite  strength.  It  must,  of  course,  be  built  of 
picked  materials.  A  ship  of  the  form  and  size  here  indicated 
will  not  be  a  good  or  comfortable  sea-boat,  but  that  is  of  minor*, 
importance  in  waters  filled  with  ice  such  as  we  are  here  speaking 
of.  It  is  true  that  it  would  have  to  travel  a  long  distance  over 
the  open  sea  before  it  would  get  so  far,  but  it  would  not  be  so 
bad  a  sea-boat  as  to  be  unable  to  get  along,  even  though  sea-sick 
passengers  might  have  to  offer  sacrifices  to  the  gods  of  the  sea. 

"  With  such  a  ship  and  a  crew  of  ten,  or  at  the  most  twelve, 
able-bodied  and  carefully  picked  men,  with  a  full  equipment  for 
five  years,  in  every  respect  as  good  as  modern  appliances  permit 
of,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  undertaking  would  be  well  secured 
against  risk.  With  this  ship  we  should  sail  up  through  Bering 
Strait  and  westward  along  the  north  coast  of  Siberia  towards  the 
New  Siberian  Islands  *  as  early  in  the  summer  as  the  ice  would 
permit. 

"  Arrived  at  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  it  will  be  advisable  to 
employ  the  time  to  the  best  advantage  in  examining  the  condi- 
tions of  currents  and  ice,  and  to  wait  for  the  most  opportune 
moment  to  advance  as  far  as  possible  in  ice-free  water,  which, 

*  I  first  thought  of  choosing  the  route  through  Bering  Strait,  because 
I  imagined  that  I  could  reach  the  New  Siberian  Islands  safer  and  earlier  in 
the  year  from  that  side.  On  further  investigation  I  found  that  this  was 
doubtful,  and  I  decided  on  the  shorter  route  through  the  Kara  Sea  and 
north  of  Cape  Cheliuskin. 


20  FARTHEST  NORTH 

judging  by  the  accounts  of  the  ice  conditions  north  of  Bering 
Strait  given  by  American  whalers,  will  probably  be  in  August 
or  the  beginning  of  September. 

"When  the  right  time  has  arrived,  then  we  shall  plough  our 
way  in  amongst  the  ice  as  far  as  we  can.  We  may  venture  to 
conclude  from  the  experience  of  the  Jeannette  expedition  that  we 
should  thus  be  able  to  reach  a  point  north  of  the  most  northerly 
of  the  New  Siberian  Islands.  De  Long  notes  in  his  journal  that 
while  the  expedition  was  drifting  in  the  ice  north  of  Bennett 
Island  they  saw  all  around  them  a  dark  '  water-sky ' — that  is  to 
say,  a  sky  which  gives  a  dark  reflection  of  open  water — indicating 
such  a  sea  as  would  be,  at  all  events,  to  some  extent  navigable  by 
a  strong  ice-ship.  Next,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  whole 
Jeannette  expedition  travelled  in  boats,  partly  in  open  water,  from 
Bennett  Island  to  the  Siberian  coast,  where,  as  we  know,  the 
majority  of  them  met  with  a  lamentable  end.  Nordenskiold  ad- 
vanced no  farther  northward  than  to  the  southernmost  of  the 
islands  mentioned  (at  the  end  of  August),  but  here  he  found  the 
water  everywhere  open. 

"  It  is,  therefore,  probable  that  we  may  be  able  to  push  our 
way  up  past  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  and  that  accomplished  we 
shall  be  right  in  the  current  which  carried  the  Jeannette.  The 
thing  will  then  be  simply  to  force  our  way  northward  till  we  are 
set  fast.* 

"Next  we  must  choose  a  fitting  place  and  moor  the  ship  firmly 
between  suitable  ice-floes,  and  then  let  the  ice  screw  itself  to- 
gether as  much  as  it  likes — the  more  the  better.  The  ship  will 
simply  be  hoisted  up  and  will  ride  safely  and  firmly.  It  is  possi- 
ble it  may  heel  over  to  a  certain  extent  under  this  pressure ;  but 
that  will  scarcely  be  of  much  importance.  .  .  .  Henceforth  the 
current  will  be  our  motive  power,  while-  our  ship,  no  longer  a 
means  of  transport,  will  become  a  barrack,  and  we  shall  have 
ample  time  for  scientific  observations. 

"  In  this  manner  the  expedition  will,  as  above  indicated,  proba- 
bly drift  across  the  Pole  and  onward  to  the  sea  between  Green- 

*  As  subsequently  stated  in  my  lecture  in  London  {Geographical 
Society's  Journal,  p.  i8),  I  purposed  to  go  north  along  the  west  coast  of 
the  New  Siberian  Islands,  as  I  thought  that  the  warm  water  coming  from 
the  Lena  would  keep  the  sea  open  here. 


INTRODUCTION  21 

land  and  Spitzbergen.  And  when  we  get  down  to  the  80th  degree 
of  latitude,  or  even  sooner,  if  it  is  summer,  there  is  every  likeli- 
hood of  our  getting  the  ship  free  and  being  able  to  sail  home. 
Should  she,  however,  be  lost  before  this — which  is  certainly  pos- 
sible, though,  as  I  think,  very  unlikely  if  she  is  constructed  in  the 
way  above  described — the  expedition  will  not,  therefore,  be  a  fail- 
ure, for  our  homeward  course  must  in  any  case  follow  the  polar 
current  on  to  the  North  Atlantic  basin  ;  there  is  plenty  of  ice  to 
drift  on,  and  of  this  means  of  locomotion  we  have  already  had 
experience.  If  the  Jeanyiette  expedition  had  had  sufficient  provi- 
sions, and  had  remained  on  the  ice-floe  on  which  the  relics  were 
ultimately  found,  the  result  would  doubtless  have  been  very  dif- 
ferent from  what  it  was.  Our  ship  cannot  possibly  founder  under 
the  ice-pressure  so  quickly  but  that  there  would  be  time  enough 
to  remove,  with  all  our  equipment  and  provisions,  to  a  substan- 
tial ice-floe,  which  we  should  have  selected  beforehand  in  view  of 
such  a  contingency.  Here  the  tents,  which  we  should  take  with 
us  to  meet  this  contingency,  would  be  pitched.  In  order  to  pre- 
serve our  provisions  and  other  equipments,  we  should  not  place 
them  all  together  on  one  spot,  but  should  distribute  them  over  the 
ice,  laying  them  on  rafts  of  planks  and  beams  which  we  should 
have  built  on  it.  This  will  obviate  the  possibility  of  any  of  our 
equipments  sinking,  even  should  the  floe  on  which  they  are  break 
up.  The  crew  of  the  Hansay  who  drifted  for  more  than  half  a 
year  along  the  east  coast  of  Greenland,  in  this  way  lost  a  great 
quantity  of  their  supplies. 

"  For  the  success  of  such  an  expedition  two  things  only  are 
required — viz.,  good  clothmg  and  plenty  of  food^  and  these  we  can 
take  care  to  have  with  us.  We  should  thus  be  able  to  remain  as 
safely  on  our  ice-floe  as  in  our  ship,  and  should  advance  just  as 
well  towards  the  Greenland  Sea.  The  only  difference  would  be 
that  on  our  arrival  there,  instead  of  proceeding  by  ship,  we  must 
take  to  our  boats,  which  would  convey  us  just  as  safely  to  the 
nearest  harbor. 

"Thus  it  seems  to  me  there  is  an  overwhelming  probability 
that  such  an  expedition  would  be  successful.  Many  people,  how- 
ever, will  certainly  urge  :  "  In  all  currents  there  are  eddies  and 
backwaters  ;  suppose,  then,  you  get  into  one  of  these,  or  perhaps 
stumble  on  an  unknown  land  up  by  the  Pole  and  remain  lying 
fast  there,  how  will  you  extricate  yourselves  ?'    To  this  I  would 


22  FARTHEST  NORTH 

merely  reply,  as  concerns  the  backwater,  that  we  must  get  out 
of  it  just  as  surely  as  we  got  into  it,  and  that  we  shall  have  provi- 
sions for  five  years.  And  as  regards  the  other  possibility,  we 
should  hail  such  an  occurrence  with  delight,  for  no  spot  on  earth 
could  well  be  found  of  greater  scientific  interest.  On  this  newly 
discovered  land  we  should  make  as  many  observations  as  possible. 
Should  time  wear  on  and  find  us  still  unable  to  get  our  ship  into 
the  set  of  the  current  again,  there  would  be  nothing  for  it  but  to 
abandon  her,  and  with  our  boats  and  necessary  stores  to  search 
for  the  nearest  current,  in  order  to  drift  in  the  manner  before 
mentioned. 

"  How  long  may  we  suppose  such  a  voyage  to  occupy?  As  we 
have  already  seen,  the  relics  of  Xh^Jcannette  expedition  at  most 
took  two  years  to  drift  along  the  same  course  down  to  the  8oth 
degree  of  latitude,  where  we  may,  with  tolerable  certainty,  count 
upon  getting  loose.  This  would  correspond  to  a  rate  of  about 
two  miles  per  day  of  twenty-four  hours. 

"  We  may,  therefore,  not  unreasonably  calculate  on  reaching 
this  point  in  the  course  of  two  years ;  and  it  is  also  possible  that 
the  ship  might  be  set  free  in  a  higher  latitude  than  is  here  con- 
templated. Five  years'  provisions  must  therefore  be  regarded 
as  ample. 

"  But  is  not  the  cold  in  winter  in  these  regions  so  severe  that 
life  will  be  impossible  ?  There  is  no  probability  of  this.  We  can 
even  say  with  tolerable  certainty  that  at  the  Pole  itself  it  is  not 
so  cold  in  winter  as  it  is  (for  example)  in  the  north  of  Siberia,  an 
inhabited  region,  or  on  the  northern  part  of  the  west  coast  of 
Greenland,  which  is  also  inhabited.  Meteorologists  have  cal- 
culated that  the  mean  temperature  at  the  Pole  in  January  is 
about  —zz  Fahr.  (  —  36°  C),  while,  for  example,  in  Yakutsk  it  is 
-43°  Fahr.  (-42°  C),  and  in  Verkhoyansk  -54°  Fahr.  (-48°  C). 
We  should  remember  that  the  Pole  is  probably  covered  with  sea, 
radiation  from  which  is  considerably  less  than  from  large  land 
surfaces,  such  as  the  plains  of  North  Asia.  The  polar  region  has, 
therefore,  in  all  probability  a  marine  climate  with  comparatively 
mild  winters,  but,  by  way  of  a  set-off,  with  cold  summers. 

"  The  cold  in  these  regions  cannot,  then,  be  any  direct  ob- 
stacle. One  difficulty,  however,  which  many  former  expeditions 
have  had  to  contend  against,  and  which  must  not  be  overlooked 
here,  is  scurvy.  During  a  sojourn  of  any  long  duration  in  so  cold 


INTRODUCTION  23 

a  climate  this  malady  will  unquestionably  show  itself  unless  one 
is  able  to  obtain  fresh  provisions.  I  think,  however,  it  may  be 
safely  assumed  that  the  very  various  and  nutritious  foods  now 
available  in  the  form  of  hermetically  closed  preparations  of  dif- 
ferent kinds,  together  with  the  scientific  knowledge  we  now 
possess  of  the  food-stuffs  necessary  for  bodily  health,  will  enable 
us  to  hold  this  danger  at  a  distance.  Nor  do  I  think  that  there 
will  be  an  entire  absence  of  fresh  provisions  in  the  waters  we 
shall  travel  through.  Polar  bears  and  seals  we  may  safely  cal- 
culate on  finding  far  to  the  north,  if  not  up  to  the  very  Pole.  It 
may  be  mentioned  also  that  the  sea  must  certainly  contain  quan- 
tities of  small  animals  that  might  serve  as  food  in  case  of  neces- 
sity. 

"  It  will  be  seen  that  whatever  difficulties  may  be  suggested  as 
possible,  they  are  not  so  great  but  that  they  can  be  surmounted 
by  means  of  a  careful  equipment,  a  fortunate  selection  of  the 
members  of  the  expedition,  and  judicious  leadership ;  so  that 
good  results  may  be  hoped  for.  We  may  reckon  on  getting  out 
into  the  sea  between  Greenland  and  Spitzbergen  as  surely  as  we 
can  reckon  on  getting  into  the  Jeannette  current  off  the  New 
Siberian  Islands. 

"  But  if  this  Jeannette  current  does  not  pass  right  across  the 
Pole?  If,  for  instance,  it  passes  between  the  Pole  and  Franz 
Josef  Land,  as  above  intimated?  What  will  the  expedition  do 
in  that  case  to  reach  the  earth's  axis  ?  Yes,  this  may  seem  to  be 
the  Achilles'  heel  of  the  undertaking ;  for  should  the  ship  be 
carried  past  the  Pole  at  more  than  one  degree's  distance,  it  may 
then  appear  extremely  imprudent  and  unsafe  to  abandon  it  in 
mid -current  and  face  such  a  long  sledge- journey  over  uneven 
sea-ice,  which  itself  is  drifting.  Even  if  one  reached  the  Pole  it 
would  be  very  uncertain  whether  one  could  find  the  ship  again 
on  returning.  ...  I  am,  however,  of  opinion  that  this  is  of 
small  import :  it  is  not  to  seek  for  the  exact  mathematical  point 
that  forms  the  northern  extremity  of  the  earth's  axis  that  we  set 
oiit^  for  to  reach  this  poiftt  is  intrinsically  of  s^nall  moment.  Our 
object  is  to  investigate  the  great  nnktwwn  region  that  surrounds 
the  Pole,  and  these  investigations  will  be  equally  important,  from 
a  scientific  point  of  view,  whether  the  expedition  passes  over  the 
polar  point  itself  or  at  some  distance  from  it." 

In  this  lecture  I  had  submitted  the  most  important  data  on 


24  FARTHEST  NORTH 

which  my  plan  was  founded ;  but  in  the  following  years  I  con- 
tinued to  study  the  conditions  of  the  northern  waters,  and  re- 
ceived ever  fresh  proofs  that  my  surmise  of  a  drift  right  across 
the  Polar  sea  was  correct.  In  a  lecture  delivered  before  the 
Geographical  Society  in  Christiania,  on  September  28th,  1892,  I 
alluded  to  some  of  these  inquiries.*  I  laid  stress  on  the  fact 
that  on  considering  the  thickness  and  extent  of  the  drift-ice  in 
the  seas  on  both  sides  of  the  Pole,  one  cannot  but  be  struck  by 
the  fact  that  while  the  ice  on  the  Asiatic  side,  north  of  the  Si- 
berian coast,  is  comparatively  thin  (the  ice  in  which  tho,  Jeati- 
nette  drifted  was,  as  a  rule,  not  more  than  from  7  to  10  feet 
thick),  that  on  the  other  side,  which  comes  drifting  from  the 
north  in  the  sea  between  Greenland  and  Spitzbergen,  is  remark- 
ably massive,  and  this  notwithstanding  that  the  sea  north  of 
Siberia  is  one  of  the  coldest  tracts  on  the  earth.  This,  I  sug- 
gested, could  be  explained  only  on  the  assumption  that  the  ice 
is  constantly  drifting  from  the  Siberian  coast,  and  that,  while 
passing  through  the  unknown  and  cold  sea  there  is  time  for  it  to 
attain  its  enormous  thickness,  partly  by  freezing,  partly  by  the 
constant  packing  that  takes  place  as  the  floes  screw  themselves 
together. 

I  further  mentioned  in  the  same  lecture  that  the  mud  found 
on  this  drift-ice  seemed  to  point  to  a  Siberian  origin.  I  did  not 
at  the  time  attach  great  importance  to  this  fact,  but  on  a  further 
examination  of  the  deposits  I  had  collected  during  my  Greenland 
expedition  it  appeared  that  it  could  scarcely  come  from  anywhere 
else  but  Siberia.  On  investigating  its  mineralogical  composi- 
tion, Dr.  Tornebohm,  of  Stockholm,  came  to  the  conclusion,  that 
the  greater  part  of  it  must  be  Siberian  river  mud.  He  found 
about  twenty  different  minerals  in  it.  "This  quantity  of  dis- 
similar constituent  mineral  parts  appears  to  me,"  he  says,  "  to 
point  to  the  fact  that  they  take  their  origin  from  a  very  exten- 
sive tract  of  land,  and  one's  thoughts  naturally  turn  to  Siberia." 
Moreover,  more  than  half  of  this  mud  deposit  consisted  of  hu- 
mus, or  boggy  soil.  More  interesting,  however,  than  the  actual 
mud  deposit  were  the  diatoms  found  in  it,  which  were  examined 
by  Professor  Cleve,  of  Upsala,  who  says  :  "  These  diatoms  are 
decidedly  marine  {i.  e.^  take  their  origin  from  salt  -  water),  with 

*  See  the  Society's  Annual,  III.,  1892,  p.  91. 


INTRODUCTION  25 

some  few  fresh -water  forms  which  the  wind  has  carried  from 
land.  The  diatomous  flora  in  this  dust  is  quite  peculiar,  and  un- 
like what  I  have  found  in  many  thousands  of  other  specimens, 
with  one  exception,  with  which  it  shows  the  most  complete  con- 
formity—  namely,  a  specimen  which  was  collected  by  Kellman 
during  the  Vega  expedition  on  an  ice-floe  off  Cape  Wankarem, 
near  Bering  Strait.  Species  and  varieties  were  perfectly  iden- 
tical in  both  specimens."  Cleve  was  able  to  distinguish  sixteen 
species  of  diatoms.  All  these  appear  also  in  the  dust  from  Cape 
Wankarem,  and  twelve  of  them  have  been  found  at  that  place 
alone,  and  nowhere  else  in  all  the  world.  This  was  a  notable  co- 
incidence between  two  such  remote  points,  and  Cleve  is  certainly 
right  in  saying  :  "  It  is,  indeed,  quite  remarkable  that  the  diato- 
mous flora  on  the  ice-floes  off  Bering  Strait  and  on  the  east  coast 
of  Greenland  should  so  completely  resemble  each  other,  and 
should  be  so  utterly  unlike  all  others ;  it  points  to  an  open  con- 
nection between  the  seas  east  of  Greenland  and  north  of  Asia." 
"Through  this  open  connection,"  I  continued  in  my  address, 
"drift-ice  is,  therefore,  yearly  transported  across  the  unknown 
Polar  Sea.  On  this  same  drift-ice^  and  by  the  same  route^  it  must 
be  no  less  possible  to  transport  an  expedition'' 

When  this  plan  was  propounded  it  certainly  met  with  ap- 
proval in  various  quarters,  especially  here  at  home.  Thus  it 
was  vigorously  supported  by  Professor  Mohn,  who,  indeed,  by 
his  explanation  of  the  drift  of  thQ  Jea7tnette  relics,  had  given  the 
original  impulse  to  it.  But  as  might  be  expected,  it  met  with 
opposition  in  the  main,  especially  from  abroad,  while  most  of  the 
polar  travellers  and  Arctic  authorities  declared,  more  or  less 
openly,  that  it  was  sheer  madness.  The  year  before  we  set  out, 
in  November,  1892,  I  laid  it  before  the  Geographical  Society  in 
London  in  a  lecture  at  which  the  principal  Arctic  travellers  of 
England  were  present.  After  the  lecture  a  discussion  took  place,* 
which  plainly  showed  how  greatly  I  was  at  variance  with  the 
generally  accepted  opinions  as  to  the  conditions  in  the  interior 
of  the  Polar  Sea,  the  principles  of  ice  navigation,  and  the  meth- 
ods that  a  polar  expedition  ought  to  pursue.  The  eminent 
Arctic  traveller,  Admiral  Sir  Leopold  M'Clintock,  opened  the 

*  Both  my  lecture  and  the  discussion  are  printed  in  The  Geographical 
Journal,  London,  1893,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  1-32. 


26  FARTHEST  NORTH 

discussion  with  the  remark  :  "  I  think  I  may  say  this  is  the  most 
adventurous  programme  ever  brought  under  the  notice  of  the 
Royal  Geographical  Society."  He  allowed  that  the  facts  spoke 
in  favor  of  the  correctness  of  my  theories,  but  was  in  a  high  de- 
gree doubtful  whether  my  plan  could  be  realized.  He  was  es- 
pecially of  opinion  that  the  danger  of  being  crushed  in  the  ice 
was  too  great.  A  ship  could,  no  doubt,  be  built  that  would  be 
strong  enough  to  resist  the  ice  pressure  in  summer ;  but  should 
it  be  exposed  to  this  pressure  in  the  winter  months,  when  the  ice 
resembled  a  mountain  frozen  fast  to  the  ship's  side,  he  thought 
that  the  possibility  of  being  forced  up  on  the  surface  of  the  ice 
was  very  remote.  He  firmly  believed,  as  did  the  majority  of  the 
others,  that  there  was  no  probability  of  ever  seeing  the  Fram 
again  when  once  she  had  given  herself  over  to  the  pitiless  polar 
ice,  and  concluded  by  saying,  "  I  wish  the  doctor  full  and  speedy 
success.  But  it  will  be  a  great  relief  to  his  many  friends  in  Eng- 
land when  he  returns,  and  more  particularly  to  those  who  have 
had  experience  of  the  dangers  at  all  times  inseparable  from  ice 
navigation,  even  in  regions  not  quite  so  far  north." 

Admiral  Sir  George  Nares  said  : 

"The  adopted  Arctic  axioms  for  successfully  navigating  an 
icy  region  are  that  it  is  absolutely  necessary  to  keep  close  to  a 
coast  line,  and  that  the  farther  we  advance  from  civilization  the 
more  desirable  it  is  to  insure  a  reasonably  safe  line  of  retreat. 
Totally  disregarding  these,  the  ruling  principle  of  the  voyage  is 
that  the  vessel — on  which,  if  the  voyage  is  in  any  way  successful, 
the  sole  future  hope  of  the  party  will  depend — is  to  be  pushed 
deliberately  into  the  pack-ice.  Thus,  her  commander — in  lieu  of 
retaining  any  power  over  her  future  movements — will  be  forced 
to  submit  to  be  drifted  helplessly  about  in  agreement  with  the 
natural  movements  of  the  ice  in  which  he  is  imprisoned.  Sup- 
posing the  sea  currents  are  as  stated,  the  time  calculated  as 
necessary  to  drift  with  the  pack  across  the  polar  area  is  several 
years,  during  which  time,  unless  new  lands  are  met  with,  the  ice 
near  the  vessel  will  certainly  never  be  quiet  and  the  ship  herself 
never  free  from  the  danger  of  being  crushed  by  ice  presses.  To 
guard  against  this  the  vessel  is  said  to  be  unusually  strong,  and 
of  a  special  form  to  enable  her  to  rise  when  the  ice  presses  against 
her  sides.  This  idea  is  no  novelty  whatever ;  but  when  once 
frozen  into  the  polar  pack  the  form  of  the  vessel  goes  for  nothing. 


INTRODUCTION  27 

She  is  hermetically  sealed  to,  and  forms  a  part  of,  the  ice  block 
surrounding  her.  The  form  of  the  ship  is  for  all  practical  pur- 
poses the  form  of  the  block  of  ice  in  which  she  is  frozen.  This 
is  a  matter  of  the  first  importance,  for  there  is  no  record  of  a 
vessel  frozen  into  the  polar  pack  having  been  disconnected  from 
the  ice,  and  so  rendered  capable  of  rising  under  pressure  as  a 
separate  body  detached  from  the  ice  block,  even  in  the  height  of 
summer.  In  the  event  of  the  destruction  of  the  vessel,  the 
boats — necessarily  fully  stored,  not  only  for  the  retreat,  but  for 
continuing  the  voyage  —  are  to  be  available.  This  is  well  in 
theory,  but  extremely  difficult  to  arrange  for  in  practice.  Prepa- 
ration to  abandon  the  vessel  is  the  one  thing  that  gives  us  the 
most  anxiety.  To  place  boats,  etc.,  on  the  ice,  packed  ready  for 
use,  involves  the  danger  of  being  separated  from  them  by  a 
movement  of  the  ice,  or  of  losing  them  altogether  should  a  sudden 
opening  occur.  If  we  merely  have  everything  handy  for  heaving 
over  the  side,  the  emergency  may  be  so  sudden  that  we  have  not 
time  to  save  anything.  .  .  ." 

As  regards  the  assumed  drift  of  the  polar  ice,  Nares  ex- 
pressed himself  on  the  whole  at  variance  with  me.  He  insist- 
ed that  the  drift  was  essentially  determined  by  the  prevailing 
winds : 

"  As  to  the  probable  direction  of  the  drift,  the  Fram^  starting 
from  near  the  mouth  of  the  Lena  River,  may  expect  to  meet  the 
main  pack  not  farther  north  than  about  latitude  76°  30'.  I  doubt 
her  getting  farther  north  before  she  is  beset ;  but  taking  an  ex- 
treme case,  and  giving  her  60  miles  more,  she  will  then  only  be 
in  the  same  latitude  as  Cape  Chelyuskin,  730  miles  from  the  Pole, 
and  about  600  miles  from  my  supposed  limit  of  the  effective 
homeward  -  carrying  ocean  current.  After  a  close  study  of  all 
the  information  we  possess,  I  think  the  wind  will  be  more  likely 
to  drift  hex  towards  the  west  than  towards  the  east.  With  an 
ice-encumbered  sea  north  of  her,  and  more  open  water  or  newly 
made  ice  to  the  southward,  the  chances  are  small  for  a  northerly 
drift,  at  all  events  at  first,  and  afterwards  I  know  of  no  natural 
forces  that  will  carry  the  vessel  in  any  reasonable  time  much 
farther  from  the  Siberian  coast  than  the  Jeannette  was  carried ; 
and  during  the  whole  of  this  time,  unless  protected  by  newly 
discovered  lands,  she  will  be  to  all  intents  and  purposes  immova- 
bly sealed  up  in  the  pack  and  exposed  to  its  well-known  dangers. 


28  FARTHEST  NORTH 

There  is  no  doubt  that  there  is  an  ocean  connection  across  the 
area  proposed  to  be  explored." 

In  one  point,  however,  Nares  was  able  to  declare  himself  in 
agreement  with  me.  It  was  the  idea  "  that  the  principal  aim  of 
all  such  voyages  is  to  explore  the  unknown  polar  regions,  not  to 
reach  exactly  that  mathematical  point  in  which  the  axis  of  our 
globe  has  its  northern  termination."* 

Sir  Allen  Young  says,  among  other  things :  "  Dr.  Nansen 
assumes  the  blank  space  around  the  axis  of  the  earth  to  be  a 
pool  of  water  or  ice ;  I  think  the  great  danger  to  contend  with 
will  be  the  land  in  nearly  every  direction  near  the  Pole.  Most 
previous  navigators  seem  to  have  continued  seeing  land  again 
and  again  farther  and  farther  north.  These  Jeannette  relics  may 
have  drifted  through  narrow  channels,  and  thus  finally  arrived 
at  their  destination,  and  I  think  it  would  be  an  extremely  dan- 
gerous thing  for  the  ship  to  drift  through  them,  where  she  might 
impinge  upon  the  land  and  be  kept  for  years." 

With  regard  to  the  ship's  form,  Sir  Allen  Young  says :  "  I  do 
not  think  the  form  of  the  ship  is  any  great  point,  for,  when  a  ship 
is  fairly  nipped,  the  question  is  if  there  is  any  swell  or  movement 
of  the  ice  to  lift  the  ship.  If  there  is  no  swell  the  ice  must  go 
through  her,  whatever  material  she  is  made  of." 

One  or  two  authorities,  however,  expressed  themselves  in  favor 
of  my  plan.  One  was  the  Arctic  traveller  Sir  E.  Inglefield,  an- 
other Captain  (now  Admiral)  Wharton,  Director  of  the  Hydro- 
graphic  Department  of  England. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Geographical  Society,  Admiral  Sir  George  H. 
Richards  says,  on  the  occasion  of  my  address  :  "  I  regret  to  have 
to  speak  discouragingly  of  this  project,  but  I  think  that  any  one 
who  can  speak  with  authority  ought  to  speak  plainly  where  so 
much  may  be  at  stake." 

With  regard  to  the  currents,  he  says :  "  I  believe  there  is  a 
constant  outflow  (I  prefer  this  word  to  current)  from  the  north, 
in  consequence  of  the  displacement  of  the  water  from  the  region 
of  the  Pole  by  the  ice-cap  which  covers  it,  intensified  in  its  densi- 

*  After  our  return  home,  Admiral  Nares,  in  the  most  chivalrous  fashion, 
sent  me  a  letter  of  congratulation,  in  which  he  said  that  the  Pram's  re- 
markable voyage  over  the  Polar  Sea  proved  that  my  theory  was  correct 
and  his  scepticism  unfounded. 


INTRODUCTION  29 

ty  by  the  enormous  weight  of  snow  accumulated  on  its  surface." 
This  outflow  takes  place  on  all  sides,  he  thinks,  from  the  polar 
basin,  but  should  be  most  pronounced  in  the  tract  between  the 
western  end  of  the  Parry  Islands  and  Spitzbergen  ;  and  with  this 
outflow  all  previous  expeditions  have  had  to  contend.  He  does 
not  appear  to  make  any  exception  as  to  the  Tegcthoff  or 
/eannette,  and  can  find  no  reason  "for  believing  that  a  current 
sets  north  over  the  Pole  from  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  which 
Dr.  Nansen  hopes  for  and  believes  in.  .  .  .  It  is  my  opinion  that 
when  really  within  what  may  be  called  the  inner  circle,  say  about 
78°  of  latitude,  there  is  little  current  of  any  kind  that  would  in- 
fluence a  ship  in  the  close  ice  that  must  be  expected  ;  it  is  when 
we  get  outside  this  circle  —  round  the  corners,  as  it  were  —  into 
the  straight,  wide  channels,  where  the  ice  is  loose,  that  we  are 
really  affected  by  its  influence,  and  here  the  ice  gets  naturally 
thinner  and  more  decayed  in  autumn  and  less  dangerous  to  a 
ship.  Within  the  inner  circle  probably  not  much  of  the  ice 
escapes ;  it  becomes  older  and  heavier  every  year,  and  in  all  prob- 
ability completely  blocks  the  navigation  of  ships  entirely.  This 
is  the  kind  of  ice  which  was  brought  to  Nares's  winter  quarters  at 
the  head  of  Smith  Sound  in  about  82°  30'  north ;  and  this  is  the 
ice  which  Markham  struggled  against  in  his  sledge  journey,  and 
against  which  no  human  power  could  prevail." 

He  attached  "no  real  importance  "  to  the  /cabinet  ie  relics.  ^'  If 
found  in  Greenland,  they  may  well  have  drifted  down  on  a  floe 
from  the  neighborhood  of  Smith  Sound,  from  some  of  the  Amer- 
ican expeditions  which  went  to  Greely's  rescue."  "  It  may  also 
well  be  that  some  of  De  Long's  printed  or  written  documents 
in  regard  to  his  equipment  may  have  been  taken  out  by  thes» 
expeditions,  and  the  same  may  apply  to  the  other  articles."  He 
does  not,  however,  expressly  say  whether  there  was  any  indica- 
tion of  such  having  been  the  case. 

In  a  similar  letter  to  the  Geographical  Society  the  renowned 
botanist  Sir  Joseph  Hooker  says  :  "Dr.  Nansen's  project  is  a  wide 
departure  from  any  hitherto  put  in  practice  for  the  purpose  of 
polar  discovery,  and  it  demands  the  closest  scrutiny  both  on  this 
account  and  because  it  is  one  involving  the  greatest  peril.  .  .  . 

"  From  my  experience  of  three  seasons  in  the  Antarctic  regions 
I  do  not  think  that  a  ship,  of  whatever  build,  could  long  resist 
destruction  if  committed  to  the  movements  of  the  pack  in  the 


30  FARTHEST  NORTH 

polar  regions.  One  built  as  strongly  as  the  Fram  would  no  doubt 
resist  great  pressures  in  the  open  pack,  but  not  any  pressure  or 
repeated  pressures,  and  still  less  the  thrust  of  the  pack  if  driven 
with  or  by  it  against  land.  The  lines  of  the  Fram  might  be  of 
service  so  long  as  she  was  on  an  even  keel  or  in  ice  of  no  great 
height  above  the  water-line ;  but  amongst  floes  and  bergs,  or 
when  thrown  on  her  beam-ends,  they  would  avail  her  nothing." 

If  the  Fram  were  to  drift  towards  the  Greenland  coast  or  the 
American  polar  islands  he  is  of  opinion  that,  supposing  a  landing 
could  be  effected,  there  would  be  no  probability  at  all  of  salva- 
tion. "  Assuming  that  a  landing  could  be  effected,  it  must  be  on 
an  inhospitable  and  probably  ice-bound  coast,  or  on  the  moun- 
tainous ice  of  a  palaeocrystic  sea.  With  a  certainly  enfeebled 
and  probably  reduced  ship's  company,  there  could,  in  such  a  case, 
be  no  prospect  of  reaching  succor.  Putting  aside  the  possi]pility 
of  scurvy  (against  which  there  is  no  certain  prophylactic),  have 
the  depressing  influence  on  the  minds  of  the  crew  resulting  from 
long  confinement  in  very  close  quarters  during  many  months  of 
darkness,  extreme  cold,  inaction,  ennui,  constant  peril,  and  the 
haunting  uncertainty  as  to  the  future  been  sufficiently  taken 
into  account  ?  Perfunctory  duties  and  occupations  do  not  avert 
the  effects  of  these  conditions  ;  they  hardly  mitigate  them,  and 
have  been  known  to  aggravate  them.  I  do  not  consider  the  at- 
tainment of  Dr.  Nansen's  object  by  the  means  at  his  disposal  to 
be  impossible ;  but  I  do  consider  that  the  success  of  such  an  en- 
terprise would  not  justify  the  exposure  of  valuable  lives  for  its 
attainment." 

In  America,  General  Greely,  the  leader  of  the  ill-fated  expedi- 
tion generally  known  by  his  name  (1881-84),  wrote  an  article  in 
The  Forum  (August,  1891),  in  which  he  says,  among  other  things : 
"  It  strikes  me  as  almost  incredible  that  the  plan  here  advanced 
by  Dr.  Nansen  should  receive  encouragement  or  support.  It 
seems  to  me  to  be  based  on  fallacious  ideas  as  to  physical  con- 
ditions within  the  polar  regions,  and  to  foreshadow,  if  attempted, 
barren  results,  apart  from  the  suffering  and  death  among  its 
members.  Dr.  Nansen,  as  far  as  I  know,  has  had  no  Arctic  ser- 
vice ;  his  crossing  of  Greenland,  however  difficult,  is  no  more 
polar  work  than  the  scaling  of  Mount  St.  Elias.  It  is  doubtful 
if  any  hydrographer  would  treat  seriously  his  theory  of  polar 
currents,  or  if  any  Arctic  traveller  would   indorse  the  whole 


INTRODUCTION  31 

scheme.  There  are,  perhaps,  a  dozen  men  whose  Arctic  service 
has  been  such  that  the  positive  support  of  this  plan  by  even  a 
respectable  minority  would  entitle  it  to  consideration  and  con- 
fidence. These  men  are  :  Admiral  M'Clintock,  Richards,  Collin- 
son,  and  Nares,  and  Captain  Markham  of  the  Royal  Navy,  Sir 
Allen  Young  and  Leigh  -  Smith  of  England,  Koldewey  of  Ger- 
many, Payer  of  Austria,  Nordenskiold  of  Sweden,  and  Melville 
in  our  own  country.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  asserting  that  no 
two  of  these  believe  in  the  possibility  of  Nansen's  first  proposi- 
tion— to  build  a  vessel  capable  of  living  or  navigating  in  a  heavy 
Arctic  pack,  into  which  it  is  proposed  to  put  his  ship.  The  sec- 
ond proposition  is  even  more  hazardous,  involving  as  it  does  a 
drift  of  more  than  2000  miles  in  a  straight  line  through  an  un- 
known region,  during  which  the  party  in  its  voyage  (lasting  two 
or  more  years,  we  are  told)  would  take  only  boats  along,  encamp 
on  an  iceberg,  and  live  there  while  floating  across." 

After  this  General  Greely  proceeds  to  prove  the  falsity  of  all 
my  assumptions.  Respecting  the  objects  from  the  Jeannette,  he 
says  plainly  that  he  does  not  believe  in  them.  "  Probably  some 
drift  articles  were  found,"  he  says,  "and  it  would  seem  more 
reasonable  to  trace  them  to  the  Porteiis^  which  was  wrecked  in 
Smith  Sound,  about  1000  miles  north  of  Julianehaab.  ...  It  is 
further  important  to  note  that,  if  the  articles  were  really  from 
ihQ  Jeannettc\  the  nearest  route  would  have  been,  not  across  the 
North  Pole  along  the  east  coast  of  Greenland,  but  down  Ken- 
nedy Channel  and  by  way  of  Smith  Sound  and  Baffin's  Bay,  as 
was  suggested,  as  to  drift  from  the  Porteus^ 

We  could  not  possibly  get  near  the  Pole  itself  by  a  long  dis- 
tance, says  Greely,  as  "  we  know  almost  as  well  as  if  we  had  seen 
it  that  there  is  in  the  unknown  regions  an  extensive  land  which 
is  the  birthplace  of  the  flat-topped  icebergs  or  the  palaeocrystic 
ice."  In  this  glacier-covered  land,  which  he  is  of  opinion  must 
be  over  300  miles  in  diameter,  and  which  sends  out  icebergs  to 
Greenland  as  well  as  to  Franz  Josef  Land,*  the  Pole  itself  must 
be  situated. 

"  As  to  the  indestructible  ship,"  he  says,  "  it  is  certainly  a  most 

*  With  reference  to  his  statement  that  Leigh-Smith  had  observed  such 
icebergs  on  the  northwest  coast  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  it  may  be  remarked 
that  no  human  being  has  ever  been  there. 


32  FARTHEST  NORTH 

desirable  thing  for  Dr.  Nansen."  His  meaning,  however,  is  that 
it  cannot  be  built.  "Dr.  Nansen  appears  to  believe  that  the 
question  of  building  on  such  lines  as  will  give  the  ship  the  great- 
est power  of  resistance  to  the  pressure  of  the  ice-floe  has  not 
been  thoroughly  and  satisfactorily  solved,  although  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  have  been  spent  for  this  end  by  the  seal  and 
whaling  companies  of  Scotland  and  Newfoundland."  As  an  au- 
thority he  quotes  Melville,  and  says  "  every  Arctic  navigator  of 
experience  agrees  with  Melville's  dictum  that  even  if  built  solid 
a  vessel  could  not  withstand  the  ice-pressure  of  the  heavy  polar 
pack."  To  my  assertion  that  the  ice  along  the  "  Siberian  coast 
is  comparatively  thin,  7  to  10  feet,"  he  again  quotes  Melville, 
who  speaks  of  ice  "50  feet  high,  etc."  (something  we  did  not  dis- 
cover, by-the-way,  during  the  whole  of  our  voyage). 

After  giving  still  more  conclusive  proofs  that  the  Frain  must 
inevitably  go  to  the  bottom  as  soon  as  it  should  be  exposed  to 
the  pressure  of  the  ice,  he  goes  on  to  refer  to  the  impossibility  of 
drifting  in  the  ice  with  boats.  And  he  concludes  his  article  with 
the  remark  that  "Arctic  exploration  is  sufficiently  credited  with 
rashness  and  danger  in  its  legitimate  and  sanctioned  methods 
without  bearing  the  burden  of  Dr.  Nansen's  illogical  scheme  of 
self-destruction." 

From  an  article  Greely  wrote  after  our  return  home,  in  Har- 
per's Weekly  for  September  19th,  1896,  he  appears  to  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  Jeannette  relics  were  genuine,  and  that 
the  assumption  of  their  drift  may  have  been  correct,  mentioning 
"  Melville,  Dall,  and  others  "  as  not  believing  in  them.  He  allows 
also  that  my  scheme  has  been  carried  out  in  spite  of  what  he 
had  said.  This  time  he  concludes  the  article  as  follows :  "  In 
contrasting  the  expeditions  of  De  Long  and  Nansen,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  allude  to  the  single  blemish  that  mars  the  otherwise 
magnificent  career  of  Nansen,  who  deliberately  quitted  his  com- 
rades on  the  ice-beset  ship  hundreds  of  miles  from  any  known 
land,  with  the  intention  of  not  returning,  but,  in  his  own  re- 
ported words,  *to  go  to  Spitzbergen,  where  he  felt  certain  to  find 
a  ship,'  600  miles  away.  De  Long  and  Ambler  had  such  a  sense 
of  honor  that  they  sacrificed  their  lives  rather  than  separate 
themselves  from  a  dying  man,  whom  their  presence  could  not 
save.  It  passes  comprehension  how  Nansen  could  have  thus  de- 
viated from  the  most  sacred  duty  devolving  on  the  commander 


INTRODUCTION  33 

of  a  naval  expedition.  The  safe  return  of  brave  Captain  Sver- 
drup  with  the  Fram  does  not  excuse  Nansen.  Sverdrup's  con- 
sistency, courage,  and  skill  in  holding  fast  to  the  Fram  and 
bringing  his  comrades  back  to  Norway  will  win  for  him,  in  the 
minds  of  many,  laurels  even  brighter  than  those  of  his  able  and 
accomplished  chief." 

One  of  the  few  who  publicly  gave  to  my  plan  the  support  of  his 
scientific  authority  was  Professor  Supan,  the  well-known  editor  of 
Petermann's  Mittheilungen.  In  an  article  in  this  journal  for  1891, 
(p.  191),  he  not  only  spoke  warmly  in  its  favor,  but  supported  it 
with  new  suggestions.  His  view  was  that  what  he  terms  the 
Arctic  "wind-shed"  probably  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year 
divides  the  unknown  polar  basin  into  two  parts.  In  the  eastern 
part  the  prevailing  winds  blow  towards  the  Bering  Sea,  while 
those  of  the  western  part  blow  towards  the  Atlantic.  He  thought 
that,  as  a  rule,  this  "wind-shed"  must  lie  near  the  Bering  Sea, 
and  that  the  prevailing  winds  in  the  tracts  we  purposed  travers- 
ing would  thus  favor  our  drift.  Our  experience  bore  out  Pro- 
fessor Supan's  theory  in  a  remarkable  degree. 
3 


CHAPTER   II 
PREPARATIONS  AND    EQUIPMENT 

Foolhardy  as  the  scheme  appeared  to  some,  it  received  pow- 
erful support  from  the  Norwegian  Government  and  the  King 
of  Norway.  A  bill  was  laid  before  the  Storthing  for  a  grant  of 
;£i  1,250  (200,000  kroner),  or  two -thirds  of  the  estimated  cost. 
The  remaining  third  I  hoped  to  be  able  to  raise  from  private 
sources,  as  I  had  already  received  promises  of  support  from  many 
quarters. 

On  June  30,  1890,  the  amount  demanded  was  voted  by  the 
Storthing,  which  thereby  expressed  its  wish  that  the  expedition 
should  be  a  Norwegian  one.  In  January,  1891,  Mr.  Thomas 
Fearnley,  Consul  Axel  Heiberg,  and  Mr.  Ellef  Ringnes  set  to 
work  to  collect  the  further  sum  required,  and  in  a  few  days  the 
amount  was  subscribed. 

His  Majesty  King  Oscar  gave  ;£"ii25  (20,000  kroner),  while 
private  individuals  in  Norway  gave  as  follows  : 

£       s-     d. 

Consul  Axel  Heiberg 562     10      o 

Ditto  (later) 393     15      o 

Mr.  Anton  Chr.  Houen 11 25      o      o 

Mr.  A.  Dick,  Hovik 281       5      o 

Ditto  (later) 393     15      o 

Mr.  Thomas  Fearnley  (merchant) 281       5      o 

Ditto  (later) 56      5      o 

Messrs.  Ringnes  &  Co.  (brewers) 281       5      o 

Ditto  (later) 56      5      o 

Mr.  A.  S.  Kjosterud  (merchant),  Drammen    ....    281       5      o 
Ditto  (later)    .    .      56      50 

Mr.  E.  Sundt  (merchant),  Bergen 281       5      o 

Consul  Westye  Egeberg 562     10      o 

Mr.  Halver  Schou 281       5      o 

Baron  Harald  Wedel  Jarlsberg  and  C.  Icivenskiold, 

Minister  of  State 562     10      o 

Consul  Nicolay  H.  Knudtzon,  Christiansund  ....    281       5      o 


PREPARATIONS  AND   EQUIPMENT  35 

Among  foreign  contributors  may  be  mentioned  the  Royal 
Geographical  Society  of  London,  which  showed  its  sympathy 
with  the  undertaking  by  subscribing  jQz^o  sterling.  Baron  Oscar 
Dickson  provided  at  his  own  cost  the  electric  installation  (dynamo 
accumulators  and  conductors). 

As  the  work  of  equipment  proceeded,  it  appeared  that  the  first 
estimate  was  not  sufficient.  This  was  especially  due  to  the  ship, 
which  was  estimated  to  cost  £^az1  io-^-  (150,000  kroner),  but  which 
came  to  nearly  double  that  sum.  Where  so  much  was  at  stake, 
I  did  not  think  it  right  to  study  the  cost  too  much,  if  it  seemed 
that  a  little  extra  outlay  could  insure  the  successful  result  of  the 
expedition.  The  three  gentlemen  who  had  taken  the  lead  in  the 
first  collection,  Mr.  Thomas  Fearnley,  Consul  Axel  Heiberg,  and 
Mr.  Ellef  Ringnes,  undertook  at  my  request  to  constitute  them- 
selves the  committee  of  the  expedition  and  to  take  charge  of  its 
pecuniary  affairs.  In  order  to  cover  a  portion  of  the  deficiency, 
they,  together  with  certain  members  of  the  Council  of  the  Geo- 
graphical Society,  set  on  foot  another  private  subscription  all 
over  the  country,  while  the  same  society  at  a  later  period  headed 
a  national  subscription.  By  these  means  about  ^956  5^.  was  col- 
lected in  all.  I  had  further  to  petition  the  Norwegian  Storthing 
for  an  additional  sum  of  ;^45oo,  when  our  national  assembly  again 
gave  proof  of  its  sympathy  with  the  undertaking  by  granting  the 
amount  named  (June  9,  1890). 

Finally  Consul  Axel  Heiberg  and  Mr.  Dick  subscribed  an  ad- 
ditional jQzZI  lo-^-  each,  while  I  myself  made  up  the  deficiency 
that  still  remained  on  the  eve  of  our  departure. 

Statement  of  Accounts  of  the  Expedition  on  Setting  Out,  1893. 

Income.  Kroner  Ore 

State  Grant 280,000  o 

H.M. The  King,  and  original  private  subscribers.     .     .  105,000  o 

Private  subscription  of  the  Geographical  Society     .     .  12,781  23 

National  subscription 2,287  23 

Interest  accrued 9,729  7^ 

Guaranteed  by  private  individuals 5'400  o 

Deficit  covered  by  A.  Heiberg  and  A.  Dick     ....  12,000  o 

Ditto            F.  Nansen 5400  o 

Geographical  Society,  London  (;£30o) 

H.  Simon,  Manchester  (^100) 

A  Norwegian  in  Riga  (1000  roubles)  and  others   .    •    .  9.278  62 

Total 444,339  36* 


Nearly  ;^25,ooo. 


36  FARTHEST  NORTH 

Expenditure. 

Kroner  Ore 

Wages  account 46,440  o 

Life-insurance  premiums  of  married  participators    .    .  5,361  90 

Instruments  account 12,978  68 

Ship  account 271,927  8 

Provisions  account 39»i72  98 

Expenses  account 10,612  38 

Equipment  account 57,846  34 

Total 444»339  36 


It  will  be  evident  from  the  plan  above  expounded  that  the 
most  important  point  in  the  equipment  of  our  expedition  was 
the  building  of  the  ship  that  was  to  carry  us  through  the  dreaded 
ice  regions.  The  construction  of  this  vessel  was  accordingly 
carried  out  with  greater  care,  probably,  than  has  been  devoted 
to  any  ship  that  has  hitherto  ploughed  the  Arctic  waters.  I 
found  in  the  well-known  ship-builder  Colin  Archer  a  man  who 
thoroughly  understood  the  task  I  set  him,  and  who  concentrated 
all  his  skill,  foresight,  and  rare  thoroughness  upon  the  work.  We 
must  gratefully  recognize  that  the  success  of  the  expedition  was 
in  no  small  degree  due  to  this  man. 

If  we  turn  our  attention  to  the  long  list  of  former  expeditions 
and  to  their  equipments,  it  cannot  but  strike  us  that  scarcely  a 
single  vessel  had  been  built  specially  for  the  purpose — in  fact,  the 
majority  of  explorers  have  not  even  provided  themselves  with 
vessels  which  were  originally  intended  for  ice  navigation.  This 
is  the  more  surprising  when  we  remember  the  sums  of  money 
that  have  been  lavished  on  the  equipment  of  some  of  these  ex- 
peditions. The  fact  is,  they  have  generally  been  in  such  a  hurry 
to  set  out  that  there  has  been  no  time  to  devote  to  a  more  care- 
ful equipment.  In  many  cases,  indeed,  preparations  were  not 
begun  until  a  few  months  before  the  expedition  sailed.  The 
present  expedition,  however,  could  not  be  equipped  in  so  short  a 
time ;  and  if  the  voyage  itself  took  three  years,  the  preparations 
took  no  less  time,  while  the  scheme  was  conceived  thrice  three 
years  earlier. 

Plan  after  plan  did  Archer  make  of  the  projected  ship ;  one 
model  after  another  was  prepared  and  abandoned. 

Fresh  improvements  were  constantly  being  suggested.    The 


PREPARATIONS  AND   EQUIPMENT  37 

form  we  finally  adhered  to  may  seem  to  many  people  by  no 
means  beautiful ;  but  that  it  is  well  adapted  to  the  ends  in  view 
I  think  our  expedition  has  fully  proved.  What  was  especially 
aimed  at  was,  as  mentioned  on  page  19,  to  give  the  ship  such 
sides  that  it  could  readily  be  hoisted  up  during  ice-pressure  with- 
out being  crushed  between  the  floes.  Greely,  Nares,  etc.,  etc., 
are  certainly  right  in  saying  that  this  is  nothing  new.  I  relied 
here  simply  on  the  sad  experiences  of  earlier  expeditions.  What, 
however,  may  be  said  to  be  new  is  the  fact  that  we  not  only 
realized  that  the  ship  ought  to  have  such  a  form,  but  that  we 
gave  it  that  form,  as  well  as  the  necessary  strength  for  resisting 
great  ice-pressure,  and  that  this  was  the  guiding  idea  in  the 
whole  work  of  construction.  Colin  Archer  is  quite  right  in 
what  he  says  in  an  article  in  the  Norsk  Tidsskrift  for  Sovcesen, 
1892  :  **  When  one  bears  in  mind  what  is,  so  to  speak,  the  fun- 
damental idea  of  Dr.  Nansen's  plan  in  his  North  Pole  Expedi- 
tion ...  it  will  readily  be  seen  that  a  ship  which  is  to  be  built 
with  exclusive  regard  to  its  suitability  for  this  object  must  differ 
essentially  from  any  other  previously  known  vessel.  .  .  . 

"  In  the  construction  of  the  ship  two  points  must  be  especial- 
ly studied:  (i)  that  the  shape  of  the  hull  be  such  as  to  offer  as 
small  a  vulnerable  target  as  possible  to  the  attacks  of  the  ice  ; 
and  (2)  that  it  be  built  so  solidly  as  to  be  able  to  withstand  the 
greatest  possible  pressure  from  without  in  any  direction  what- 
soever." 

And  thus  she  was  built,  more  attention  being  paid  to  making 
her  a  safe  and  warm  stronghold  while  drifting  in  the  ice  than  to 
endowing  her  with  speed  or  good  sailing  qualities. 

As  above  stated,  our  aim  was  to  make  the  ship  as  small  as 
possible.  The  reason  of  this  was  that  a  small  ship  is,  of  course, 
lighter  than  a  large  one,  and  can  be  made  stronger  in  proportion 
to  her  weight.  A  small  ship,  too,  is  better  adapted  for  naviga- 
tion among  the  ice  ;  it  is  easier  to  handle  her  in  critical  moments, 
and  to  find  a  safe  berth  for  her  between  the  packing  ice-floes.  I 
was  of  opinion  that  a  vessel  of  170  tons'  register  would  suffice,  but 
the  Fram  is  considerably  larger,  402  tons  gross  and  307  tons  net. 
It  was  also  our  aim  to  build  a  short  vessel,  which  could  thread 
her  way  easily  among  the  floes,  especially  as  great  length  would 
have  been  a  source  of  weakness  when  ice-pressure  set  in.  But  in 
order  that  such  a  ship,  which  has,  moreover,  very  sloping  sides, 


38  FARTHEST  NORTH 

shall  possess  the  necessary  carrying  capacity,  she  must  be  broad ; 
and  her  breadth  is,  in  fact,  about  a  third  of  her  length.  Another 
point  of  importance  was  to  make  the  sides  as  smooth  as  possible, 
without  projecting  edges,  while  plane  surfaces  were  as  much  as  pos- 
sible avoided  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  most  vulnerable  points, 
and  the  hull  assumed  a  plump  and  rounded  form.  Bow,  stern, 
and  keel — all  were  rounded  off  so  that  the  ice  should  not  be  able 
to  get  a  grip  of  her  anywhere.  For  this  reason,  too,  the  keel  was 
sunk  in  the  planking,  so  that  barely  three  inches  protruded,  and 
its  edges  were  rounded.  The  object  was  that  "  the  whole  craft 
should  be  able  to  slip  like  an  eel  out  of  the  embraces  of  the  ice." 

The  hull  was  made  pointed  fore  and  aft,  and  somewhat  re- 
sembles a  pilot-boat,  minus  the  keel  and  the  sharp  garboard 
strakes.  Both  ends  were  made  specially  strong.  The  stem  con- 
sists of  three  stout  oak  beams,  one  inside  the  other,  forming  an 
aggregate  thickness  of  4  feet  (1.25  m.)  of  solid  oak  ;  inside  the 
stem  are  fitted  solid  breasthooks  of  oak  and  iron  to  bind  the 
ship's  sides  together,  and  from  these  breasthooks  stays  are  placed 
against  the  pawl-bit.  The  bow  is  protected  by  an  iron  stem,  and 
across  it  are  fitted  transverse  bars  which  run  some  small  distance 
backwards  on  either  side,  as  is  usual  in  sealers. 

The  stern  is  of  a  special  and  somewhat  particular  construction. 
On  either  side  of  the  rudder  and  propeller  posts— which  are  sided 
24  inches  (65  cm.) — is  fitted  a  stout  oak  counter-timber  following 
the  curvature  of  the  stern  right  up  to  the  upper  deck,  and  form- 
ing, so  to  speak,  a  double  stern-post.  The  planking  is  carried 
outside  these  timbers,  and  the  stern  protected  by  heavy  iron 
plates  wrought  outside  the  planking. 

Between  these  two  counter-timbers  there  is  a  well  for  the 
screw,  and  also  one  for  the  rudder,  through  which  they  can  both 
be  hoisted  up  on  deck.  It  is  usual  in  sealers  to  have  the  screw 
arranged  in  this  way,  so  that  it  can  easily  be  replaced  by  a  spare 
screw  should  it  be  broken  by  the  ice.  But  such  an  arrangement 
is  not  usual  in  the  case  of  the  rudder,  and,  while  with  our  small 
crew,  and  with  the  help  of  the  capstan,  we  could  hoist  the  rudder 
on  deck  in  a  few  minutes  in  case  of  any  sudden  ice-pressure  or 
the  like,  I  have  known  it  take  sealers  with  a  crew  of  over  60  men 
several  hours,  or  even  a  whole  day,  to  ship  a  fresh  rudder. 

The  stern  is,  on  the  whole,  the  Achilles'  heel  of  ships  in  the 
polar  seas ;  here  the  ice  can  easily  inflict  great  damage,  for  in- 


PREPARATIONS  AND  EQUIPMENT  39 

stance,  by  breaking  the  rudder.  To  guard  against  this  danger,  our 
rudder  was  placed  so  low  down  as  not  to  be  visible  above  water, 
so  that  if  a  floe  should  strike  the  vessel  aft,  it  would  break  its 
force  against  the  strong  stern-part,  and  could  hardly  touch  the 
rudder  itself.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  notwithstanding  the  violent 
pressures  we  met  with,  we  never  suffered  any  injury  in  this  re- 
spect. 

Everything  was  of  course  done  to  make  the  sides  of  the  ship 
as  strong  as  possible.  The  frame  timbers  were  of  choice  Italian 
oak  that  had  originally  been  intended  for  the  Norwegian  navy, 
and  had  lain  under  cover  at  Horten  for  30  years.  They  were  all 
grown  to  shape,  and  lo-ii  inches  thick.  The  frames  were  built 
in  two  courses  or  tiers,  closely  wrought  together,  and  connected 
by  bolts,  some  of  which  were  riveted.  Over  each  joint  fiat  iron 
bands  were  placed.  The  frames  were  about  21  inches  (56  cm.) 
wide,  and  were  placed  close  together,  with  only  about  an  inch  or 
an  inch  and  a  half  between  ;  and  these  interstices  were  filled 
with  pitch  and  sawdust  mixed,  from  the  keel  to  a  little  distance 
above  the  water-line,  in  order  to  keep  the  ship  moderately  water- 
tight, even  should  the  outer  skin  be  chafed  through. 

The  outside  planking  consists  of  three  layers.  The  inner  one 
is  of  oak,  3  inches  thick,  fastened  with  spikes  and  carefully 
calked;  outside  this  another  oak  sheathing,  4  inches  thick,  fast- 
ened with  through  bolts  and  calked  ;  and  outside  these  comes 
the  ice-skin  of  green-heart,  which,  like  the  other  planking,  runs 
right  down  to  the  keel.  At  the  water-line  it  is  6  inches  thick, 
gradually  diminishing  towards  the  bottom  to  3  inches.  It  is  fast- 
ened with  nails  and  jagged  bolts,  and  not  with  through  bolts  ; 
so  that  if  the  ice  had  stripped  off  the  whole  of  the  ice  sheathing 
the  hull  of  the  ship  would  not  have  suffered  any  great  damage. 
The  lining  inside  the  frame  timbers  is  of  pitch-pine  planks,  some 
4,  some  8  inches  thick ;  it  was  also  carefully  calked  once  or  twice. 

The  total  thickness  of  the  ship's  sides  is,  therefore,  from  24 
to  28  inches  of  solid  water-tight  wood.  It  will  readily  be  under- 
stood that  such  a  ship's  side,  with  its  rounded  form,  would  of  it- 
self offer  a  very  good  resistance  to  the  ice  ;  but  to  make  it  still 
stronger  the  inside  was  shored  up  in  every  possible  way,  so  that 
the  hold  looks  like  a  cobweb  of  balks,  stanchions,  and  braces.  In 
the  first  place,  there  are  two  rows  of  beams,  the  upper  deck  and 
between  decks,  principally  of  solid  oak,  partly  also  of  pitch  pine ; 


40  FARTHEST  NORTH 

and  all  of  these  are  further  connected  with  each  other,  as  well  as 
with  the  sides  of  the  ship,  by  numerous  supports.  The  accom- 
panying diagrams  will  show  how  they  are  arranged.  The  diagonal 
stays  are,  of  course,  placed  as  nearly  as  possible  at  right  angles 
to  the  sides  of  the  ship,  so  as  to  strengthen  them  against  external 
pressure  and  to  distribute  its  force.  The  vertical  stanchions  be- 
tween both  tiers  of  beams  and  between  the  lower  beams  and 
keelson  are  admirably  adapted  for  this  latter  object.  All  are 
connected  with  strong  knees  and  iron  fastenings,  so  that  the 
whole  becomes,  as  it  were,  a  single  coherent  mass.  It  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that,  while  in  former  expeditions  it  was  thought 
sufficient  to  give  a  couple  of  beams  amidships  some  extra 
strengthening,  every  single  cross  beam  in  the  Fram  was  stayed 
in  the  manner  described  and  depicted. 

In  the  engine-room  there  was,  of  course,  no  space  for  supports 
in  the  middle,  but  in  their  place  two  stay  ends  were  fixed  on  either 
side.  The  beams  of  the  lower  deck  were  placed  a  little  under  the 
water-line,  where  the  ice  pressure  would  be  severest.  In  the  after- 
hold  these  beams  had  to  be  raised  a  little  to  give  room  for  the 
engine.  The  upper  deck  aft,  therefore,  was  somewhat  higher 
than  the  main  deck,  and  the  ship  had  a  poop  or  half-deck,  under 
which  were  the  cabins  for  all  the  members  of  the  expedition,  and 
also  the  cooking-galley.  Strong  iron  riders  were  worked  in  for 
the  whole  length  of  the  ship  in  the  spaces  between  the  beams, 
extending  in  one  length  from  the  clamp  under  the  upper  deck 
nearly  to  the  keelson.  The  keelson  was  in  two  tiers  and  about 
31  inches  (80  cm.)  high,  save  in  the  engine-room,  where  the  height 
of  the  room  only  allows  one  tier.  The  keel  consists  of  two  heavy 
American  elm  logs  14  inches  square  ;  but,  as  has  been  mentioned, 
so  built  in  that  only  3  inches  protrude  below  the  outer  planking. 
The  sides  of  the  hull  are  rounded  downward  to  the  keel,  so  that  a 
transverse  section  at  the  midship  frame  reminds  one  forcibly  of 
half  a  cocoanut  cut  in  two.  The  higher  the  ship  is  lifted  out  of 
the  water,  the  heavier  does  she,  of  course,  become,  and  the  greater 
her  pressure  on  the  ice,  but  for  the  above  reason  the  easier  also 
does  it  become  for  the  ice  to  lift.  To  obviate  much  heeling,  in 
case  the  hull  should  be  lifted  very  high,  the  bottom  was  made 
flat,  and  this  proved  to  be  an  excellent  idea.  I  endeavored  to 
determine  experimentally  the  friction  of  ice  against  wood,  and, 
taking  into  account  the  strength  of  the  ship  and  the  angle  of  her 


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42  FARTHEST  NORTH 

sides  with  the  surface  of  the  water,  I  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
her  strength  must  be  many  times  sufficient  to  withstand  the  press- 
ure necessary  to  lift  her.  This  calculation  was  amply  borne  out 
by  experience. 

The  principal  dimensions  of  the  ship  were  as  follows  :  Length 
of  keel,  I02  feet ;  length  of  water-line,  113  feet ;  length  from  stem 
to  stern  on  deck,  128  feet ;  extreme  breadth,  36  feet ;  breadth  of 
water-line,  exclusive  of  ice-skin,  34  feet ;  depth,  17  feet ;  draught 
of  water  with  light  cargo,  12^  feet;  displacement  with  light 
cargo,  530  tons ;  with  heavy  cargo  the  draught  is  over  15  feet 
and  the  displacement  is  800  tons  ;  there  is  a  freeboard  of  about  3 
feet  6  inches.  The  hull,  with  boilers  filled,  was  calculated  to 
weigh  about  420  tons,  and  with  800  tons'  displacement  there 
should,  therefore,  be  spare  carrying  -  power  for  coal  and  other 
cargo  to  the  amount  of  380  tons.  Thus,  in  addition  to  the  requi- 
site provisions  for  dogs  and  men  for  more  than  five  years,  we 
could  carry  coal  for  four  months'  steaming  at  full  speed,  which 
was  more  than  sufficient  for  such  an  expedition  as  this. 

As  regards  the  rigging,  the  most  important  object  was  to 
have  it  as  simple  and  as  strong  as  possible,  and  at  the  same  time 
so  contrived  as  to  offer  the  least  possible  resistance  to  the  wind 
while  the  ship  was  under  steam.  With  our  small  crew  it  was, 
moreover,  of  the  last  importance  that  it  should  be  easy  to  work 
from  deck.  For  this  reason  the  Fram  was  rigged  as  a  three- 
masted  fore-and-aft  schooner.  Several  of  our  old  Arctic  skippers 
disapproved  of  this  arrangement.  They  had  always  been  used  to 
sail  with  square-rigged  ships,  and,  with  the  conservatism  peculiar 
to  their  class,  were  of  opinion  that  what  they  had  used  was  the 
only  thing  that  could  be  used  in  the  ice.  However,  the  rig  we 
chose  was  unquestionably  the  best  for  our  purpose.  In  addition 
to  the  ordinary  fore-and-aft  sails  we  had  two  movable  yards  on 
the  foremast  for  a  square  foresail  and  topsail.  As  the  yards 
were  attached  to  a  sliding  truss,  they  could  easily  be  hauled  down 
when  not  in  use.  The  ship's  lower  masts  were  tolerably  high  and 
massive.  The  mainmast  was  about  80  feet  high,  the  maintop- 
mast  was  50  feet  high,  and  the  crow's-nest  on  the  top  was  about 
102  feet  (32  m.)  above  the  water.  It  was  important  to  have  this 
as  high  as  possible,  so  as  to  have  a  more  extended  view  when  it 
came  to  picking  our  way  through  the  ice.  The  aggregate  sail 
area  was  about  6000  square  feet. 


PREPARATIONS  AND  EQUIPMENT  43 

The  ship's  engine,  a  triple  expansion,  was  made  with  particular 
care.  The  work  was  done  at  the  Akers  Mechanical  Factory,  and 
Engineer  Norbeck  deserves  especial  credit  for  its  construction. 
With  his  quick  insight  he  foresaw  the  various  possibilities  that 
might  occur,  and  took  precautions  against  them.  The  triple- 
expansion  system  was  chosen  as  being  the  most  economical  in 
the  consumption  of  coal  ;  but  as  it  might  happen  that  one  or 
other  of  the  cylinders  should  get  out  of  order,  it  was  arranged,  by 
means  of  separate  pipes,  that  any  of  the  cylinders  could  be  cut 
off,  and  thus  the  other  two,  or,  at  a  pinch,  even  one  alone,  could  be 
used.  In  this  way  the  engine,  by  the  mere  turning  of  a  cock  or 
two,  could  be  changed  at  will  into  a  compound  high-pressure  or 
low-pressure  engine.  Although  nothing  ever  went  wrong  with 
any  of  the  cylinders,  this  arrangement  was  frequently  used  with 
advantage.  By  using  the  engine  as  a  compound  one,  we  could, 
for  instance,  give  the  Fram  greater  speed  for  a  short  time,  and 
when  occasion  demanded  we  often  took  this  means  of  forcing  our 
way  through  the  ice.  The  engine  was  of  220  indicated  horse- 
power, and  we  could  in  calm  weather  with  a  light  cargo  attain  a 
speed  of  6  or  7  knots. 

The  propellers,  of  which  we  had  two  in  reserve,  were  two- 
bladed,  and  made  of  cast-iron  ;  but  we  never  used  either  the  spare 
propellers  or  a  spare  rudder  which  we  had  with  us. 

Our  quarters  lay,  as  before  mentioned,  abaft  under  the  half- 
deck,  and  were  arranged  so  that  the  saloon,  which  formed  our 
dining-room  and  drawing-room,  was  in  the  middle,  surrounded 
on  all  sides  by  the  sleeping-cabins.  These  consisted  of  four  state- 
rooms with  one  berth  apiece  and  two  with  four  berths.  The  ob- 
ject of  this  arrangement  was  to  protect  the  saloon  from  external 
cold  ;  but,  further,  the  ceiling,  floors,  and  walls  were  covered 
with  several  thick  coatings  of  non-conducting  material,  the  sur- 
face layer,  in  touch  with  the  heat  of  the  cabin,  consisting  of  air- 
tight linoleum,  to  prevent  the  warm,  damp  air  from  penetrating 
to  the  other  side  and  depositing  moisture,  which  would  soon  turn 
to  ice.  The  sides  of  the  ship  were  lined  with  tarred  felt,  then 
came  a  space  with  cork  padding,  next  a  deal  panelling,  then  a 
thick  layer  of  felt,  next  air-tight  linoleum,  and  last  of  all  an  inner 
panelling.  The  ceiling  of  the  saloon  and  cabins  consisted  of 
many  different  layers  :  air,  felt,  deal  panelling,  reindeer-hair 
stuffing,  deal  panelling,  linoleum,  air,  and  deal  panelling,  which, 


44  FARTHEST  NORTH 

with  the  4-inch  deck  planks,  gave  a  total  thickness  of  about  15 
inches.  To  form  the  floor  of  the  saloon,  cork  padding,  6  or  7 
inches  thick,  was  laid  on  the  deck  planks,  on  this  a  thick  wooden 
floor,  and  above  all  linoleum.  The  skylight  which  was  most  ex- 
posed to  the  cold  was  protected  by  three  panes  of  glass,  one 
within  the  other,  and  in  various  other  ways.  One  of  the  greatest 
difficulties  of  life  on  board  ship  which  former  Arctic  expeditions 
had  had  to  contend  with  was  that  moisture,  collecting  on  the  cold 
outside  walls,  either  froze  at  once  or  ran  down  in  streams  into  the 
berths  and  on  to  the  floor.  Thus  it  was  not  unusual  to  find  the 
mattresses  converted  into  more  or  less  solid  masses  of  ice.  We, 
however,  by  these  arrangements,  entirely  avoided  such  an  un- 
pleasant state  of  things,  and  when  the  fire  was  lighted  in  the 
saloon  there  was  not  a  trace  of  moisture  on  the  walls,  even  in  the 
sleeping-cabins.  In  front  of  the  saloon  lay  the  cook's  galley,  on 
either  side  of  which  was  a  companion  leading  to  the  deck. 

As  a  protection  against  the  cold,  each  of  these  companion-ways 
was  fitted  with  four  small  solid  doors  consisting  of  several  layers 
of  wood  with  felt  between,  all  of  which  had  to  be  passed  through 
on  going  out.  And  the  more  completely  to  exclude  the  cold  air 
the  thresholds  of  the  doors  were  made  more  than  ordinarily  high. 
On  the  half-deck  over  the  cook's  galley,  between  the  mainmast 
and  the  funnel,  was  a  chart-room  facing  the  bow,  and  a  smaller 
work-room  abaft. 

In  order  to  secure  the  safety  of  the  ship  in  case  of  a  leak,  the 
hold  was  divided  into  three  compartments  by  water-tight  bulk- 
heads. Besides  the  usual  pumps,  we  had  a  powerful  centrifugal 
pump  driven  by  the  engine,  which  could  be  connected  with  each 
of  the  three  compartments.  It  may  be  mentioned  as  an  improve- 
ment on  former  expeditions  that  the  Fra7n  was  furnished  with  an 
electric  light  installation.  The  dynamo  was  to  be  driven  by  the 
engine  while  we  were  under  steam  ;  while  the  intention  was  to 
drive  it  partly  by  means  of  the  wind,  partly  by  hand  power,  dur- 
ing our  sojourn  in  the  ice.  For  this  purpose  we  took  a  windmill 
with  us,  and  also  a  "  horse-mill "  to  be  worked  by  ourselves.  I 
had  anticipated  that  this  latter  might  have  been  useful  in  giving 
us  exercise  in  the  long  polar  night.  We  found,  however,  that 
there  were  plenty  of  other  things  to  do,  and  we  never  used  it ;  on 
the  other  hand,  the  windmill  proved  extremely  serviceable.  For 
illumination  when  we  might  not  have  enough  power  to  produce 


PREPARATIONS  AND   EQUIPMENT  45 

electric  light,  we  took  with  us  about  i6  tons  of  petroleum,  which 
was  also  intended  for  cooking  purposes  and  for  warming  the 
cabins.  This  petroleum,  as  well  as  20  tons  of  common  kerosene,* 
intended  to  be  used  along  with  coal  in  the  boiler,  was  stored  in 
massive  iron  tanks,  eight  of  which  were  in  the  hold,  and  one  on 
deck.  In  all,  the  ship  had  eight  boats,  two  of  which  were  espe- 
cially large,  29  feet  long  and  9  feet  wide.  These  were  intended 
for  use  in  case  the  ship  should,  after  all,  be  lost,  the  idea  being 
that  we  should  live  in  them  while  drifting  in  the  ice.  They  were 
large  enough  to  accommodate  the  whole  ship's  company,  with 
provisions  for  many  months.  Then  there  were  four  smaller 
boats  of  the  form  sealers  generally  use.  They  were  exceedingly 
strong  and  lightly  built,  two  of  oak  and  two  of  elm.  The  seventh 
boat  was  a  small  pram,  and  the  eighth  a  launch  with  a  petroleum 
engine,  which,  however,  was  not  very  serviceable,  and  caused  us 
a  great  deal  of  trouble. 

As  I  shall  have  frequent  occasion  later  on  to  speak  of  other 
details  of  our  equipment,  I  shall  content  myself  here  with  men- 
tioning a  few  of  the  most  important. 

Special  attention  was,  of  course,  devoted  to  our  commissariat 
with  a  view  to  obviating  the  danger  of  scurvy  and  other  ailments. 
The  principle  on  which  I  acted  in  the  choice  of  provisions  was 
to  combine  variety  with  wholesomeness.  Every  single  article  of 
food  was  chemically  analyzed  before  being  adopted,  and  great 
care  was  taken  that  it  should  be  properly  packed.  Such  articles, 
even,  as  bread,  dried  vegetables,  etc,  etc.,  were  soldered  down  in 
tins  as  a  protection  against  damp. 

A  good  library  was  of  great  importance  to  an  expedition  like 
ours,  and  thanks  to  publishers  and  friends,  both  in  our  own  and 
in  other  countries,  we  were  very  well  supplied  in  this  respect. 

The  instruments  for  taking  scientific  observations  of  course 
formed  an  important  part  of  our  equipment,  and  special  care  was 
bestowed  upon  them.     In  addition   to  the  collection  of  instru- 

*  This  oil,  by  means  of  a  specially  constructed  steam-jet  apparatus,  was 
injected  into  the  furnaces  in  the  form  of  a  fine  spray,  where  it  burned  in  a 
very  economical  and  saving  manner,  giving  forth  a  great  amount  of  heat. 
The  apparatus  was  one  which  has  been  applied  to  locomotives  in  England, 
whence  it  was  procured.  It  appeared,  however,  that  it  tended  to  overheat 
the  boiler  at  one  particular  point,  where  it  made  a  dent,  so  that  we  soon 
abandoned  this  method  of  firing. 


4^  FARTHEST  NORTH 

ments  I  had  used  on  my  Greenland  expedition,  a  great  many  new 
ones  were  provided,  and  no  pains  were  spared  to  get  them  as 
good  and  complete  as  possible.  For  meteorological  observations, 
in  addition  to  the  ordinary  thermometers,  barometers,  aneroids, 
psychrometers,  hygrometers,  anemometers,  etc.,  etc.,  self-register- 
ing instruments  were  also  taken.  Of  special  importance  were 
a  self-registering  aneroid  barometer  (barograph)  and  a  pair  of 
self-registering  thermometers  (thermographs).  For  astronomical 
observations  we  had  a  large  theodolite  and  two  smaller  ones, 
intended  for  use  on  sledge  expeditions,  together  with  several 
sextants  of  different  sizes.  We  had,  moreover,  four  ship's  chro- 
nometers and  several  pocket-chronometers.  For  magnetic  obser- 
vations, for  taking  the  declination,  inclination,  and  intensity  (both 
horizontal  and  total  intensity)  we  had  a  complete  set  of  in- 
struments. Among  others  may  be  mentioned  a  spectroscope 
especially  adapted  for  the  northern  lights,  an  electroscope  for 
determining  the  amount  of  electricity  in  the  air,  photographic 
apparatuses,  of  which  we  had  seven,  large  and  small,  and  a  photo- 
graphometer  for  making  charts.  I  considered  a  pendulum  ap- 
paratus with  its  adjuncts  to  be  of  special  importance  to  enable  us 
to  make  pendulum  experiments  in  the  far  North.  To  do  this, 
however,  land  was  necessary,  and,  as  we  did  not  find  any,  this 
instrument  unfortunately  did  not  come  into  use.  For  hydro- 
graphic  observations  we  took  a  full  equipment  of  water-samplers,' 
deep-water  thermometers,  etc.  To  ascertain  the  saltness  of  the 
water,  we  had,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  areometers,  an  electric 
apparatus  specially  constructed  by  Mr.  Thornoe.  Altogether, 
our  scientific  equipment  was  especially  excellent,  thanks  in  great 
measure  to  the  obliging  assistance  rendered  me  by  many  men  of 
science.  I  would  take  this  opportunity  of  tendering  my  special 
thanks  to  Professor  Mohn,  who,  besides  seeing  to  the  meteoro- 
logical instruments,  helped  me  in  many  other  ways  with  his  valua- 
ble advice  ;  to  Professor  Geelmuyden,  who  undertook  the  super- 
vision of  the  astronomical  instruments ;  to  Dr.  Neumeyer,  of 
Hamburg,  who  took  charge  of  the  magnetic  equipment ;  and 
to  Professor  Otto  Petterson,  of  Stockholm,  and  Mr.  Thornoe, 
of  Christiania,  both  of  whom  superintended  the  hydrographic 
department.  Of  no  less  importance  were  the  physiologico- 
medicinal  preparations,  to  which  Professor  Torup  devoted  par- 
ticular care. 


PREPARATIONS  AND  EQUIPMENT  47 

As  it  might  be  of  the  utmost  importance  in  several  contin- 
gencies to  have  good  sledge-dogs,  I  applied  to  my  friend,  Baron 
Edward  von  Toll,  of  St.  Petersburg,  and  asked  him  whether  it 
was  possible  to  procure  serviceable  animals  from  Siberia.*  With 
great  courtesy  Von  Toll  replied  that  he  thought  he  himself  could 
arrange  this  for  me,  as  he  was  just  on  the  point  of  undertaking 
his  second  scientific  expedition  to  Siberia  and  the  New  Siberian 
Islands.  He  proposed  to  send  the  dogs  to  Khabarova,  on  Yugor 
Strait.  On  his  journey  through  Tiumen  in  January,  1893,  by 
the  help  of  an  English  merchant  named  Wardroper,  who  resided 
there,  he  engaged  Alexander  Ivanovitch  Trontheim  to  undertake 
the  purchase  of  thirty  Ostiak  dogs  and  their  conveyance  to  Yugor 
Strait.  But  Von  Toll  was  not  content  with  this.  Mr.  Nikolai 
Kelch  having  offered  to  bear  the  expense,  my  friend  procured 
the  East  Siberian  dogs,  which  are  acknowledged  to  be  better 
draught  dogs  than  those  of  West  Siberia  (Ostiak  dogs),  and  Johan 
Torgersen,  a  Norwegian,  undertook  to  deliver  them  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Olenek,  where  it  was  arranged  that  we  should  touch. 

Von  Toll,  moreover,  thought  it  would  be  important  to  establish 
some  depots  of  provisions  on  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  in  case 
the  Fram  should  meet  with  disaster  and  the  expedition  should  be 
obliged  to  return  home  that  way.  On  Von  Toll's  mentioning 
this,  Kelch  at  once  expressed  himself  willing  to  bear  the  cost,  as 
he  wished  us  in  that  event  to  meet  with  Siberian  hospitality  even 
on  the  New  Siberian  Islands.  As  it  was  difficult  to  find  trust- 
worthy agents  to  carry  out  a  task  involving  so  much  responsibil- 
ity. Von  Toll  determined  to  establish  the  depots  himself,  and  in 
May,  1893,  he  set  out  on  an  adventurous  and  highly  interesting 
journey  from  the  mainland  over  the  ice  to  the  New  Siberian 
Islands,  where,  besides  laying  down  three  depots  for  us,t  he  made 
some  very  important  geological  researches. 

*  I  had  thought  of  procuring  dogs  from  the  Eskimo  of  Greenland  and 
Hudson  Bay,  but  there  proved  to  be  insuperable  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
getting  them  conveyed  from  there. 

t  These  depots  were  arranged  most  carefully,  and  every  precaution  so 
well  taken  that  we  certainly  should  not  have  suffered  from  famine  had  we 
gone  there.  In  the  northernmost  depot  at  Stan  Durnova  on  the  west 
coast  of  Kotelnoi,  at  75°  37'  N.  L.,  we  should  have  found  provisions  for  a 
week ;  with  these  we  could  easily  have  made  our  way  65  miles  southward 
along  the  coast  to  the  second  depot  at  Urassalach,  where,  in  a  house  built 


48  FARTHEST  NORTH 

Another  important  matter,  I  thought,  was  to  have  a  cargo 
of  coal  sent  out  as  far  as  possible  on  our  route,  so  that  when 
we  broke  off  all  connection  with  the  rest  of  the  world  we 
should  have  on  board  the  Fram  as  much  coal  as  she  could  carry.  I 
therefore  joyfully  accepted  an  offer  from  an  Englishman,  who  was 
to  accompany  us  with  his  steam-yacht  to  Novaya  Zemlya  or  the 
Kara  Sea  and  give  us  loo  tons  of  coal  on  parting  company.  As 
our  departure  was  drawing  nigh  I  learned,  however,  that  other 
arrangements  had  been  made.  It  being  now  too  late  to  take  any 
other  measures,  I  chartered  the  sloop  Urania,  of  Bronosund,  in 
Nordland,  to  bring  a  cargo  of  coals  to  Khabarova,  on  the  Yugor 
Strait. 

No  sooner  did  the  plan  of  my  expedition  become  known 
than  petitions  poured  in  by  the  hundred  from  all  quarters  of  the 
earth  —  from  Europe,  America,  Australia  —  from  persons  who 
wished  to  take  part  in  it,  in  spite  of  the  many  warning  voices 
that  had  been  raised.  It  was  no  easy  thing  to  choose  among  all 
the  brave  men  who  applied.  As  a  matter  of  course,  it  was  abso- 
lutely essential  that  every  man  should  be  strong  and  healthy, 
and  not  one  was  finally  accepted  till  he  had  been  carefully  ex- 
amined by  Professor  Hialmar  Heiberg,  of  Christiania. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  members  of  the  expedition : 

Otto  Neumann  Sverdrup,  commander  of  the  Fram,  was  born 
in  Bindal,  in  Helgeland,  1855.  At  the  age  of  seventeen  he  went 
to  sea,  passed  his  mate's  examination  in  1878,  and  for  some 
years  was  captain  of  a  ship.  In  1888-89  he  took  part  in  the 
Greenland  expedition.  As  soon  as  he  heard  of  the  plan  of  the 
polar  expedition  he  expressed  his  desire  to  accompany  it,  and  I 
knew  that  I  could  not  place  the  Fram  in  better  hands.  He  is 
married,  and  has  one  child. 

Sigurd  Scott-Hansen,  first  lieutenant  in  the  navy,  undertook 
the  management  of  the  meteorological,  astronomical,  and  mag- 
netic observations.  He  was  born  in  Christiania  in  1868.  After 
passing  through  the  naval  school  at  Horten,  he  became  an  offi- 
cer in  1889,  and  first  lieutenant  in  1892.  He  is  a  son  of  Andreas 
Hansen,  parish  priest  in  Christiania. 

by  Baron  von  Toll  in  1886,  we  should  have  found  provisions  for  a  whole 
month.  Lastly,  a  third  depot  in  a  house  on  the  south  side  of  Little  Liak- 
hofl  Island,  with  provisions  for  two  months,  would  have  enabled  us  to  reach 
the  mainland  with  ease. 


PREPARATIONS  AND  EQUIPMENT  49 

Henrik  Greve  Blessings  doctor  and  botanist  to  the  expedition, 
was  born  in  Drammen  in  1866,  where  his  father  was  at  that  time 
a  clergyman.  He  became  a  student  in  1885,  and  graduated  in 
medicine  in  the  spring  of  1893. 

Theodore  Claudius  Jacobsen^  mate  of  the  Fram,  was  born  in 
Tromso  in  1855,  where  his  father  was  a  ship's  captain,  afterwards 
harbor-master  and  head  pilot.  At  the  age  of  fifteen  he  went  to 
sea,  and  passed  his  mate's  examination  four  years  later.  He 
spent  two  years  in  New  Zealand,  and  from  1886  to  1890  he  went 
on  voyages  to  the  Arctic  Sea  as  skipper  of  a  Tromso  sloop.  He 
is  married,  and  has  one  child. 

Anton  Aniiindseji^  chief  engineer  of  the  Fram^  was  born  in 
Horten  in  1853.  In  1884  he  passed  his  technical  examination, 
and  soon  afterwards  his  engineer's  examination.  For  twenty- 
five  years  he  has  been  in  the  navy,  where  he  attained  the  rank 
of  chief  engineer.     He  is  married,  and  has  six  children. 

Adolf  J ue  11^  steward  and  cook  of  the  Fram^  was  born  in  the 
parish  of  Skato,  near  Kragero,  in  i860.  His  father,  Claus  Niel- 
sen, was  a  farmer  and  ship-owner.  In  1879  he  passed  his  mate's 
examination,  and  has  been  captain  of  a  ship  many  years.  He  is 
married,  and  has  four  children. 

Lars  Pettersen,  second  engineer  of  the  Fram^  was  born  in 
i860,  at  Borre,  near  Landskrona,  in  Sweden,  of  Norwegian  par- 
ents. He  is  a  fully  qualified  smith  and  machinist,  in  which 
capacity  he  has  served  in  the  Norwegian  navy  for  several  years. 
Is  married,  and  has  children. 

Frederik  HJalmar  JoJiansen^  lieutenant  in  the  Reserve,  was 
born  in  Skien  in  1867,  and  matriculated  at  the  University  in 
1886.  In  1891-92  he  went  to  the  Military  School  and  became  a 
supernumerary  officer.  He  was  so  eager  to  take  part  in  the 
expedition  that,  as  no  other  post  could  be  found  for  him,  he 
accepted  that  of  stoker. 

Peter  Leonard  Henriksen,  harpooner,  was  born  in  Balsfjord, 
near  Tromso,  in  1859.  From  childhood  he  has  been  a  sailor,  and 
from  fourteen  years  of  age  has  gone  on  voyages  to  the  Arctic 
Sea  as  harpooner  and  skipper.  In  1888  he  was  shipwrecked  off 
Novaya  Zemlya  in  the  sloop  Enigheden^  from  Christiansund.  He 
is  married,  and  has  four  children. 

Bernhard  Nordahl  was  born  in  Christiania  in  1862.  At  the 
age  of  fourteen   he  entered   the  navy,  and  advanced  to  be  a 


50  FARTHEST  NORTH 

gunner.  Subsequently  he  has  done  a  little  of  everything,  and, 
among  other  things,  has  worked  as  an  electrical  engineer.  He 
had  charge  of  the  dynamo  and  electric  installation  on  board, 
acted,  moreover,  as  stoker,  and  for  a  time  assisted  in  the  meteor- 
ological observations.     He  is  married,  and  has  five  children. 

Ivar  Otto  Irgens  Mogstad  was  born  Aure,  in  Nordmore,  in 
1856.  In  1877  passed  his  examination  as  first  assistant,  and  from 
1882  onward  was  one  of  the  head  keepers  at  the  Gaustad  Lunatic 
Asylum. 

Bernt  Bentzen,  born  in  i860,  went  to  sea  for  several  years. 
In  1890  he  passed  his  mate's  examination,  since  which  he  has 
sailed  as  mate  in  several  voyages  to  the  Arctic  Sea.  We  en- 
gaged him  at  Tromso,  just  as  we  were  starting.  It  was  8.30 
when  he  came  on  board  to  speak  to  me,  and  at  lo  o'clock  the 
Fram  set  sail. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE    START 

"So  travel  I  north  to  the  gloomy  abode 
That  the  sun  never  shines  on — 
There  is  no  day." 

It  was  midsummer  day.  A  dull,  gloomy  day  ;  and  with  it 
came  the  inevitable  leave-taking.  The  door  closed  behind  me. 
For  the  last  time  I  left  my  home  and  went  alone  down  the  garden 
to  the  beach,  where  the  Fram's  little  petroleum  launch  pitilessly 
awaited  me.  Behind  me  lay  all  I  held  dear  in  life.  And  what 
before  me  ?  How  many  years  would  pass  ere  I  should  see  it  all 
again  ?  What  would  I  not  have  given  at  that  moment  to  be  able 
to  turn  back  ;  but  up  at  the  window  little  Liv  was  sitting  clapping 
her  hands.  Happy  child,  little  do  you  know  what  life  is — how 
strangely  mingled  and  how  full  of  change.  Like  an  arrow  the 
little  boat  sped  over  Lysaker  Bay,  bearing  me  on  the  first  stage 
of  a  journey  on  which  life  itself,  if  not  more,  was  staked. 

At  last  everything  was  in  readiness.  The  hour  had  arrived 
towards  which  the  persevering  labor  of  years  had  been  incessant- 
ly bent,  and  with  it  the  feeling  that,  everything  being  provided 
and  completed,  responsibility  might  be  thrown  aside  and  the 
weary  brain  at  last  find  rest.  The  Frain  lies  yonder  at  Pepper- 
viken,  impatiently  panting  and  waiting  for  the  signal,  when  the 
launch  comes  puffing  past  Dyna  and  runs  alongside.  The  deck 
is  closely  packed  with  people  come  to  bid  a  last  farewell,  and  now 
all  must  leave  the  ship.  Then  the  Fram  weighs  anchor,  and, 
heavily  laden  and  moving  slowly,  makes  the  tour  of  the  little 
creek.  The  quays  are  black  with  crowds  of  people  waving  their 
hats  and  handkerchiefs.  But  silently  and  quietly  the  Fram  heads 
towards  the  fjord,  steers  slowly  past  Bygdo  and  Dyna  out  on  her 
unknown  path,  while  little  nimble  craft,  steamers,  and  pleasure- 
boats  swarm  around  her.     Peaceful  and  snug  lay  the  villas  along 


52  FARTHEST  NORTH 

the  shore  behind  their  veils  of  foliage,  just  as  they  ever  seemed 
of  old.  Ah,  "  fair  is  the  woodland  slope,  and  never  did  it  look 
fairer  !"  Long,  long  will  it  be  before  we  shall  plough  these  well- 
known  waters  again. 

And  now  a  last  farewell  to  home.  Yonder  it  lies  on  the  point 
— the  fjord  sparkling  in  front,  pine  and  fir  woods  around,  a 
little  smiling  meadow -land  and  long  wood -clad  ridges  behind. 
Through  the  glass  one  could  descry  a  summer-clad  figure  by  the 
bench  under  the  fir-tree.  .  .  . 

It  was  the  darkest  hour  of  the  whole  journey. 

And  now  out  into  the  fjord.  It  was  rainy  weather,  and  a  feel- 
ing of  melancholy  seemed  to  brood  over  the  familiar  landscape 
with  all  its  memories. 

It  was  not  until  noon  next  day  (June  25th)  that  the  Frant 
glided  into  the  bay  by  Raekvik,  Archer's  ship-yard,  near  Laurvik, 
where  her  cradle  stood,  and  where  many  a  golden  dream  had  been 
dreamed  of  her  victorious  career.  Here  we  were  to  take  the  two 
long-boats  on  board  and  have  them  set  up  on  their  davits,  and 
there  were  several  other  things  to  be  shipped.  It  took  the  whole 
day  and  a  good  part  of  the  next  before  all  was  completed.  About 
three  o'clock  on  the  26th  we  bade  farewell  to  Raekvik  and  made 
a  bend  into  Laurvik  Bay,  in  order  to  stand  out  to  sea  by  Fred- 
eriksvaern.  Archer  himself  had  to  take  the  wheel  and  steer  his 
child  this  last  bit  before  leaving  the  ship.  And  then  came  the 
farewell  hand-shake  ;  but  few  words  were  spoken,  and  they  got 
into  the  boat,  he,  my  brothers,  and  a  friend,  while  the  Fram 
glided  ahead  with  her  heavy  motion,  and  the  bonds  that  united 
us  were  severed.  It  was  sad  and  strange  to  see  this  last  relic  of 
home  in  that  little  skiff  on  the  wide  blue  surface.  Anker's  cutter 
behind,  and  Laurvik  farther  in  the  distance.  I  almost  think  a 
tear  glittered  on  that  fine  old  face  as  he  stood  erect  in  the  boat 
and  shouted  a  farewell  to  us  and  to  the  Fram.  Do  you  think  he 
does  not  love  the  vessel  ?  That  he  believes  in  her  I  know  well. 
So  we  gave  him  the  first  salute  from  the  Frani's  guns — a  worthier 
inauguration  they  could  not  well  have  had. 

Full  speed  ahead,  and  in  the  calm,  bright  summer  weather, 
while  the  setting  sun  shed  his  beams  over  the  land,  the  Fram 
stood  out  towards  the  blue  sea,  to  get  its  first  roll  in  the  long, 
heaving  swell.  They  stood  up  in  the  boat  and  watched  us  for 
long. 


THE  START  53 

We  bore  along  the  coast  in  good  weather,  past  Christiansand. 
The  next  evening,  June  27th,  we  were  off  the  Naze,  I  sat  up 
and  chatted  with  Scott-Hansen  till  late  in  the  night.  He  acted 
as  captain  on  the  trip  from  Christiania  to  Trondhjem,  where 
Sverdrup  was  to  join,  after  having  accompanied  his  family  to 
Steenkiaer.  As  we  sat  there  in  the  chart-house  and  let  the  hours 
slip  by  while  we  pushed  on  in  the  ever-increasing  swell,  all  at 
once  a  sea  burst  open  the  door  and  poured  in.  We  rushed  out  on 
deck.  The  ship  rolled  like  a  log,  the  seas  broke  over  the  rails 
on  both  sides,  and  one  by  one  up  came  all  the  crew.  I  feared 
most  lest  the  slender  davits  which  supported  the  long-boats 
should  give  way,  and  the  boats  themselves  should  go  overboard, 
perhaps  carrying  away  with  them  a  lot  of  the  rigging.  Then 
twenty -five  empty  paraffin  casks  which  were  lashed  on  deck 
broke  loose,  washed  backward  and  forward,  and  gradually  filled 
with  water ;  so  that  the  outlook  was  not  altogether  agree- 
able. But  it  was  worst  of  all  when  the  piles  of  reserve  timber, 
spars,  and  planks  began  the  same  dance,  and  threatened  to  break 
the  props  under  the  boats.  It  was  an  anxious  hour.  Sea-sick,  I 
stood  on  the  bridge,  occupying  myself  in  alternately  making 
libations  to  Neptune  and  trembling  for  the  safety  of  the  boats 
and  the  men,  who  were  trying  to  make  snug  what  they  could  for- 
ward on  deck.  I  often  saw  only  a  hotch-potch  of  sea,  drifting 
planks,  arms,  legs,  and  empty  barrels.  Now  a  green  sea  poured 
over  us  and  knocked  a  man  off  his  legs  so  that  the  water  deluged 
him  ;  now  I  saw  the  lads  jumping  over  hurtling  spars  and  barrels, 
so  as  not  to  get  their  feet  crushed  between  them.  There  was 
not  a  dry  thread  on  them.  Juell,  who  lay  asleep  in  the  "  Grand 
Hotel,"  as  we  called  one  of  the  long-boats,  awoke  to  hear  the  sea 
roaring  under  him  like  a  cataract.  I  met  him  at  the  cabin  door 
as  he  came  running  down.  It  was  no  longer  safe  there,  he 
thought ;  best  to  save  one's  rags — he  had  a  bundle  under  his  arm. 
Then  he  set  off  forward  to  secure  his  sea-chest,  which  was  floating 
about  on  the  fore-deck,  and  dragged  it  hurriedly  aft,  while  one 
heavy  sea  after  another  swept  over  him.  Once  the  Fram  buried 
her  bows  and  shipped  a  sea  over  the  forecastle.  *  There  was  one 
fellow  clinging  to  the  anchor-davits  over  the  frothing  water.  It 
was  poor  Juell  again.  We  were  hard  put  to  it  to  secure  our 
goods  and  chattels.  We  had  to  throw  all  our  good  paraffin  casks 
overboard,  and  one  prime  timber  balk  after  another  went  the 


54  FARTHEST  NORTH 

same  way,  while  I  stood  and  watched  them  sadly  as  they  floated 
off.  The  rest  of  the  deck  cargo  was  shifted  aft  on  to  the  half- 
deck.  I  am  afraid  the  shares  in  the  expedition  stood  rather  low  at 
this  moment.  Then  all  at  once,  when  things  were  about  at  their 
worst  with  us,  we  sighted  a  bark  looming  out  of  the  fog  ahead. 
There  it  lay  with  royals  and  all  sails  set,  as  snugly  and  peacefully 
as  if  nothing  were  the  matter,  rocking  gently  on  the  sea.  It 
made  one  feel  almost  savage  to  look  at  it.  Visions  of  the  Flying 
Dutchman  and  other  devilry  flashed  through  my  mind. 

Terrible  disaster  in  the  cook's  galley  !  Mogstad  goes  in  and 
sees  the  whole  wall  sprinkled  over  with  dark-red  stains — rushes 
off  to  Nordahl,  and  says  he  believes  Juell  has  shot  himself 
through  despair  at  the  insufferable  heat  he  complains  so  about. 
''  Great  revolver  disaster  on  board  the  Fram  !  .  .  ."  On  close 
inspection,  however,  the  stains  appeared  to  proceed  from  a  box 
of  chocolate  that  had  upset  in  the  cupboard. 

Owing  to  the  fog  we  dared  not  go  too  near  land,  so  kept  out 
to  sea,  till  at  last,  towards  morning,  the  fog  lifted  somewhat,  and 
the  pilot  found  his  bearings  between  Farsund  and  Hummerdus. 
We  put  into  Lister  Fjord,  intending  to  anchor  there  and  get  into 
better  sea  trim  ;  but  as  the  weather  improved  we  went  on  our 
way.  It  was  not  till  the  afternoon  that  we  steered  into  Eker- 
sund,  owing  to  thick  weather  and  a  stiff  breeze,  and  anchored  in 
Hovland's  Bay,  where  our  pilot,  Hovland,*  lived.  Next  morning 
the  boat  davits,  etc.,  were  put  in  good  working  order.  The 
Fram.  however,  was  too  heavily  laden  to  be  at  all  easy  in  a  sea- 
way ;  but  this  we  could  not  alter.  What  we  had  we  must  keep, 
and  if  we  only  got  everything  on  deck  shipshape  and  properly 
lashed,  the  sea  could  not  do  us  much  harm,  however  rough  it 
might  be  :  for  we  knew  well  enough  that  ship  and  rigging  would 
hold  out. 

It  was  late  in  the  evening  of  the  last  day  of  June  when  we 
rounded  Kvarven  and  stood  in  for  Bergen  in  the  gloom  of  the 
sullen  night.  Next  morning  when  I  came  on  deck  Vagen  lay 
clear  and  bright  in  the  sun,  all  the  ships  being  gayly  decked  out 

*  Both  Hovland,  who  piloted  us  from  Christiania  to  Bergen,  and  Johan 
Hagensen,  who  took  us  from  Bergen  to  Vardo,  were  most  kindly  placed 
at  the  disposal  of  the  expedition  by  the  Nordenfjeldske  Steamship  Com- 
pany, of  Trondhjem. 


THE  START  55 

with  bunting  from  topmast  to  deck.  The  sun  was  holding  high 
festival  in  the  sky — Ulriken,  Floiren,  and  Lovstakken  sparkled 
and  glittered,  and  greeted  me  as  of  old.  It  is  a  marvellous 
place,  that  old  Hanseatic  town  ! 

In  the  evening  I  was  to  give  a  lecture,  but  arrived  half  an 
hour  too  late.  For  just  as  I  was  dressing  to  go  a  number  of  bills 
poured  in,  and  if  I  was  to  leave  the  town  as  a  solvent  man  I 
must  needs  pay  them,  and  so  the  public  perforce  had  to  wait. 
But  the  worst  of  it  was  that  the  saloon  was  full  of  those  ever- 
lastingly inquisitive  tourists.  I  could  hear  a  whole  company  of 
them  besieging  my  cabin  door  while  I  was  dressing,  declaring 
"they  must  shake  hands  with  the  doctor  !"*  One  of  them  act- 
ually peeped  in  through  the  ventilator  at  me,  my  secretary  told 
me  afterwards.  A  nice  sight  she  must  have  seen,  the  lovely  creat- 
ure !  Report  says  she  drew  her  head  back  very  quickly.  Indeed, 
at  every  place  where  we  put  in  we  were  looked  on  somewhat  as 
wild  animals  in  a  menagerie.  For  they  peeped  unceremonious- 
ly at  us  in  our  berths  as  if  we  had  been  bears  and  lions  in  a  den, 
and  we  could  hear  them  loudly  disputing  among  themselves  as 
to  who  was  who,  and  whether  those  nearest  and  dearest  to  us 
whose  portraits  hung  on  the  walls  could  be  called  pretty  or  not. 
When  I  had  finished  my  toilette  I  opened  the  door  cautiously 
and  made  a  rush  through  the  gaping  company.  *'  There  he  is — 
there  he  is  !"*  they  called  to  each  other  as  they  tumbled  up  the 
steps  after  me.  It  was  no  use  ;  I  was  on  the  quay  and  in  the 
carriage  long  before  they  had  reached  the  deck. 

At  8  o'clock  there  was  a  great  banquet,  many  fine  speeches, 
good  fare  and  excellent  wine,  pretty  ladies,  music,  and  dancing 
till  far  into  the  night. 

Next  morning  at  ii  o'clock — it  was  Sunday — in  bright,  sun- 
shiny weather,  we  stood  northward  over  Bergen  Fjord,  many 
friends  accompanying  us.  It  was  a  lovely,  never-to-be-forgotten 
summer  day.  In  Herlo  Fjord,  right  out  by  the  skerries,  they 
parted  from  us,  amid  wavings  of  hats  and  pocket-handkerchiefs  ; 
we  could  see  the  little  harbor  boat  for  a  long  while  with  its  black 
cloud  of  smoke  on  the  sparkling  surface  of  the  water.  Outside, 
the  sea  rolled  in  the  hazy  sunlight ;  and  within  lay  the  flat  Man- 
gerland,  full  of  memories  for  me  of  zoological  investigations  in 

*  English  in  the  original. 


56  FARTHEST  NORTH 

fair  weather  and  foul,  years  and  years  ago.  Here  it  was  that 
one  of  Norway's  most  famous  naturalists,  a  lonely  pastor  far 
removed  from  the  outer  world,  made  his  great  discoveries.  Here 
I  myself  first  groped  my  way  along  the  narrow  path  of  zoologi- 
cal research. 

It  was  a  wondrous  evening.  The  lingering  flush  of  vanished 
day  suff^used  the  northern  sky,  while  the  moon  hung  large  and 
round  over  the  mountains  behind  us.  Ahead  lay  Alden  and 
Kinn,  like  a  fairyland  rising  up  from  the  sea.  Tired  as  I  was,  I 
could  not  seek  my  berth  ;  I  must  drink  in  all  this  loveliness  in 
deep,  refreshing  draughts.  It  was  like  balm  to  the  soul  after  all 
the  turmoil  and  friction  with  crowds  of  strangers. 

So  we  went  on  our  way,  mostly  in  fair  weather,  occasionally 
in  fog  and  rain,  through  sounds  and  between  islands,  northward 
along  the  coast  of  Norway.  A  glorious  land — I  wonder  if  an- 
other fairway  like  this  is  to  be  found  the  whole  world  over? 
Those  never-to-be-forgotten  mornings,  when  nature  wakens  to 
life,  wreaths  of  mist  glittering  like  silver  over  the  mountains, 
their  tops  soaring  above  the  mist  like  islands  of  the  sea  !  Then 
the  day  gleaming  over  the  dazzling  white  snow-peaks  !  And  the 
evenings,  and  the  sunsets  with  the  pale  moon  overhead,  white 
mountains  and  islands  lay  hushed  and  dreamlike  as  a  youthful 
longing  !  Here  and  there  past  homely  little  havens  with  houses 
around  them  set  in  smiling  green  trees  !  Ah  !  those  snug  homes 
in  the  lee  of  the  skerries  awake  a  longing  for  life  and  warmth  in 
the  breast.  You  may  shrug  your  shoulders  as  much  as  you  like 
at  the  beauties  of  nature,  but  it  is  a  fine  thing  for  a  people  to 
have  a  fair  land,  be  it  never  so  poor.  Never  did  this  seem  clear- 
er to  me  than  now  when  I  was  leaving  it. 

Every  now  and  then  a  hurrah  from  land — at  one  time  from  a 
troop  of  children,  at  another  from  grown-up  people,  but  mostly 
from  wondering  peasants  who  gaze  long  at  the  strange-looking 
ship  and  muse  over  its  enigmatic  destination.  And  men  and 
women  on  board  sloops  and  ten-oared  boats  stand  up  in  their  red 
shirts  that  glow  in  the  sunlight,  and  rest  on  their  oars  to  look  at 
us.  Steamboats  crowded  with  people  came  out  from  the  towns 
we  passed  to  greet  us,  and  bid  us  God-speed  on  our  way  with 
music,  songs,  and  cannon  salutes.  The  great  tourist  steamboats 
dipped  flags  to  us  and  fired  salutes,  and  the  smaller  craft  did 
the  same.     It  is  embarrassing  and  oppressive  to  be  the  object  of 


2     > 


THE  START  57 

homage  like  this  before  anything  has  been  accomplished.  There 
is  an  old  saying  : 

"  At  eve  the  day  shall  be  praised, 
The  wife  when  she  is  burnt, 
The  sword  when  tried. 
The  woman  when  married, 
The  ice  when  passed  over, 
Ale  when  drunk." 

Most  touching  was  the  interest  and  sympathy  with  which  these 
poor  fisher-folk  and  peasants  greeted  us.  It  often  set  me  won- 
dering. I  felt  they  followed  us  with  fervent  eagerness.  I  re- 
member one  day — it  was  north  in  Helgeland  —  an  old  woman 
was  standing  waving  and  waving  to  us  on  a  bare  crag.  Her 
cottage  lay  some  distance  inland.  "  I  wonder  if  it  can  really 
be  us  she  is  waving  to,"  I  said  to  the  pilot,  who  was  standing 
beside  me.  "You  may  be  sure  it  is,"  was  the  answer.  "But 
how  can  she  know  who  we  are  ?"  "  Oh !  they  know  all  about 
the  Fram  up  here,  in  every  cabin,  and  they  will  be  on  the  look- 
out for  you  as  you  come  back,  I  can  tell  you,"  he  answered. 
Aye,  truly,  it  is  a  responsible  task  we  are  undertaking,  when  the 
whole  nation  are  with  us  like  this.  What  if  the  thing  should 
turn  out  a  huge  disappointment ! 

In  the  evening  I  would  sit  and  look  around — lonely  huts  lay 
scattered  here  and  there  on  points  and  islets.  Here  the  Nor- 
wegian people  wear  out  their  lives  in  the  struggle  with  the 
rocks,  in  the  struggle  with  the  sea ;  and  it  is  this  people  that  is 
sending  us  out  into  the  great  hazardous  unknown  ;  the  very 
folk  who  stand  there  in  their  fishing-boats  and  look  wonderingly 
after  the  Fram  as  she  slowly  and  heavily  steams  along  on  her 
northward  course.  Many  of  them  wave  their  sou'-westers  and 
shout  "  Hurrah  !"  Others  have  barely  time  to  gape  at  us  in 
wonderment.  In  on  the  point  are  a  troop  of  women  waving 
and  shouting ;  outside  a  few  boats  with  ladies  in  light  summer 
dresses,  and  gentlemen  at  the  oars  entertaining  them  with  small- 
talk  as  they  wave  their  parasols  and  pocket-handkerchiefs.  Yes ; 
it  is  they  who  are  sending  us  out.  It  is  not  a  cheering  thought. 
Not  one  of  them,  probably,  knows  what  they  are  paying  their 
money  for.  Maybe  they  have  heard  it  is  a  glorious  enterprise ; 
but  why  ?     To  what  end  ?    Are  we  not  defrauding  them  ?     But 


58  FARTHEST  NORTH 

their  eyes  are  riveted  on  the  ship,  and  perhaps  there  dawns  be- 
fore their  minds  a  momentary  vision  of  a  new  and  inconceivable 
world,  with  aspirations  after  a  something  of  which  they  know 
naught.  .  .  .  And  here  on  board  are  men  who  are  leaving  wives 
and  children  behind  them.  How  sad  has  been  the  separation  ! 
what  longing,  what  yearning,  await  them  in  the  coming  years ! 
And  it  is  not  for  profit  they  do  it.  For  honor  and  glory,  then  ? 
These  may  be  scant  enough.  It  is  the  same  thirst  for  achieve- 
ment, the  same  craving  to  get  beyond  the  limits  of  the  known, 
which  inspired  this  people  in  the  Saga  time  that  is  stirring  in 
them  again  to-day.  In  spite  of  all  our  toil  for  subsistence,  in 
spite  of  all  our  "  peasant  politics,"  sheer  utilitarianism  is  perhaps 
not  so  dominant  among  us,  after  all. 

As  time  was  precious  I  did  not,  as  originally  intended,  put  in 
at  Trondhjem,  but  stopped  at  Beian,  where  Sverdrup  joined  us. 
Here  Professor  Brdgger  also  came  on  board,  to  accompany  us  as 
far  as  Tromso. 

Here,  too,  our  doctor  received  three  monstrous  chests  with  the 
medicine  supply,  a  gift  from  Apothecary  Bruun  of  Trondhjem. 

And  so  on  towards  the  north,  along  the  lovely  coast  of  Nord- 
land.  We  stopped  at  one  or  two  places  to  take  dried  fish  on 
board  as  provision  for  the  dogs.  Past  Torghatten,  the  Seven  Sis- 
ters, and  Hestemanden  ;  past  Lovunen  and  Traenen,  far  out  yon- 
der in  the  sea ;  past  Lofoten  and  all  the  other  lovely  places — 
each  bold,  gigantic  form  wilder  and  more  beautiful  than  the  last. 
It  is  unique — a  fairyland — a  land  of  dreams.  We  felt  afraid  to 
go  on  too  fast,  for  fear  of  missing  something. 

On  July  1 2th  we  arrived  at  Tromso,  where  we  were  to  take  in 
coal  and  other  things,  such  as  reindeer  cloaks,  *'  komager  "  (a  sort 
of  Lapp  moccasin),  Finn  shoes,  "senne"  grass,  dried  reindeer 
flesh,  etc.,  etc.,  all  of  which  had  been  procured  by  that  indefatiga- 
ble friend  of  the  expedition,  Advocate  Mack.  Tromso  gave  us  a 
cold  reception  —  a  northwesterly  gale,  with  driving  snow  and 
sleet.  Mountains,  plains,  and  house-roofs  were  all  covered  with 
snow  down  to  the  water's  edge.  It  was  the  very  bitterest  July 
day  I  ever  experienced.  The  people  there  said  they  could  not 
remember  such  a  July.  Perhaps  they  were  afraid  the  place 
would  come  into  disrepute,  for  in  a  town  where  they  hold  snow- 
shoe  races  on  Midsummer  Day  one  may  be  prepared  for  anything 
in  the  way  of  weather. 


THE  START  59 

In  Tromso  the  next  day  a  new  member  of  the  expedition  was 
engaged,  Bernt  Bentzen — a  stout  fellow  to  look  at.  He  originally 
intended  accompanying  us  only  as  far  as  Yugor  Strait,  but  as  a 
matter  of  fact  he  went  the  whole  voyage  with  us,  and  proved  a 
great  acquisition,  being  not  only  a  capital  seaman,  but  a  cheerful 
and  an  amusing  comrade. 

After  a  stay  of  two  days  we  again  set  out.  On  the  night  of 
the  1 6th,  east  of  the  North  Cape,  or  Magero,  we  met  with  such  a 
nasty  sea,  and  shipped  so  much  water  on  deck,  that  we  put  into 
Kjollefjord  to  adjust  our  cargo  better  by  shifting  the  coal  and 
making  a  few  other  changes.  We  worked  at  this  the  whole  of 
two  days,  and  made  everything  clear  for  the  voyage  to  Novaya 
Zemlya.  I  had  at  first  thought  of  taking  on  board  a  fresh  supply 
of  coal  at  Vardo,  but  as  we  were  already  deeply  laden,  and  the 
Urania  was  to  meet  us  at  Yugor  Strait  with  coal,  we  thought  it 
best  to  be  contented  with  what  we  had  already  got  on  board,  as 
we  might  expect  bad  weather  in  crossing  the  White  Sea  and 
Barents  Sea.  At  ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  we  weighed  anchor, 
and  reached  Vardo  next  evening,  where  we  met  with  a  magnifi- 
cent reception.  There  was  a  band  of  music  on  the  pier,  the  fjord 
teemed  with  boats,  flags  waved  on  every  hand,  and  salutes  were 
fired.  The  people  had  been  waiting  for  us  ever  since  the  previous 
evening,  we  were  told — some  of  them,  indeed,  coming  from  Vadso 
— and  they  had  seized  the  opportunity  to  get  up  a  subscription 
to  provide  a  big  drum  for  the  town  band,  the  "  North  Pole."  And 
here  we  were  entertained  at  a  sumptuous  banquet,  with  speeches, 
and  champagne  flowing  in  streams,  ere  we  bade  Norway  our  last 
farewell. 

The  last  thing  that  had  now  to  be  done  for  the  Fram  was 
to  have  her  bottom  cleaned  of  mussels  and  weeds,  so  that 
she  might  be  able  to  make  the  best  speed  possible.  This 
work  was  done  by  divers,  who  were  readily  placed  at  our  ser- 
vice by  the  local  inspector  of  the  Government  Harbor  Depart- 
ment. 

But  our  own  bodies  also  claimed  one  last  civilized  feast  of 
purification  before  entering  on  a  life  of  savagery.  The  bath- 
house of  the  town  is  a  small  timber  building.  The  bath-room  it- 
self is  low,  and  provided  with  shelves  where  you  lie  down  and  are 
parboiled  with  hot  steam,  which  is  constantly  kept  up  by  water 
being  thrown  on  the  glowing  hot  stones  of  an  awful  oven,  worthy 


6o  FARTHEST  NORTH 

of  hell  itself ;  while  all  the  time  young  quaen  (lasses)  flog  you 
with  birch  twigs.  After  that  you  are  rubbed  down,  washed,  and 
dried  delightfully  —  everything  being  well  managed,  clean,  and 
comfortable.  I  wonder  whether  old  Father  Mahomet  has  set  up 
a  bath  like  this  in  his  paradise. 


CHAPTER   IV 
FAREWELL  TO  NORWAY 

I  PELT  in  a  strange  mood  as  I  sat  up  the  last  night  writing 
letters  and  telegrams.  We  had  bidden  farewell  to  our  excellent 
pilot,  Johan  Hagensen,  who  had  piloted  us  from  Bergen,  and 
now  we  were  only  the  thirteen  members  of  the  expedition,  to- 
gether with  my  secretary,  Christofersen,  who  had  accompanied 
us  so  far,  and  was  to  go  on  with  us  as  far  as  Yugor  Strait.  Every- 
thing was  so  calm  and  still,  save  for  the  scraping  of  the  pen  that 
was  sending  off  a  farewell  to  friends  at  home. 

All  the  men  were  asleep  below. 

The  last  telegram  was  written,  and  I  sent  my  secretary  ashore 
with  it.  It  was  3  o'clock  in  the  morning  when  he  returned,  and 
I  called  Sverdrup  up,  and  one  or  two  others.  We  weighed  anchor, 
and  stood  out  of  the  harbor  in  the  silence  of  the  morning.  The 
town  still  lay  wrapped  in  sleep ;  everything  looked  so  peaceful 
and  lovely  all  around,  with  the  exception  of  a  little  stir  of  awaken- 
ing toil  on  board  one  single  steamer  in  the  harbor.  A  sleepy 
fisherman  stuck  his  head  up  out  of  the  half-deck  of  his  ten-oared 
boat,  and  stared  at  us  as  we  steamed  past  the  breakwater ;  and 
on  the  revenue-cutter  outside  there  was  a  man  fishing  in  that 
early  morning  light. 

This  last  impression  of  Norway  was  just  the  right  one  for  us 
to  carry  away  with  us.  Such  beneficent  peace  and  calm  ;  such 
a  rest  for  the  thoughts  ;  no  hubbub  and  turmoil  of  people  with 
their  hurrahs  and  salutes.  The  masts  in  the  harbor,  the  house- 
roofs,  and  chimneys  stood  out  against  the  cool  morning  sky. 
Just  then  the  sun  broke  through  the  mist  and  smiled  over  the 
shore — rugged,  bare,  and  weather-worn  in  the  hazy  morning,  but 
still  lovely — dotted  here  and  there  with  tiny  houses  and  boats, 
and  all  Norway  lay  behind  it.  .  .  . 

While  the  Fram  was  slowly  and  quietly  working  her  way  out 


62  FARTHEST  NORTH 

to  sea,  towards  our  distant  goal,  I  stood  and  watched  the  land 
gradually  fading  away  on  the  horizon.  I  wonder  what  will  hap- 
pen to  her  and  to  us  before  we  again  see  Norway  rising  up  over 
the  sea  ? 

But  a  fog  soon  came  on  and  obscured  everything. 

And  through  fog,  nothing  but  fog,  we  steamed  away  for  four 
days  without  stopping,  until,  when  I  came  on  deck  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  25th  of  July,  behold  clear  weather  !  The  sun  was 
shining  in  a  cloudless  sky,  the  bright  blue  sea  was  heaving  with 
a  gentle  swell.  Again  it  was  good  to  be  a  living  being,  and  to 
drink  in  the  peacefulness  of  the  sea  in  long  draughts.  Towards 
noon  we  sighted  Goose  Land  on  Novaya  Zemlya,  and  stood  in 
towards  it.  Guns  and  cartridges  were  got  ready,  and  we  looked 
forward  with  joyful  anticipation  to  roast  goose  and  other  game  ; 
but  we  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  when  the  gray,  woolly  fog 
from  the  southeast  came  up  and  enveloped  us.  Again  we  were 
shut  off  from  the  world  around  us.  It  was  scarcely  prudent  to 
make  for  land,  so  we  set  our  course  eastward  towards  Yugor 
Strait;  but  a  head -wind  soon  compelled  us  to  beat  up  under 
steam  and  sail,  which  we  went  on  doing  for  a  couple  of  days, 
plunged  in  a  world  of  fog.  Ugh  !  that  endless,  stubborn  fog  of 
the  Arctic  Sea !  When  it  lowers  its  curtain,  and  shuts  out  the 
blue  above  and  the  blue  below,  and  everything  becomes  a  damp, 
gray  mist,  day  in  and  day  out,  then  all  the  vigor  and  elasticity 
of  the  soul  is  needed  to  save  one  from  being  stifled  in  its  clammy 
embrace.  Fog,  and  nothing  but  fog,  wherever  we  turn  our  eyes. 
It  condenses  on  the  rigging  and  drips  down  on  every  tiniest  spot 
on  deck.  It  lodges  on  your  clothes,  and  finally  wets  you  through 
and  through.  It  settles  down  on  the  mind  and  spirits,  and  ev- 
erything becomes  one  uniform  gray. 

On  the  evening  of  July  27th,  while  still  fog-bound,  we  quite 
unexpectedly  met  with  ice  ;  a  mere  strip,  indeed,  which  we  easily 
passed  through,  but  i-t  boded  ill.  In  the  night  we  met  with  more 
— a  broader  strip  this  time,  which  also  we  passed  through.  But 
next  morning  I  was  called  up  with  the  information  that  there 
was  thick,  old  ice  ahead.  Well,  if  ice  difficulties  were  to  begin  so 
soon,  it  would  be  a  bad  lookout  indeed.  Such  are  the  chill  sur- 
prises that  the  Arctic  Sea  has  more  than  enough  of.  I  dressed 
and  was  up  in  the  crow's-nest  in  a  twinkling.  The  ice  lay  ex- 
tended everywhere,  as'  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  through  the 


FAREWELL    TO  NORWAY  63 

fog,  which  had  lifted  a  little.  There  was  no  small  quantity  of 
ice,  but  it  was  tolerably  open,  and  there  was  nothing  for  it  but 
to  be  true  to  our  watchword  and  "ga  fram  " — push  onward.  For 
a  good  while  we  picked  our  way.  But  now  it  began  to  lie  closer, 
with  large  floes  every  here  and  there,  and  at  the  same  time  the 
fog  grew  denser,  and  we  could  not  see  our  way  at  all.  To  go 
ahead  in  difficult  ice  and  in  a  fog  is  not  very  prudent,  for  it  is 
impossible  to  tell  just  where  you  are  going,  and  you  are  apt  to 
be  set  fast  before  you  know  where  you  are.  So  we  had  to  stop 
and  wait.  But  still  the  fog  grew  ever  denser,  while  the  ice  did 
the  same.  Our  hopes  meanwhile  rose  and  fell,  but  mostly  the 
latter,  I  think.  To  encounter  so  much  ice  already  in  these  waters, 
where  at  this  time  of  year  the  sea  is,  as  a  rule,  quite  free  from 
it,  boded  anything  but  good.  Already  at  Tromso  and  Vardo  we 
had  heard  bad  news  ;  the  White  Sea,  they  said,  had  only  been 
clear  of  ice  a  very  short  time,  and  a  boat  that  had  tried  to  reach 
Yugor  Strait  had  had  to  turn  back  because  of  the  ice.  Neither 
were  our  anticipations  of  the  Kara  Sea  altogether  cheerful. 
What  might  we  not  expect  there?  For  the  Urania,  with  our 
coals,  too,  this  ice  was  a  bad  business ;  for  it  would  be  unable 
to  make  its  way  through  unless  it  had  found  navigable  water  far- 
ther south  along  the  Russian  coast. 

Just  as  our  prospects  were  at  their  darkest,  and  we  were  pre- 
paring to  seek  a  way  back  out  of  the  ice,  which  kept  getting 
ever  denser,  the  joyful  tidings  came  that  the  fog  was  lifting,  and 
that  clear  water  was  visible  ahead  to  the  east  on  the  other  side 
of  the  ice.  After  forcing  our  way  ahead  for  some  hours  be- 
tween the  heavy  floes,  we  were  once  more  in  open  water.  This 
first  bout  with  the  ice,  however,  showed  us  plainly  what  an  ex- 
cellent ice-boat  the  Fram  was.  It  was  a  royal  pleasure  to  work 
her  ahead  through  difficult  ice.  She  twisted  and  turned  "  like  a 
ball  on  a  platter."  No  channel  between  the  floes  so  winding  and 
awkward  but  she  could  get  through  it.  But  it  is  hard  work 
for  the  helmsman.  "  Hard  a-starboard  !  Hard  a-port  !  Steady  ! 
Hard  a-starboard  again  !"  goes  on  incessantly  without  so  much 
as  a  breathing-space.  And  he  rattles  the  wheel  round,  the  sweat 
pours  off  him,  and  round  it  goes  again  like  a  spinning-wheel. 
And  the  ship  swings  round  and  wriggles  her  way  forward  among 
the  floes  without  touching,  if  there  is  an  opening  only  just  wide 
enough  for  her  to  slip  through  ;  and  where  there  is  none  she 


64  FARTHEST  NORTH 

drives  full  tilt  at  the  ice,  with  her  heavy  plunge,  runs  her  sloping 
bows  up  on  it,  treads  it  under  her,  and  bursts  the  floes  asunder. 
And  how  strong  she  is,  too  !  Even  when  she  goes  full  speed  at  a 
floe,  not  a  creak,  not  a  sound,  is  to  be  heard  in  her ;  if  she  gives 
a  little  shake  it  is  all  she  does. 

On  Saturday,  July  29th,  we  again  headed  eastward  towards 
Yugor  Strait  as  fast  as  sails  and  steam  could  take  us.  We  had 
open  sea  ahead,  the  weather  was  fine  and  the  wind  fair.  Next 
morning  we  came  under  the  south  side  of  Dolgoi,  or  Langoia,  as 
the  Norwegian  whalers  call  it,  where  we  had  to  stand  to  the  north- 
ward.  On  reaching  the  north  of  the  island  we  again  bore  east- 
ward. Here  I  descried  from  the  crow's-nest,  as  far  as  I  could 
make  out,  several  islands  which  are  not  given  on  the  charts.  They 
lay  a  little  to  the  east  of  Langoia. 

It  was  now  pretty  clear  that  the  Urania  had  not  made  her 
way  through  the  ice.  While  we  were  sitting  in  the  saloon  in  the 
forenoon,  talking  about  it,  a  cry  was  heard  from  deck  that  the 
sloop  was  in  sight.  It  was  joyful  news,  but  the  joy  was  of  no 
long  duration.  The  next  moment  we  heard  she  had  a  crow's- 
nest  on  her  mast,  so  she  was  doubtless  a  sealer.  When  she 
sighted  us  she  bore  off  to  the  south,  probably  fearing  that  we 
were  a  Russian  war-ship  or  something  equally  bad.  So,  as  we  had 
no  particular  interest  in  her,  we  let  her  go  on  her  way  in  peace. 

Later  in  the  day  we  neared  Yugor  Strait.  We  kept  a  sharp 
lookout  for  land  ahead,  but  none  could  be  seen.  Hour  after  hour 
passed  as  we  glided  onward  at  good  speed,  but  still  no  land. 
Certainly  it  would  not  be  high  land,  but  nevertheless  this  was 
strange.  Yes — there  it  lies,  like  a  low  shadow  over  the  horizon, 
on  the  port  bow.  It  is  land — it  is  Vaigats  Island.  Soon  we  sight 
more  of  it — abaft  the  beam  ;  then,  too,  the  mainland  on  the  south 
side  of  the  strait.  More  and  more  of  it  comes  in  sight — it  in- 
creases rapidly.  All  low  and  level  land,  no  heights,  no  variety, 
no  apparent  opening  for  the  strait  ahead.  Thence  it  stretches 
away  to  the  north  and  south  in  a  soft,  low  curve.  This  is  the 
threshold  of  Asia's  boundless  plains,  so  different  from  all  we  have 
been  used  to. 

We  now  glided  into  the  strait,  with  its  low,  rocky  shores  on 
either  side.  The  strata  of  the  rocks  lie  end-ways,  and  are  crum- 
pled and  broken,  but  on  the  surface  everything  is  level  and 
smooth.     No  one  who  travels  over  the  flat,  green  plains  and  tun- 


FAREWELL    TO  NORWAY  65 

dras  would  have  any  idea  of  the  mysteries  and  upheavals  that 
lie  hidden  beneath  the  sward.  Here  once  upon  a  time  were  moun- 
tains and  valleys,  now  all  worn  away  and  washed  out. 

We  looked  out  for  Khabarova.  On  the  north  side  of  the  sound 
there  was  a  mark  ;  a  shipwrecked  sloop  lay  on  the  shore  ;  it  wac 
a  Norwegian  sealer.  The  wreck  of  a  smaller  vessel  lay  by  its 
side.  On  the  south  side  was  a  flag-staff,  and  on  it  a  red  flag ; 
Khabarova  must  then  lie  behind  it.  At  last  one  or  two  buildings 
or  shanties  appeared  behind  a  promontory,  and  soon  the  whole 
place  lay  exposed  to  view,  consisting  of  tents  and  a  few  houses. 
On  a  little  jutting-out  point  close  by  us  was  a  large  red  building, 
with  white  door-frames,  of  a  very  homelike  appearance.  It  was, 
indeed,  a  Norwegian  warehouse  which  Sibiriakoff  had  imported 
from  Finmarken.  But  here  the  water  was  shallow,  and  we  had 
to  proceed  carefully  for  fear  of  running  aground.  We  kept  heav- 
ing the  lead  incessantly — we  had  5  fathoms  of  water,  and  then  4, 
then  not  much  more  than  we  needed,  and  then  it  shelved  to  a 
little  over  3  fathoms.  This  was  rather  too  close  work,  so  we 
stood  out  again  a  bit  to  wait  till  we  got  a  little  nearer  the  place 
before  drawing  in  to  the  shore. 

A  boat  was  now  seen  slowly  approaching  from  the  land.  A 
man  of  middle  height,  with  an  open,  kindly  face  and  reddish 
beard,  came  on  board.  He  might  have  been  a  Norwegian  from 
his  appearance.  I  went  to  meet  him,  and  asked  him  in  German 
if  he  was  Trontheim.  Yes,  he  was.  After  him  there  came  a 
number  of  strange  figures  clad  in  heavy  robes  of  reindeer-skin, 
which  nearly  touched  the  deck.  On  their  heads  they  wore  pecul- 
iar "  bashlyk  "-like  caps  of  reincalf  -  skin,  beneath  which  strongly 
marked  bearded  faces  showed  forth,  such  as  might  well  have 
belonged  to  old  Norwegian  Vikings.  The  whole  scene,  indeed, 
called  up  in  my  mind  a  picture  of  the  Viking  Age,  of  expeditions 
to  Gardarike  and  Bjarmeland.  They  were  fine,  stalwart-looking 
fellows,  these  Russian  traders,  who  barter  with  the  natives,  giv- 
ing them  brandy  in  exchange  for  bearskins,  sealskins,  and  other 
valuables,  and  who,  when  once  they  have  a  hold  on  a  man,  keep 
him  in  such  a  state  of  dependence  that  he  can  scarcely  call  his 
soul  his  own.  "  Es  ist  eine  alte  Geschichte,  doch  wird  sie  immer 
neu."  Soon,  too,  the  Samoyedes  came  flocking  on  board,  pleasant- 
featured  people  of  the  broad  Asiatic  type.  Of  course  it  was  only 
the  men  who  came. 


^  FARTHEST  NORTH 

The  first  question  I  asked  Trontheim  was  about  the  ice. 
He  replied  that  Yugor  Strait  had  been  open  a  long  while,  and 
that  he  had  been  expecting  our  arrival  every  day  since  then 
with  ever -increasing  anxiety.  The  natives  and  the  Russians 
had  begun  to  jeer  at  him  as  time  went  on  and  no  Frani 
was  to  be  seen  ;  but  now  he  had  his  revenge  and  was  all  sun- 
shine. He  thought  the  state  of  the  ice  in  the  Kara  Sea  would 
be  favorable ;  some  Samoyedes  had  said  so,  who  had  been  seal- 
hunting  near  the  eastern  entrance  of  the  strait  a  day  or  two 
previously.  This  was  not  very  much  to  build  upon,  certainly, 
but  still  sufficient  to  make  us  regret  that  we  had  not  got  there 
before.  Then  we  spoke  of  the  Urania^  of  which  no  one,  of  course, 
had  seen  anything.  No  ship  had  put  in  there  for  some  time,  ex- 
cept the  sealing  sloop  we  had  passed  in  the  morning. 

Next  we  inquired  about  the  dogs,  and  learned  that  everything 
was  all  right  with  them.  To  make  sure,  Trontheim  had  purchased 
forty  dogs,  though  I  had  only  asked  for  thirty.  Five  of  these, 
from  various  mishaps,  had  died  during  their  journey — one  had 
been  bitten  to  death,  two  had  got  hung  fast  and  had  been  stran- 
gled while  passing  through  a  forest,  etc.,  etc.  One,  moreover, 
had  been  taken  ill  a  few  days  before,  and  was  still  on  the  sick  list ; 
but  the  remaining  thirty-four  were  in  good  condition :  we  could 
hear  them  howling  and  barking.  During  this  conversation  we 
had  come  as  near  to  Khabarova  as  we  dared  venture,  and  at  seven 
in  the  evening  cast  anchor  in  about  3  fathoms  of  water. 

Over  the  supper-table  Trontheim  told  us  his  adventures.  On 
the  way  from  Sopva  and  Ural  to  the  Pechora  he  heard  that 
there  was  a  dog  epidemic  in  that  locality  ;  consequently  he  did 
not  think  it  advisable  to  go  to  the  Pechora  as  he  had  intended,  but 
laid  his  course  instead  direct  from  Ural  to  Yugor  Strait.  Tow- 
ards the  end  of  the  journey  the  snow  had  disappeared,  and,  in 
company  with  a  reindeer  caravan,  he  drove  on  with  his  dogs 
over  the  bare  plain,  stocks  and  stones  and  all,  using  the  sledges 
none  the  less.  The  Samoyedes  and  natives  of  Northern  Siberia 
have  no  vehicles  but  sledges.  The  summer  sledge  is  somewhat 
higher  than  the  winter  sledge,  in  order  that  it  may  not  hang 
fast  upon  stones  and  stumps.  As  may  be  supposed,  however, 
summer  sledging  is  anything  but  smooth  work. 

After  supper  we  went  ashore,  and  were  soon  on  the  flat  beach 
of  Khabarova,  the  Russians  and  Samoyedes  regarding  us  with 


FAREWELL   TO  NORWAY  6y 

the  utmost  curiosity.  The  first  objects  to  attract  our  attention 
were  the  two  churches— an  old,  venerable-looking  wooden  shed, 
of  an  oblong  rectangular  form,  and  an  octagonal  pavilion,  not 
unlike  many  summer-houses  or  garden  pavilions  that  I  have 
seen  at  home.  How  far  the  divergence  between  the  two  forms 
of  religion  was  indicated  in  the  two  mathematical  figures  I  am 
unable  to  say.  It  might  be  that  the  simplicity  of  the  old  faith 
was  expressed  in  the  simple,  four-sided  building,  while  the  rites 
and  ceremonies  of  the  other  were  typified  in  the  octagonal  form, 
with  its  double  number  of  corners  to  stumble  against.  Then  we 
must  go  and  see  the  monastery — "  Skit,"  as  it  was  called — where 
the  six  monks  had  lived,  or  rather  died,  from  what  people  said 
was  scurvy,  probably  helped  out  by  alcohol.  It  lay  over  against 
the  new  church,  and  resembled  an  ordinary  low  Russian  timber- 
house.  The  priest  and  his  assistants  were  living  there  now,  and 
had  asked  Trontheim  to  take  up  his  quarters  with  them.  Tron- 
theim,  therefore,  invited  us  in,  and  we  soon  found  ourselves  in  a 
couple  of  comfortable  log-built  rooms  with  open  fireplaces  like 
our  Norwegian  "pels." 

After  this  we  proceeded  to  the  dog-camp,  which  was  situated 
on  a  plain  at  some  distance  from  the  houses  and  tents.  As  we 
approached  it  the  howling  and  barking  kept  getting  worse  and 
worse.  When  a  short  distance  off  we  were  surprised  to  see  a 
Norwegian  flag  on  the  top  of  a  pole.  Trontheim's  face  beamed 
with  joy  as  our  eyes  fell  on  it.  It  was,  he  said,  under  the  same 
flag  as  our  expedition  that  his  had  been  undertaken.  There 
stood  the  dogs  tied  up,  making  a  deafening  clamor.  Many  of 
them  appeared  to  be  well-bred  animals — long-haired,  snow-white, 
with  upstanding  ears  and  pointed  muzzles.  With  their  gentle, 
good-natured-looking  faces  they  at  once  ingratiated  themselves 
in  our  affections.  Some  of  them  more  resembled  a  fox,  and  had 
shorter  coats,  while  others  were  black  or  spotted.  Evidently 
they  were  of  different  races,  and  some  of  them  betrayed  by  their 
drooping  ears  a  strong  admixture  of  European  blood.  After 
having  duly  admired  the  ravenous  way  in  which  they  swallowed 
raw  fish  (gwiniad),  not  without  a  good  deal  of  snarling  and 
wrangling,  we  took  a  walk  inland  to  a  lake  close  by  in  search  of 
game  ;  but  we  found  only  an  Arctic  gull  with  its  brood.  A  channel 
had  been  dug  from  this  lake  to  convey  drinking-water  to  Khaba- 
rova.    According  to  what  Trontheim  told  us,  this  was  the  work 


68  FARTHEST  NORTH 

of  the  monks  —  about  the  only  work,  probably,  they  had  ever 
taken  in  hand.  The  soil  here  was  a  soft  clay,  and  the  channel 
was  narrow  and  shallow,  like  a  roadside  ditch  or  gutter  ;  the 
work  could  not  have  been  very  arduous.  On  the  hill  above  the 
lake  stood  the  flagstaff  which  we  had  noticed  on  our  arrival.  It 
had  been  erected  by  the  excellent  Trontheim  to  bid  us  welcome, 
and  on  the  flag  itself,  as  I  afterwards  discovered  by  chance,  was 
the  word  "Vorwarts."  Trontheim  had  been  told  that  that  was 
the  name  of  our  ship,  so  he  was  not  a  little  disappointed  when 
he  came  on  board  to  find  it  was  Frain  instead.  I  consoled  him, 
however,  by  telling  him  they  both  meant  the  same  thing,  and 
that  his  welcome  was  just  as  well  meant,  whether  written  in 
German  or  Norwegian.  Trontheim  told  me  afterwards  that  he 
was  by  descent  a  Norwegian,  his  father  having  been  a  ship's 
captain  from  Trondhjem,  and  his  mother  an  Esthonian,  settled 
at  Riga.  His  father  had  been  much  at  sea,  and  had  died  early, 
so  the  son  had  not  learned  Norwegian. 

Naturally  our  first  and  foremost  object  was  to  learn  all  we 
could  about  the  ice  in  the  Arctic  Sea.  We  had  determined  to 
push  on  as  soon  as  possible  ;  but  we  must  have  the  boiler  put  in 
order  first,  while  sundry  pipes  and  valves  in  the  engine  wanted 
seeing  to.  As  it  would  take  several  days  to  do  this,  Sverdrup, 
Peter  Henriksen,  and  I  set  out  next  morning  in  our  little  petro- 
leum launch  to  the  eastern  opening  of  the  Yugor  Strait,  to  see 
with  our  own  eyes  what  might  be  the  condition  of  the  ice  to  the 
eastward.  It  was  28  miles  thither.  A  quantity  of  ice  was  drift- 
ing through  the  strait  from  the  east,  and,  as  there  was  a  norther- 
ly breeze,  we  at  once  turned  our  course  northward  to  get  under 
the  lee  of  the  north  shore,  where  the  water  was  more  open.  I 
had  the  rather  thankless  task  of  acting  as  helmsman  and  en- 
gineer at  one  and  the  same  time.  The  boat  went  on  like  a  little 
hero  and  made  about  six  knots.  Everything  looked  bright.  But, 
alas  !  good  fortune  seldom  lasts  long,  especially  when  one  has  to 
do  with  petroleum  launches.  A  defect  in  the  circulation-pump 
soon  stopped  the  engine,  and  we  could  only  go  for  short  dis- 
tances at  a  time,  till  we  reached  the  north  shore,  where,  after 
two  hours'  hard  work,  I  got  the  engine  so  far  in  order  as  to  be 
able  to  continue  our  journey  to  the  northeast  through  the  sound 
between  the  drifting  floes.  We  got  on  pretty  well,  except  for  an 
interruption  every  now  and  then  when  the  engine  took  it  into 


FAREWELL   TO  NORWAY  69 

its  head  to  come  to  a  standstill.  It  caused  a  good  deal  of  mer- 
riment when  the  stalwart  Peter  turned  the  crank  to  set  her  off 
again  and  the  engine  gave  a  start  so  as  nearly  to  pull  his  arms 
out  of  joint  and  upset  him  head  over  heels  in  the  boat.  Every 
now  and  then  a  flock  of  long-tailed  duck  {Harelda  glacialis)  ur 
other  birds  came  whizzing  by  us,  one  or  two  of  them  invariably 
falling  to  our  guns. 

We  had  kept  along  the  Vaigats  shore,  but  now  crossed  over 
towards  the  south  side  of  the  strait.  When  about  the  middle  of 
the  channel  I  was  startled  by  all  at  once  seeing  the  bottom  grow 
light  under  us,  and  had  nearly  run  the  boat  on  a  shoal  of  which 
no  one  knew  anything.  There  was  scarcely  more  than  two  or 
three  feet  of  water,  and  the  current  ran  over  it  like  a  rapid  river. 
Shoals  and  sunken  rocks  abound  there  on  every  hand,  especially 
on  the  south  side  of  the  strait,  and  it  required  great  care  to 
navigate  a  vessel  through  it.  Near  the  eastern  mouth  of  the 
strait  we  put  into  a  little  creek,  dragged  the  boat  up  on  the 
beach,  and  then,  taking  our  guns,  made  for  some  high-lying  land 
we  had  noticed.  We  tramped  along  over  the  same  undulating 
plain-land  with  low  ridges  as  we  had  seen  everywhere  round  the 
Yugor  Strait.  A  brownish-green  carpet  of  moss  and  grass  spread 
over  the  plain,  bestrewn  with  flowers  of  rare  beauty.  During  the 
long,  cold  Siberian  winter  the  snow  lies  in  a  thick  mass  over 
the  tundra  ;  but  no  sooner  does  the  sun  get  the  better  of  it  than 
hosts  of  tiny  Northern  flowers  burst  their  way  up  through  the 
fast-disappearing  coating  of  snow  and  open  their  modest  calices, 
blushing  in  the  radiant  summer  day  that  bathes  the  plain  in  its 
splendor.  Saxifrages  with  large  blooms,  pale-yellow  mountain 
poppies  {Papavcr  yiiidicaiile)  stand  in  bright  clusters,  and  here 
and  there  with  bluish  forget-me-nots  and  white  cloud-berry  flow- 
ers; in  some  boggy  hollows  the  cotton-grass  spreads  its  wavy 
down  carpet,  while  in  other  spots  small  forests  of  bluebells  softly 
tinkle  in  the  wind  on  their  upright  stalks.  These  flowers  are  not 
at  all  brilliant  specimens,  being  in  most  cases  not  more  than  a 
couple  of  inches  high,  but  they  are  all  the  more  exquisite  on  that 
account,  and  in  such  surroundings  their  beauty  is  singularly 
attractive.  While  the  eye  vainly  seeks  for  a  resting-place  over 
the  boundless  plain,  these  modest  blooms  smile  at  you  and  take 
your  fancy  captive. 

And  over  these  mighty  tundra-plains  of  Asia,  stretching  in- 


70  FARTHEST  NORTH 

finitely  onward  from  one  sky-line  to  the  other,  the  nomad 
wanders  with  his  reindeer  herds,  a  glorious,  free  life  !  Where  he 
wills  he  pitches  his  tent,  his  reindeer  around  him ;  and  at  his 
will  again  he  goes  on  his  way.  I  almost  envied  him.  He  has  no 
goal  to  struggle  towards,  no  anxieties  to  endure — he  has  merely 
to  live !  I  wellnigh  wished  that  I  could  live  his  peaceful  life, 
with  wife  and  child,  on  these  boundless,  open  plains,  unfettered, 
happy. 

After  we  had  proceeded  a  short  distance,  we  became  aware  of 
a  white  object  sitting  on  a  stone  heap  beneath  a  little  ridge,  and 
soon  noticed  more  in  other  directions.  They  looked  quite  ghostly 
as  they  sat^  there  silent  and  motionless.  With  the  help  of  my 
field-glass  I  discovered  that  they  were  snow-owls.  We  set  out 
after  them,  but  they  took  care  to  keep  out  of  the  range  of  a  fowl- 
ing-piece. Sverdrup,  however,  shot  one  or  two  with  his  rifle. 
There  was  a  great  number  of  them  ;  I  could  count  as  many  as 
eight  or  ten  at  once.  They  sat  motionless  on  tussocks  of  grass 
or  stones,  watching,  no  doubt,  for  lemmings,  of  which,  judging, 
from  their  tracks,  there  must  have  been  numbers.  We,  however, 
did  not  see  any. 

From  the  tops  of  the  ridges  we  could  see  over  the  Kara  Sea 
to  the  northeast.  Everywhere  ice  could  be  descried  through  the 
telescope,  far  on  the  horizon — ice,  too,  that  seemed  tolerably  close 
and  massive.  But  between  it  and  the  coast  there  was  open 
water,  stretching,  like  a  wide  channel,  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach  to  the  southeast.  This  was  all  we  could  make  out,  but  it 
was  in  reality  all  we  wanted.  There  seemed  to  be  no  doubt  that 
we  could  make  our  way  forward,  and,  well  satisfied,  we  returned 
to  our  boat.  Here  we  lighted  a  fire  of  drift-wood  and  made  some 
glorious  coffee. 

As  the  coffee-kettle  was  singing  over  a  splendid  fire,  and  we 
stretched  ourselves  at  full  length  on  the  slope  by  its  side  and 
smoked  a  quiet  pipe,  Sverdrup  made  himself  thoroughly  com- 
fortable, and  told  us  one  story  after  another.  However  gloomy 
a  country  might  look,  however  desolate,  if  only  there  were  plenty 
of  drift-wood  on  the  beach,  so  that  one  could  make  a  right  good 
fire,  the  bigger  the  better,  then  his  eyes  would  glisten  with  delight 
— that  land  was  his  El  Dorado.  So  from  that  time  forth  he  con- 
ceived a  high  opinion  of  the  Siberian  coast — a  right  good  place 
for  wintering,  he  called  it. 


FAREWELL    TO  NORWAY  n 

On  our  way  back  we  ran  at  full  speed  on  to  a  sunken  rock. 
After  a  bump  or  two  the  boat  slid  over  it ;  but  just  as  she  was 
slipping  off  on  the  other  side  the  propeller  struck  on  the  rock,  so 
that  the  stern  gave  a  bound  into  the  air  while  the  engine  whizzed 
round  at  a  tearing  rate.  It  all  happened  in  a  second,  before  I  had 
time  to  stop  her.  Unluckily  one  screw-blade  was  broken  off,  but 
we  drove  ahead  with  the  other  as  best  we  could.  Our  progress 
was  certainly  rather  uneven,  but  for  all  that  we  managed  to  get 
on  somehow. 

Towards  morning  we  drew  near  the  Frani^  passing  two  Samo- 
yedes,  who  had  drawn  their  boat  up  on  an  ice-floe  and  were 
looking  out  for  seals,  I  wonder  what  they  thought  when  they 
saw  our  tiny  boat  shoot  by  them  without  steam,  sails,  or  oars. 
We,  at  all  events,  looked  down  on  these  "  poor  savages  "  with  the 
self-satisfied  compassion  of  Europeans,  as,  comfortably  seated,  we 
dashed  past  them. 

But  pride  comes  before  a  fall !  We  had  not  gone  far  when 
— whir,  whir,  whir — a  fearful  racket !  bits  of  broken  steel  springs 
whizzed  past  my  ears,  and  the  whole  machine  came  to  a  dead 
stop.  It  was  not  to  be  moved  either  forward  or  backward.  The 
vibration  of  the  one-bladed  propeller  had  brought  the  lead  line 
little  by  little  within  the  range  of  the  fly-wheel,  and  all  at  once  the 
whole  line  was  drawn  into  the  machinery,  and  got  so  dreadfully 
entangled  in  it  that  we  had  to  take  the  whole  thing  to  pieces  to 
get  it  clear  once  more.  So  we  had  to  endure  the  humiliation 
of  rowing  back  to  our  proud  ship,  for  whose  flesh-pots  we  had 
long  been  anhungered. 

The  net  result  of  the  day  was :  tolerably  good  news  about 
the  Kara  Sea;  forty  birds,  principally  geese  and  long-tailed  ducks; 
one  seal ;  and  a  disabled  boat.  Amundsen  and  I,  however,  soon 
put  this  in  complete  repair  again — but  in  so  doing  I  fear  I  for- 
feited forever  and  a  day  the  esteem  of  the  Russians  and  Samo- 
yedes  in  these  parts.  Some  of  them  had  been  on  board  in  the 
morning  and  seen  me  hard  at  work  in  the  boat  in  my  shirt- 
sleeves, face  and  bare  arms  dirty  with  oil  and  other  messes. 
They  went  on  shore  afterwards  to  Trontheim,  and  said  that  I 
could  not  possibly  be  a  great  person,  slaving  away  like  any  other 
workman  on  board,  and  looking  worse  than  a  common  rough. 
Trontheim,  unfortunately,  knew  of  nothing  that  could  be  said  in 
my  excuse  ;  there  is  no  fighting  against  facts. 


72  FARTHEST  NORTH 

In  the  evening  some  of  us  went  on  shore  to  try  the  dogs. 
Trontheim  picked  out  ten  of  them  and  harnessed  them  to  a  Sa- 
moyede  sledge.  No  sooner  were  we  ready  and  I  had  taken  my 
seat  than  the  team  caught  sight  of  a  wretched  strange  dog  that 
had  come  near,  and  off  dashed  dogs,  sledge,  and  my  valuable  per- 
son after  the  poor  creature.  There  was  a  tremendous  uproar  ; 
all  the  ten  tumbled  over  each  other  like  wild  wolves,  biting  and 
tearing  wherever  they  could  catch  hold  ;  blood  ran  in  streams, 
and  the  culprit  howled  pitiably,  while  Trontheim  tore  round  like 
a  madman,  striking  right  and  left  with  his  long  switch.  Samo- 
yedes  and  Russians  came  screaming  from  all  sides.  I  sat  passive- 
ly on  the  sledge  in  the  middle  of  it  all,  dumb  with  fright,  and  it 
was  ever  so  long  before  it  occurred  to  me  that  there  was  perhaps 
something  for  me  too  to  do.  With  a  horrible  yell  I  flung  myself 
on  some  of  the  worst  fighters,  got  hold  of  them  by  the  neck,  and 
managed  to  give  the  culprit  time  to  get  away. 

Our  team  had  got  badly  mixed  up  during  the  battle,  and  it 
took  some  time  to  disentangle  them.  At  last  everything  was  once 
more  ready  for  the  start.  Trontheim  cracked  his  whip  and 
called  "  Pr-r-r-r,  pr-r-r-r,"  and  off  we  went  at  a  wild  gallop,  over 
grass,  clay,  and  stones,  until  it  seemed  as  if  the  dogs  were  going 
to  carry  us  right  across  the  lagoon  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  I 
kicked  and  pulled  in  with  all  my  might,  but  was  dragged  along, 
and  it  was  all  that  Trontheim  and  I  with  our  united  strength 
could  do  to  stop  them  just  as  they  were  going  into  the  water, 
although  we  shouted  "  Sass !  sass !"  so  that  it  echoed  over  the 
whole  of  Khabarova.  But  at  last  we  got  our  team  turned  in 
another  direction,  and  off  we  set  again  merrily  at  such  a  pace 
that  I  had  enough  to  do  to  hold  on.  It  was  an  extraordinary 
summer  ride  ;  and  it  gave  us  a  high  opinion  of  the  dogs'  strength, 
seeing  how  easily  they  drew  two  men  over  this,  to  put  it  mildly, 
bad  sledging  ground.  We  went  on  board  again  well  satisfied, 
also  the  richer  by  a  new  experience,  having  learned  that  dog- 
driving,  at  any  rate  to  begin  with,  requires  much  patience. 

Siberian  dog-harness  is  remarkably  primitive.  A  thick  rope 
or  a  strap  of  sail-cloth  passes  round  the  animal's  back  and  belly. 
This  is  held  in  its  place  above  by  a  piece  of  cord  attached  to  the 
collar.  The  single  trace  is  fastened  under  the  belly,  goes  back 
between  the  legs,  and  must  often  plague  the  animal.  I  was 
unpleasantly  surprised  when   I   noticed  that,  with  four  excep- 


FAREWELL    TO  NORWAY  73 

tions,  all  the  dogs  were  castrated,  and  this  surprise  I  did  not 
conceal.  But  Trontheim  on  his  side  was  at  least  equally  aston- 
ished, and  informed  me  that  in  Siberia  castrated  dogs  are  con- 
sidered the  best.*  This  was  a  disappointment  to  me,  as  I  had 
reckoned  on  my  canine  family  increasing  on  the  way.  For  the 
present  I  should  just  have  to  trust  to  the  four  "  whole  "  dogs  and 
"  Kvik,"  the  bitch  I  had  brought  with  me  from  home. 

Next  day,  August  ist,  there  was  a  great  religious  festival  in 
Khabarova,  that  of  St.  Elias.  Samoyedes  from  far  and  near  had 
come  in  with  their  reindeer  teams  to  celebrate  the  day  by  going 
to  church  and  then  getting  roaring  drunk.  We  were  in  need  of 
men  in  the  morning  to  help  in  filling  the  boiler  with  fresh  water 
and  the  tank  with  drinking-water,  but  on  account  of  this  festival 
it  was  difficult  to  get  hold  of  any  at  all.  At  last,  by  dint  of 
promising  sufficient  reward,  Trontheim  succeeded  in  collecting 
some  poor  fellows  who  had  not  money  enough  to  drink  them- 
selves as  drunk  as  the  day  required  of  them.  I  was  on  shore 
in  the  morning,  partly  to  arrange  about  the  provision  of  water, 
partly  to  collect  fossils,  in  which  the  rock  here  abounds,  espe- 
cially one  rock  below  Sibiriakoff 's  warehouse.  I  also  took  a  walk 
up  the  hill  to  the  west,  to  Trontheim's  flag-staff,  and  looked  out 
to  sea  in  that  direction  after  the  Urania.  But  there  was  nothing 
to  be  seen  except  an  unbroken  sea-line.  Loaded  with  my  find,  I 
returned  to  Khabarova,  where  I,  of  course,  took  advantage  of 
the  opportunity  to  see  something  of  the  festival. 

From  early  morning  the  women  had  been  dressed  in  their 
finest  clothes — brilliant  colors,  skirts  with  many  tucks,  and  great 
colored  bows  at  the  end  of  plaits  of  hair  which  hung  far  down 
their  backs.  Before  service  an  old  Samoyede  and  a  comely  young 
girl  led  out  a  lean  reindeer  which  was  to  be  offered  to  the  church 
— to  the  old  church,  that  is  to  say.  Even  up  here,  as  already 
mentioned,  religious  differences  have  found  their  way.  Nearly 
all  the  Samoyedes  of  these  parts  belong  to  the  old  faith  and  at- 
tend the  old  church.  But  they  go  occasionally  to  the  new  one 
too ;  as  far  as  I  could  make  out,  so  as  not  to  offend  the  priest 
and  Sibiriakoff — or  perhaps  to  be  surer  of  heaven?  From  what  I 
got  out  of  Trontheim  on  the  subject,  the  chief  difference  between 

*  The  ordinary  male  dog  is  liable  to  get  infiammation  of  the  scrotum 
from  the  friction  of  the  trace. 


74  FARTHEST  NORTH 

the  two  religions  lies  in  the  way  they  make  the  sign  of  the  cross, 
or  something  of  that  sort.  To-day  was  high  festival  in  both 
churches.  All  the  Samoyedes  first  paid  a  short  visit  to  the  new 
church  and  then  immediately  streamed  over  into  the  old  one. 
The  old  church  was  for  the  moment  without  a  priest,  but  to-day 
they  had  clubbed  together  and  offered  the  priest  of  the  new 
church  two  roubles  to  hold  a  service  in  the  old  one  too.  After 
careful  consideration,  he  agreed,  and  in  all  his  priestly  pomp 
crossed  the  old  threshold.  The  air  inside  was  so  bad  that  I  could 
not  stand  it  for  more  than  two  minutes,  so  I  now  made  my  way 
on  board  again. 

During  the  afternoon  the  howling  and  screaming  began,  and  in- 
creased as  time  went  on.  We  did  not  need  to  be  told  that  the  seri- 
ous part  of  the  festival  had  now  begun.  Some  of  the  Samoyedes 
tore  about  over  the  plain  with  their  reindeer  teams  like  furious 
animals.  They  could  not  sit  on  their  sledges,  but  lay  on  them, 
or  were  dragged  behind  them,  howling.  Some  of  my  comrades 
went  on  shore,  and  brought  back  anything  but  an  edifying  ac- 
count of  the  state  of  things.  Every  single  man  and  woman 
appeared  to  be  drunk,  reeling  about  the  place.  One  young 
Samoyede  in  particular  had  made  an  ineffaceable  impression  on 
them.  He  mounted  a  sledge,  lashed  at  the  reindeer,  and  drove 
"  amuck  "  in  among  the  tents,  over  the  tied-up  dogs,  foxes,  and 
whatever  came  in  his  way ;  he  himself  fell  off  the  sledge,  was 
caught  in  the  reins,  and  dragged  behind,  shrieking,  through 
sand  and  clay.  Good  St.  Elias  must  be  very  much  flattered  by 
such  homage.  Towards  morning  the  howling  gradually  died 
away,  and  the  whole  town  slept  the  loathsome  sleep  of  the 
drunkard. 

There  was  not  a  man  to  be  got  to  help  with  our  coal-shifting 
next  day.  Most  of  them  slept  all  day  after  the  orgy  of  the 
night.  We  had  just  to  do  without  help ;  but  we  had  not  finished 
by  evening,  and  I  began  to  be  impatient  to  get  away.  Precious 
time  was  passing  ;  I  had  long  ago  given  up  the  Urania.  We  did 
not  really  need  more  coal.  The  wind  had  been  favorable  for 
several  days.  It  was  a  south  wind,  which  was  certainly  blowing 
the  ice  to  the  northward  in  the  Kara  Sea.  Sverdrup  was  now 
positive  that  we  should  be  able  to  sail  in  open  water  all  the  way 
to  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  so  it  was  his  opinion  that  there  was 
no  hurry  for  the  present.     But  hope  is  a  frail  reed  to  lean  on, 


FAREWELL   TO  NORWAY  75 

and  my  expectations  were  not  quite  so  bright ;  so  I  hurried 
things  on,  to  get  away  as  soon  as  possible. 

At  the  supper-table  this  evening  King  Oscar's  gold  medal  of 
merit  was  solemnly  presented  to  Trontheim,  in  recognition  of 
the  great  care  with  which  he  had  executed  his  difficult  commis- 
sion, and  the  valuable  assistance  thereby  rendered  to  the  expedi- 
tion. His  honest  face  beamed  at  the  sight  of  the  beautiful  medal 
and  the  bright  ribbon. 

Next  day,  August  3d,  we  were  at  last  ready  for  a  start,  and 
the  34  dogs  were  brought  on  board  in  the  afternoon,  with  great 
noise  and  confusion.  They  were  all  tied  up  on  the  deck  forward, 
and  began  by  providing  more  musical  entertainment  than  we 
desired.  By  evening  the  hour  had  come.  We  got  up  steam — 
everything  was  ready.  But  such  a  thick  fog  had  set  in  that  we 
could  not  see  the  land.  Now  came  the  moment  when  our  last 
friend,  Christofersen,  was  to  leave  the  ship.  We  supplied  him 
with  the  barest  sufficiency  of  provisions  and  some  Ringnes's  ale. 
While  this  was  being  done  last  lines  were  added  in  feverish 
eagerness  to  the  letters  home.  Then  came  a  last  hand-clasp; 
Christofersen  and  Trontheim  got  into  the  boat,  and  had  soon  dis- 
appeared in  the  fog.  With  them  went  our  last  post ;  our  last 
link  with  home  was  broken.  We  were  alone  in  the  mist  on  the 
sea.  It  was  not  likely  that  any  message  from  us  would  reach 
the  world  before  we  ourselves  brought  the  news  of  our  success  or 
defeat.  How  much  anxiety  were  those  at  home  to  suffer  between 
now  and  then !  It  is  true  we  might  possibly  be  able  to  send  let- 
ters home  from  the  mouth  of  the  Olenek,  where,  according  to  the 
agreement  with  Baron  Toll,  we  were  to  call  in  for  another  supply 
of  dogs ;  but  I  did  not  consider  this  probable.  It  was  far  on  in 
the  summer,  and  I  had  an  instinctive  feeling  that  the  state  of  the 
ice  was  not  so  favorable  as  I  could  have  wished  it  to  be. 

trontheim's  narrative 

Alexander  Ivanovitch  Trontheim  has  himself  given  an  ac- 
count, in  the  Tobolsk  official  newspaper,  of  his  long  ^nd  difficult 
journey  with  our  dogs.  The  account  was  written  by  A.  Kryloff 
from  Trontheim's  story.     The  following  is  a  short  rdsunii: 

After  having  made  the  contract  with  Baron  Toll,  Trontheim 
was  on  January  28th  (January  i6th  by  Russian  reckoning)  already 


76  FARTHEST  NORTH 

at  Berezoff,  where  there  was  then  a  Yassak-meeting,*  and  conse- 
quently a  great  assembly  of  Ostiaks  and  Samoyedes.  Trontheim 
made  use  of  this  opportunity  and  bought  ^t,  (this  ought  probably 
to  be  40)  choice  sledge  dogs.  These  he  conveyed  to  the  little 
country  town  of  Muzhi,  where  he  made  preparations  for  the 
"very  long  journey,"  passing  the  time  in  this  way  till  April  i6th. 
By  this  date  he  had  prepared  300  pud  (about  9600  lbs.)  of  dog 
provender,  consisting  chiefly  of  dried  fish.  For  300  roubles  he 
engaged  a  Syriane,  named  Terentieff,  with  a  reindeer  herd  of 
450,  to  convey  him,  his  dogs  and  baggage,  to  Yugor  Strait.  For 
three  months  these  two  with  their  caravan  —  reindeer,  drivers, 
dogs,  women,  and  children — travelled  through  the  barren  tracts 
of  northern  Siberia.  At  first  their  route  lay  through  the  Ural 
Mountains.  "  It  was  more  a  sort  of  nomadic  life  than  a  journey. 
They  did  not  go  straight  on  towards  their  destination,  but  wan- 
dered over  wide  tracts  of  country,  stopping  wherever  it  was  suit- 
able for  the  reindeer,  and  where  they  found  lichen.  From  the 
little  town  of  Muzhi  the  expedition  passed  up  the  Voikara  River 
to  its  sources  ;  and  here  began  the  ascent  of  the  Ural  Mountains 
by  the  Pass  of  Kjaila  [Kjola].  In  their  crossing  of  the  chain 
they  tried  to  skirt  along  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  climbing  as 
little  as  possible.  .  .  . 

"  They  noticed  one  marked  contrast  between  the  mountains 
in  the  northern  and  those  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Ural  chain. 
In  the  south  the  snow  melts  quickly  in  the  lower  regions  and 
remains  lying  on  the  tops.  Here  (in  the  northern  Ural),  on  the 
contrary,  the  mountain-tops  are  free  from  snow  before  the  sun's 
rays  penetrate  into  the  valleys  and  melt  it  there.  In  some  val- 
leys, especially  those  closed  by  mountains  to  the  south,  and  more 
exposed  to  north  winds,  the  snow  lies  the  whole  summer.  When 
they  had  got  across  the  Ural  Mountains  they  first  followed  the 
course  of  the  River  Lemva,  then  crossed  it,  and  now  followed  a 
whole  system  of  small  rivers,  for  which  even  the  natives  have  no 
names.  At  last,  on  May  4th,  the  expedition  reached  the  River 
Ussa,  on  the  banks  of  which  lay  the  hut  of  the  Syriane  Nikitsa." 
This  was  "the  one  inhabited  spot  in  this  enormous  tract  of 
country,"  and  here  they  stopped  two  weeks  to  rest  the  reindeer 
and  get  provender  for  them.     "  The  country  lying  between  the 

*  Yassak  is  a  tax  paid  in  fur  by  the  Siberians. 


FAREWELL    TO  NORWAY  77 

sources  of  the  Voikara  and  the  Ussa  is  wooded  in  every  direc- 
tion." "  Between  the  River  Ussa  and  the  River  Vorkuta,  and 
even  beyond  that,  Trontheim  and  his  company  travelled  through 
quite  luxuriant  wood.  In  the  middle  of  May,  as  the  caravan  ap- 
proached the  tundra  region,  the  wood  got  thinner  and  thinner, 
and  by  May  27th  it  was  nothing  but  scattered  underwood.  After 
this  came  quite  small  bushes  and  weeds,  and  then  at  last  the 
interminable  tundra  came  in  sight.  Not  to  be  without  fuel  on 
the  tundra,  they  felled  some  dead  trees  and  other  wood — eight 
sledge  loads.  The  day  after  they  got  out  on  the  tundra  (May 
29th)  the  caravan  set  off  at  full  speed,  the  Syrianes  being  anx- 
ious to  get  quickly  past  a  place  where  a  whole  herd  of  reindeer 
had  perished  some  years  before.  The  reindeer-drivers  take  good 
note  of  such  places,  and  do  everything  possible  to  avoid  them,  as 
the  animals  may  easily  be  infected  by  gnawing  the  bones  of  their 
dead  comrades.  God  help  the  herd  that  this  happens  to  !  The 
disease  passes  rapidly  from  animal  to  animal,  and  scores  may 
die  of  it  in  a  day.* 

"  In  this  region  there  are  many  bogs  ;  the  low  land  forms  one 
continuous  morass.  Sometimes  we  had  to  walk  up  to  the  waist 
in  water  ;  thus  on  June  5th  we  splashed  about  the  whole  day  in 
water,  in  constant  fear  of  the  dogs  catching  cold.  On  the  6th  a 
strong  northeast  wind  blew,  and  at  night  the  cold  was  so  severe 
that  two  reindeer-calves  were  frozen  to  death  ;  and,  besides  this, 
two  grown  ones  were  carried  off  by  wolves." 

The  caravan  had  often  to  cross  rapid  rivers,  where  it  was 
sometimes  very  difficult  to  find  a  ford.  They  were  frequently 
obliged  to  construct  a  bridge  with  the  help  of  tent-poles  and 
sometimes  blocks  of  ice,  and  it  occasionally  took  them  a  whole 
day  to  get  across.  By  degrees  their  supply  of  wood  was  used  up, 
and  it  was  difficult  to  get  food  cooked.  Few  bushes  were  to  be 
found.  On  June  17th  they  met  a  Syriane  reindeer -driver  and 
trader ;  from  him  they  bought  two  bottles  of  wine  (brandy)  at 
70  kopecks  each.  "  It  was,  as  is  customary,  a  very  friendly  en- 
counter, and  ended  with  treatings  on  both  sides.  One  can  see  a 
long  way  on  the  tundra  ;  the  Syriane's  keen  eye  detects  another 
herd,  or  smoke  from  inhabited  tents,  10  versts  off  ;  and  a  nomad 
who  has  discovered  the  presence  of  another  human  being  10  or 

*  This  disease  is  probably  anthrax,  or  something  of  the  same  nature. 


78  FARTHEST  NORTH 

12  versts  off  never  lets  slip  the  opportunity  of  visiting  him  in  his 
camp,  having  a  talk,  and  being  regaled  with  tea,  or,  in  prefer- 
ence, brandy.  The  day  after,  June  i8th,  some  Samoyedes,  who 
had  heard  of  the  caravan,  came  on  four  sledges  to  the  camp. 
They  were  entertained  with  tea.  The  conversation,  carried  on 
in  Samoyede,  was  about  the  health  of  the  reindeer,  our  journey, 
and  the  way  to  Yugor  Strait.  When  the  scanty  news  of  the 
tundra  had  been  well  discussed  they  took  their  departure." 

By  the  end  of  June,  when  they  had  got  through  all  the  rami- 
fications of  the  Little  Ural  Mountains,  the  time  was  drawing 
near  when,  according  to  his  agreement,  Trontheim  was  due  at 
Yugor  Strait.  He  was  obliged  to  hasten  the  rate  of  travelling, 
which  was  not  an  easy  matter,  with  more  than  40  sledges  and  450 
reindeer,  not  counting  the  calves.  He  therefore  determined  to 
divide  the  caravan  into  two  parts,  leave  the  women,  children,  and 
domestic  animals  behind,  and  push  forward  without  any  baggage, 
except  the  necessary  food.  So,  on  June  28th,  "thirty  sledges, 
tents,  etc.,  were  left  with  the  women  and  children,  who  were  to 
live  their  nomadic  life  as  best  they  could.  The  male  Syrianes 
took  ten  sledges  and  went  on  with  Trontheim."  At  last,  on 
July  9th,  after  more  wanderings,  they  saw  the  sea  from  a  "  high 
hill,"  and  next  day  they  reached  Khabarova,  where  Trontheim 
learned  that  no  steamer  had  arrived  yet  in  Yugor  Strait,  nor  had 
any  sail  been  seen.  At  this  time  the  whole  shore  of  Yugor  Strait 
and  all  the  sea  within  sight  was  covered  with  ice,  driven  there  by 
northerly  winds.  The  sea  was  not  quite  open  till  July  22d. 
Trontheim  passed  the  time  while  he  was  waiting  for  the  Fram  in 
hunting  and  making  excursions  with  his  dogs,  which  were  in 
excellent  condition.  He  was  often  in  the  Sibiriakoff  colony,  a 
meeting-place  for  the  Samoyedes  of  the  district,  who  come  here  in 
considerable  numbers  to  dispose  of  their  wares.  And  it  was  a 
melancholy  phase  of  life  he  saw  here  in  this  little  "world-for- 
saken" colony.  "Every  summer  two  or  three  merchants  or 
peasant  traders,  generally  from  Pustozersk,  come  for  the  purpose 
of  bartering  with  the  Samoyedes,  and  sometimes  the  Syrianes,  too, 
for  their  wares — bear-skins,  blubber,  and  seal-skins,  reindeer-skins, 
and  such  like — giving  in  exchange  tea,  sugar,  flour,  household 
utensils,  etc.  No  transaction  takes  place  without  the  drinking 
of  brandy,  for  which  the  Samoyede  has  an  insatiable  craving. 
When  the  trader  has  succeeded  in  making  a  poor  wretch  quite 


FAREWELL    TO  NORWAY  79 

tipsy,  he  fleeces  him,  and  buys  all  he  wants  at  some  ridiculous 
price — the  result  of  the  transaction  generally  being  that  the 
Samoyede  is  in  debt  to  his  '  benefactor.'  All  the  traders  that 
come  to  the  colony  bring  brandy,  and  one  great  drinking  -  bout 
goes  on  all  the  summer.  You  can  tell  where  much  business  is 
done  by  the  number  of  brandy  casks  in  the  trader's  booth.  There 
is  no  police  inspection,  and  it  would  be  difficult  to  organize  any- 
thing of  the  kind.  As  soon  as  there  is  snow  enough  for  the 
sledges,  the  merchants'  reindeer  caravans  start  from  the  colony 
on  their  homeward  journey,  loaded  with  empty  brandy  casks 
and  with  the  proceeds  of  this  one-sided  bartering. 

"  On  July  30th  [this  ought  to  be  29th]  Trontheim  saw  from  the 
shore,  first  smoke,  and  soon  after  a  steamer.  There  could  be  no 
doubt  of  its  being  the  Frain.  He  went  out  in  a  little  Samoyede 
boat  to  meet  her,  and  called  out  in  Russian  that  he  wanted  to  be 
taken  on  board.  From  the  steamer  they  called  back,  asking  who 
he  was,  and  when  they  heard  his  name  he  was  hauled  up.  On 
deck  he  met  Nansen  himself,  in  a  greasy  working-jacket.  He  is 
still  quite  a  young  man,  of  middle  height.  .  .  ."  Here  follows  a 
flattering  description  of  the  leader  of  the  expedition  and  the  state 
of  matters  on  board.  " It  is  evident,"  he  then  goes  on,  "that  we 
have  here  one  family,  united  and  inspired  by  one  idea,  for  the 
carrying  out  of  which  all  labor  devotedly.  The  hard  and  dirty 
work  on  board  is  fairly  divided,  no  difference  being  made  between 
the  common  sailor  and  the  captain,  or  even  the  chief  of  the  ex- 
pedition. The  doctor,  too,  takes  his  share  in  the  general  work, 
and  this  community  of  labor  is  a  close  bond  between  all  on  board. 
The  existence  of  such  relations  among  the  ship's  company  made 
a  very  favorable  impression  on  Trontheim,  and  this  most  of  all 
(in  his  opinion)  justified  the  hope  that  in  difficult  crises  the  ex- 
pedition would  be  able  to  hold  its  own. 

"  A.  I.  Trontheim  was  on  board  the  Frain  every  day,  breakfast- 
ing and  dining  there.  From  what  he  relates,  the  ship  must  be 
admirably  built,  leaving  nothing  whatever  to  be  desired.  The 
cabins  are  roomy,  and  comfortably  fitted  up ;  there  is  an  excellent 
library,  containing  the  classics  of  European  literature ;  various 
musical  instruments,  from  a  beautiful  grand-piano  *  to  flutes  and 

*  By  this  he  probably  means  our  organ.  Our  other  musical  instru- 
ments were  as  follows :  An  accordion,  belonging  to  the  ship,  and  a  flute, 
violin,  and  several  Jew's-harps,  belonging  to  one  of  the  ship's  company. 


8o  FARTHEST  NORTH 

guitars;  then  chess,  draughts,  etc. — all  for  the  recreation  of  the 
company." 

Here  follows  a  description  of  the  Fram,  her  general  equip- 
ments and  commissariat.  It  seems  to  have  made  a  great  im- 
pression on  him  that  we  had  no  wine  (brandy)  on  board.  "  I  was 
told,"  he  exclaims,  "  that  only  among  the  medicine  stores  have 
they  some  20  or  30  bottles  of  the  best  cognac — pure,  highly  recti- 
fied spirit.  It  is  Nansen's  opinion  that  brandy-drinking  in  these 
northern  regions  is  injurious,  and  may,  if  indulged  in  on  such  a 
difficult  and  dangerous  voyage,  have  very  serious  consequences  ; 
he  has  therefore  considered  it  expedient  to  supply  its  place  by 
fruit  and  various  sorts  of  sweets,  of  which  there  are  large  supplies 
on  board."  "  In  harbor  the  crew  spent  most  of  the  day  together; 
in  spite  of  community  of  work,  each  individual's  duties  are  fixed 
down  to  the  minutest  detail.  They  all  sit  down  to  meals  together, 
with  the  exception  of  the  acting  cook,  whose  duty  they  take  by 
turns.  Health  and  good  spirits  are  to  be  read  on  every  face ; 
Nansen's  immovable  faith  in  a  successful  and  happy  issue  to  their 
expedition  inspires  the  whole  crew  with  courage  and  confidence. 

**  On  August  3d  they  shifted  coal  on  board  the  Fra^n  from  the 
ship's  hold  down  to  the  stoke-hold  (coal-bunkers).  All  the  mem- 
bers of  the  expedition  took  part  in  this  work,  Nansen  at  their 
head,  and  they  worked  unitedly  and  cheerfully.  This  same  day 
Nansen  and  his  companions  tried  the  dogs  on  shore.  Eight  [this 
should  be  ten]  were  harnessed  to  a  sledge  on  which  three  per- 
sons took  their  places.  Nansen  expressed  his  satisfaction  with 
the  dogs,  and  thanked  Trontheim  for  the  good  selection  he  had 
made,  and  for  the  excellent  condition  the  animals  were  in.  When 
the  dogs  were  taken  over  and  brought  on  board,*  Trontheim  ap- 
plied to  Nansen  for  a  certificate  of  the  exact  and  scrupulous 
way  in  which  he  had  fulfilled  his  contract.  Nansen's  answer 
was :  *  No  ;  a  certificate  is  not  enough.  Your  duty  has  been  done 
with  absolute  conscientiousness,  and  you  have  thereby  rendered 
a  great  service  to  the  expedition.  I  am  commissioned  to  present 
you  with  a  gold  medal  from  our  king  in  recognition  of  the  great 
help  you  have  given  us.'  With  these  words  Nansen  handed  to 
Trontheim  a  very  large  gold  medal  with  a  crown  on  it.     On  the 

*  It  will  be  observed  that  there  is  some  slip  of  memory  here— it  was 
the  evening  before. 


FAREWELL    TO  NORWAY  8i 

obverse  is  the  following  inscription  :  '  Oscar  II.,  King  of  Norway 
and  Sweden.  For  the  Welfare  of  the  Brother  -  Nations.'  And 
on  the  reverse  :  '  Reward  for  valuable  service,  A.  I.  Trontheim.' 
Along  with  this  Nansen  also  gave  Trontheim  a  written  testi- 
monial as  to  the  admirable  manner  in  which  he  had  carried  out 
his  commission,  mentioning  that  for  this  he  had  been  rewarded 
with  a  medal. 

"  Nansen  determined  to  weigh  anchor  during  the  night  of  this 
same  day,*  and  set  sail  on  his  long  voyage  without  waiting  for 
the  coal  sloop  Urania^  which  he  thought  must  have  been  delayed 
by  the  ice.  In  the  evening  Trontheim  took  leave  of  the  whole 
party,  with  hearty  wishes  for  the  success  of  the  expedition. 
Along  with  him  Herr  Ole  Christofersen,  correspondent  of  one  of 
the  chief  London  newspapers,!  left  the  ship.  He  had  accom- 
panied Nansen  from  Vard5.  At  parting,  Nansen  gave  them  a 
plentiful  supply  of  provisions,  Christofersen  and  Trontheim  hav- 
ing to  await  the  arrival  of  the  Urania^  as  they  were  to  go  home 
by  her.  Precisely  at  12  o'clock  on  the  night  between  August  4th 
and  5th  the  signal  for  starting  was  given,  and  the  Fram  stood 
out  to  sea." 

On  August  7th  the  Urania  at  last  arrived.  As  I  had  sup- 
posed, she  had  been  stopped  by  ice,  but  had  at  last  got  out  of  it 
uninjured.  Christofersen  and  Trontheim  were  able  to  sail  for 
home  in  her  on  the  nth,  and  reached  Vardo  on  the  22d,  food 
having  been  very  scarce  during  the  last  part  of  the  time.  The 
ship,  which  had  left  her  home  port,  Brono,  in  May,  was  not  pro- 
vided for  so  long  a  voyage,  and  these  last  days  they  lived  chiefly 
on  dry  biscuits,  water,  and — weevils. 

*  It  was,  in  fact,  the  day  after. 

1 1  do  not  believe  that  Christofersen  ever  in  his  life  had  anything  to 
do  with  a  London  newspaper. 


CHAPTER  V 
VOYAGE  THROUGH  THE  KARA  SEA 

It  was  well  into  the  night,  after  Christofersen  and  Trontheim 
had  left  us,  before  we  could  get  away.  The  channel  was  too 
dangerous  for  us  to  risk  it  in  the  thick  fog.  But  it  cleared  a 
little,  and  the  petroleum  launch  was  got  ready ;  I  had  deter- 
mined to  go  on  ahead  with  it  and  take  soundings.  We  started 
about  midnight.  Hansen  stood  in  the  bow  with  the  lead  line. 
First  we  bore  over  towards  the  point  of  Vaigats  to  the  north- 
west, as  Palander  directs,  then  on  through  the  strait,  keeping  to 
the  Vaigats  side.  The  fog  was  often  so  thick  that  it  was  with 
difficulty  we  could  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  Fram,  which  followed 
close  behind  us,  and  on  board  the  Fram  they  could  not  see  our 
boat.  But  so  long  as  we  had  enough  water,  and  so  long  as  we 
saw  that  they  were  keeping  to  the  right  course  behind  us,  we 
went  ahead.  Soon  the  fog  cleared  again  a  little.  But  the  depth 
was  not  quite  satisfactory  ;  we  had  been  having  steadily  4^  to  5 
fathoms ;  then  it  dropped  to  4,  and  then  to  3^.  This  was  too 
little.  We  turned  and  signalled  to  the  Fram  to  stop.  Then  we 
held  farther  out  from  land  and  got  into  deeper  water,  so  that  the 
Fram  could  come  on  again  at  full  speed. 

From  time  to  time  our  petroleum  engine  took  to  its  old  tricks 
and  stopped.  I  had  to  pour  in  more  oil  to  set  it  going  again, 
and  as  I  was  standing  doing  this  the  boat  gave  a  lurch,  so  that 
a  little  oil  was  spilled  and  took  fire.  The  burning  oil  ran  over  the 
bottom  of  the  boat,  where  a  good  deal  had  been  spilled  already. 
In  an  instant  the  whole  stern  was  in  a  blaze,  and  my  clothes, 
which  were  sprinkled  with  oil,  caught  fire.  I  had  to  rush  to  the 
bow,  and  for  a  moment  the  situation  was  a  critical  one,  especially 
as  a  big  pail  that  was  standing  full  of  oil  also  took  fire.  As  soon 
as  I  had  stopped  the  burning  of  my  clothes  I  rushed  aft  again, 
seized  the  pail,  and  poured  the  flaming  oil  into  the  sea,  burning 


VOYAGE   THRO  UGH  THE  KARA   SEA  83 

my  fingers  badly.  At  once  the  whole  surface  of  the  water  round 
was  in  flames.  Then  I  got  hold  of  the  baler,  and  baled  water  into 
the  boat  as  hard  as  I  could,  and  soon  the  worst  was  over.  Things 
had  looked  anything  but  well  from  the  Fram,  however,  and  they 
were  standing  by  with  ropes  and  buoys  to  throw  to  us. 

Soon  we  were  out  of  Yugor  Strait.  There  was  now  so  little 
fog  that  the  low  land  round  us  was  visible,  and  we  could  also  see 
a  little  way  out  to  sea,  and,  in  the  distance,  all  drift-ice.  At  4 
o'clock  in  the  morning  (August  4th)  we  glided  past  Sokolii,  or 
Hawk  Island,  out  into  the  dreaded  Kara  Sea. 

Now  our  fate  was  to  be  decided.  I  had  always  said  that  if  we 
could  get  safely  across  the  Kara  Sea  and  past  Cape  Cheliuskin, 
the  worst  would  be  over.  Our  prospects  were  not  bad — an  open 
passage  to  the  east,  along  the  land,  as  far  as  we  could  see  from 
the  masthead. 

An  hour  and  a  half  later  we  were  at  the  edge  of  the  ice.  It 
was  so  close  that  there  was  no  use  in  attempting  to  go  on  through 
it.  To  the  northwest  it  seemed  much  looser,  and  there  was  a 
good  deal  of  blue  in  the  atmosphere  at  the  horizon  there.*  We 
kept  southeast  along  the  land  through  broken  ice,  but  in  the 
course  of  the  day  went  farther  out  to  sea,  the  blueness  of  the 
atmosphere  to  the  east  and  northeast  promising  more  open  water 
in  that  direction.  However,  about  3  p.m.  the  ice  became  so  close 
that  I  thought  it  best  to  get  back  into  the  open  channel  along 
the  land.  It  was  certainly  possible  that  we  might  have  forced 
our  way  through  the  ice  in  the  sea  here,  but  also  possible  that  we 
might  have  stuck  fast,  and  it  was  too  early  to  run  this  risk. 

Next  morning  (August  5th),  being  then  off  the  coast  near  to 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Kara,  we  steered  across  towards  Yalmal. 
We  soon  had  that  low  land  in  sight,  but  in  the  afternoon  we  got 
into  fog  and  close  ice.  Next  day  it  was  no  better,  and  we  made 
fast  to  a  great  ice-block  which  was  lying  stranded  off  the  Yalmal 
coast. 

In  the  evening  some  of  us  went  on  shore.  The  water  was  so 
shallow  that  our  boat  stuck  fast  a  good  way  from  the  beach,  and 

*  There  is  a  white  reflection  from  white  ice,  so  that  the  sky  above  fields 
of  ice  has  a  light  or  whitish  appearance ;  wherever  there  is  open  water  it  is 
blue  or  dark.  In  this  way  the  Arctic  navigator  can  judge  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  sky  what  is  the  state  of  the  sea  at  a  considerable  distance. 


84  FARTHEST  NORTH 

we  had  to  wade.  It  was  a  perfectly  flat,  smooth  sand-beach,  cov- 
ered by  the  sea  at  full  tide,  and  beyond  that  a  steep  sand -bank, 
30  to  40  feet,  in  some  places  probably  60  feet,  high. 

We  wandered  about  a  little.  Flat,  bare  country  on  every 
hand.  Any  drift-wood  we  saw  was  buried  in  the  sand  and  soaking 
wet.  Not  a  bird  to  be  seen  except  one  or  two  snipe.  We  came 
to  a  lake,  and  out  of  the  fog  in  front  of  me  I  heard  the  cry  of  a 
loon,  but  saw  no  living  creature.  Our  view  was  blocked  by  a 
wall  of  fog  whichever  way  we  turned.  There  were  plenty  of 
reindeer  tracks,  but  of  course  they  were  only  those  of  the  Samo- 
yedes'  tame  reindeer.  This  is  the  land  of  the  Samoyedes— and, 
oh,  but  it  is  desolate  and  mournful !  The  only  one  of  us  that 
bagged  anything  was  the  botanist.  Beautiful  flowers  smiled  to 
us  here  and  there  among  the  sand-mounds  —  the  one  message 
from  a  brighter  world  in  this  land  of  fogs.  We  went  far  in  over 
the  flats,  but  came  only  to  sheets  of  water,  with  low  spits  running 
out  into  them,  and  ridges  between.  We  often  heard  the  cry  of 
loons  on  the  water,  but  could  never  catch  sight  of  one.  All  these 
lakelets  were  of  a  remarkable,  exactly  circular  conformation,  with 
steep  banks  all  round,  just  as  if  each  had  dug  out  a  hole  for  itself 
in  the  sandy  plain. 

With  the  oars  of  our  boat  and  a  large  tarpaulin  we  had  made 
a  sort  of  tent.  We  were  lucky  enough  to  find  a  little  dry  wood, 
and  soon  the  tent  was  filled  with  the  fragrant  odor  of  hot  coffee. 
When  we  had  eaten  and  drunk  and  our  pipes  were  lit,  Johansen, 
in  spite  of  fatigue  and  a  full  meal,  surprised  us  by  turning  one 
somersault  after  another  on  the  heavy,  damp  sand  in  front  of 
the  tent  in  his  long  military  cloak  and  sea -boots  half  full  of 
water. 

By  6.30  next  morning  we  were  on-  board  again.  The  fog  had 
cleared,  but  the  ice,  which  lay  drifting  backward  and  forward 
according  to  the  set  of  the  tide,  looked  as  close  as  ever  towards 
the  north.  During  the  morning  we  had  a  visit  from  a  boat  with 
two  stalwart  Samoyedes,  who  were  well  received  and  treated  to 
food  and  tobacco.  They  gave  us  to  understand  that  they  were 
living  in  a  tent  some  distance  inland  and  farther  north.  Pres- 
ently they  went  off  again,  enriched  with  gifts.  These  were  the 
last  human  beings  we  met. 

Next  day  the  ice  was  still  close,  and,  al  there  was  nothing  else 
to  be  done,  some  of  us  went  ashore  again  in  the  afternoon,  partly 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA   SEA  85 

to  see  more  of  this  little-known  coast,  and  partly,  if  possible,  to 
find  the  Samoyedes'  camp,  and  get  hold  of  some  skins  and  rein- 
deer flesh.  It  is  a  strange,  flat  country  ;  nothing  but  sand,  sand 
everywhere;  still  flatter,  still  more  desolate,  than  the  country 
about  Yugor  Strait,  with  a  still  wider  horizon.  Over  the  plain 
lay  a  green  carpet  of  grass  and  moss,  here  and  there  spoiled  by 
the  wind  having  torn  it  up  and  swept  sand  over  it.  But  trudge 
as  we  might,  and  search  as  we  might,  we  found  no  Samoyede 
camp.  We  saw  three  men  in  the  far  distance,  but  they  went  off 
as  fast  as  they  could  the  moment  they  caught  sight  of  us.  There 
was  little  game — just  a  few  ptarmigan,  golden  plovers,  and  long- 
tailed  ducks.  Our  chief  gain  was  another  collection  of  plants 
and  a  few  geological  and  geographical  notes.  Our  observations 
showed  that  the  land  at  this  place  was  charted  not  less  than  half 
a  degree,  or  36  to  38  minutes,  too  far  west. 

It  was  not  till  next  forenoon  (August  9th)  that  we  went  on 
board  again.  The  ice  to  the  north  now  seemed  to  be  rather 
looser,  and  at  8  p.m.  we  at  last  began  once  more  to  make  our  way 
north.  We  found  ice  that  was  easy  to  get  through,  and  held  on 
our  course  until,  three  days  later,  we  got  into  open  water.  On 
Sunday,  August  i8th,  we  stood  out  into  the  open  Kara  Sea,  past 
the  north  point  of  Yalmal  and  Bieloi-Ostrov  (White  Island). 
There  was  no  ice  to  be  seen  in  any  direction.  During  the  days 
that  followed  we  had  constant  strong  east  winds,  often  increas- 
ing to  half  a  gale.  We  kept  on  tacking  to  make  our  way  east- 
ward, but  the  broad  and  keelless  Fram  can  hardly  be  called  a 
good  "beater";  we  made  too  much  leeway,  and  our  progress 
was  correspondingly  slow.  In  the  journal  there  is  a  constantly 
recurring  entry  of  "Head -wind,"  "Head -wind."  The  monot- 
ony was  extreme  ;  but  as  they  may  be  of  interest  as  relating 
to  the  navigation  of  this  sea,  I  shall  give  the  most  important 
items  of  the  journal,  especially  those  regarding  the  state  of 
the  ice. 

On  Monday,  August  14th,  we  beat  with  only  sail  against  a 
strong  wind.  Single  pieces  of  ice  were  seen  during  the  middle 
watch,  but  after  that  there  was  none  within  sight. 

Tuesday,  August  15th.  The  wind  slackened  in  the  middle 
watch  ;  we  took  in  sail  and  got  up  steam.  At  5  in  the  morning 
we  steamed  away  east  over  a  sea  perfectly  clear  of  ice ;  but  after 
mid-day  the  wind  began  to  freshen  again  from  E.N.E.,  and  we 


86  FARTHEST  NORTH 

had  to  beat  with  steam  and  sail.  Single  floes  of  ice  were  seen 
during  the  evening  and  night. 

Wednesday,  August  i6th.  As  the  Kara  Sea  seemed  so  extraor- 
dinarily free  from  ice,  and  as  a  heavy  sea  was  running  from 
the  northeast,  we  decided  to  hold  north  as  far  as  we  could,  even 
if  it  should  be  to  the  Einsamkeit  (Lonely)  Island.  But  about 
half -past  three  in  the  afternoon  we  had  a  strip  of  close  ice 
ahead,  so  that  we  had  to  turn.  Stiff  breeze  and  sea.  Kept  on 
beating  east  along  the  edge  of  the  ice.  Almost  lost  the  petro- 
leum launch  in  the  evening.  The  waves  were  constantly  break- 
ing into  it  and  filling  it,  the  gunwale  was  burst  in  at  two  places, 
and  the  heavy  davits  it  hung  on  were  twisted  as  if  they  had  been 
copper  wires.  Only  just  in  the  nick  of  time,  with  the  waves 
washing  over  us,  some  of  us  managed  to  get  it  lashed  to  the 
side  of  the  ship.  There  seemed  to  be  some  fatality  about  this 
boat. 

Thursday,  August  17th.  Still  beating  eastward  under  sail 
and  steam  through  scattered  ice,  and  along  a  margin  of  fixed 
ice.  Still  blowing  hard,  with  a  heavy  sea  as  soon  as  we  headed 
a  little  out  from  the  ice. 

Friday,  August  i8th.  Continued  storm.  Stood  southeast.  At 
4.30  A.M.  Sverdrup,  who  had  gone  up  into  the  crow's-nest  to  look 
out  for  bears  and  walrus  on  the  ice-floes,  saw  land  to  the  south 
of  us.  At  10  A.M.  I  went  up  to  look  at  it — we  were  then  prob- 
ably not  more  than  10  miles  away  from  it.  It  was  low  land, 
seemingly  of  the  same  formation  as  Yalmal,  with  steep  sand- 
banks, and  grass  -  grown  above.  The  sea  grew  shallower  as  we 
neared  it.  Not  far  from  us,  small  icebergs  lay  aground.  The 
lead  showed  steadily  less  and  less  water ;  by  11.30  a.m.  there  were 
only  some  8  fathoms  ;  then,  to  our  surprise,  the  bottom  suddenly 
fell  to  20  fathoms,  and  after  that  we  found  steadily  increasing 
depth.  Between  the  land  and  the  blocks  of  stranded  ice  on  our 
lee  there  appeared  to  be  a  channel  with  rather  deeper  water  and 
not  so  much  ice  aground  in  it.  It  seemed  difficult  to  conceive 
that  there  should  be  undiscovered  land  here,  where  both  Nor- 
denskiold  and  Edward  Johansen,  and  possibly  several  Russians, 
had  passed  without  seeing  anything.  Our  observations,  however, 
were  incontestable,  and  we  immediately  named  the  land  Sver- 
drup's  Island,  after  its  discoverer. 

As  there  was  still  a  great  deal  of  ice  to  windward,  we  continued 


VOYAGE   THRO  UGH  THE  KARA   SEA  87 

our  southwesterly  course,  keeping  as  close  to  the  wind  as  possible. 
The  weather  was  clear,  and  at  8  o'clock  we  sighted  the  mainland, 
with  Dickson's  Island  ahead.  It  had  been  our  intention  to  run 
in  and  anchor  here,  in  order  to  put  letters  for  home  under  a  cairn, 
Captain  Wiggins  having  promised  to  pick  them  up  on  his  way  to 
the  Yenisei.  But  in  the  meantime  the  wind  had  fallen :  it  was  a 
favorable  chance,  and  time  was  precious.  So  gave  up  sending 
our  post,  and  continued  our  course  along  the  coast. 

The  country  here  was  quite  different  from  Yalmal.  Though 
not  very  high,  it  was  a  hilly  country,  with  patches  and  even  large 
drifts  of  snow  here  and  there,  some  of  them  lying  close  down  by 
the  shore.  Next  morning  I  sighted  the  southernmost  of  the 
Kamenni  Islands.  We  took  a  tack  in  under  it  to  see  if  there 
were  animals  of  any  kind,  but  could  catch  sight  of  none.  The 
island  rose  evenly  from  the  sea  at  all  points,  with  steep  shores. 
They  consisted  for  the  most  part  of  rock,  which  was  partly  solid, 
partly  broken  up  by  the  action  of  the  weather  into  heaps  of  stones. 
It  appeared  to  be  a  stratified  rock,  with  strongly  marked  oblique 
strata.  The  island  was  also  covered  with  quantities  of  gravel, 
sometimes  mixed  with  larger  stones ;  the  whole  of  the  northern 
point  seemed  to  be  a  sand-heap,  with  steep  sand-banks  towards 
the  shore.  The  most  noticeable  feature  of  the  island  was  its 
marked  shore -lines.  Near  the  top  there  was  a  specially  pro- 
nounced one,  which  was  like  a  sharp  ledge  on  the  west  and  north 
sides,  and  stretched  across  the  island  like  a  dark  band.  Nearer 
the  beach  were  several  other  distinct  ones.  In  form  they  all  re- 
sembled the  upper  one  with  its  steep  ledges,  and  had  evidently 
been  formed  in  the  same  way — by  the  action  of  the  sea,  and  more 
especially  of  the  ice.  Like  the  upper  one,  they  also  were  most 
marked  on  the  west  and  north  sides  of  the  island,  which  are  those 
facing  most  to  the  open  sea. 

To  the  student  of  the  history  of  the  earth  these  marks  of  the 
former  level  of  the  sea  are  of  great  interest,  showing  as  they  do 
that  the  land  has  risen  or  the  sea  sunk  since  the  time  they  were 
formed.  Like  Scandinavia,  the  whole  of  the  north  coast  of 
Siberia  has  undergone  these  changes  of  level  since  the  Great  Ice 
Age. 

It  was  strange  that  we  saw  none  of  the  islands  which,  accord- 
ing to  Nordenskiold's  map,  stretch  in  a  line  to  the  northeast  from 
Kamenni  Islands.   On  the  other  hand,  I  took  the  bearings  of  one 


88  FARTHEST  NORTH 

or  two  other  islands  lying  almost  due  east,  and  next  morning  we 
passed  a  small  island  farther  north. 

We  saw  few  birds  in  this  neighborhood — only  a  few  flocks  of 
geese,  some  Arctic  gulls  {Lestris  parasitica  and  L.  buffonii)^  and  a 
few  sea-gulls  and  tern. 

On  Sunday,  August  20th,  we  had,  for  us,  uncommonly  fine 
weather — blue  sea,  brilliant  sunshine,  and  light  wind,  still  from 
the  northeast.  In  the  afternoon  we  ran  in  to  the  Kjellman  Isl- 
lands.  These  we  could  recognize  from  their  position  on  Norden- 
skiold's  map,  but  south  of  them  we  found  many  unknown  ones. 
They  all  had  smoothly  rounded  forms,  these  Kjellman  Islands, 
like  rocks  that  have  been  ground  smooth  by  the  glaciers  of  the 
Ice  Age.  The  Fram  anchored  on  the  north  side  of  the  largest  of 
them,  and,  while  the  boiler  was  being  refitted,  some  of  us  went 
ashore  in  the  evening  for  some  shooting.  We  had  not  left  the 
ship  when  the  mate,  from  the  crow's-nest,  caught  sight  of  rein- 
deer. At  once  we  were  all  agog ;  every  one  wanted  to  go  ashore, 
and  the  mate  was  quite  beside  himself  with  the  hunter's  fever, 
his  eyes  as  big  as  saucers,  and  his  hands  trembling  as  though  he 
were  drunk.  Not  until  we  were  in  the  boat  had  we  time  to  look 
seriously  for  the  mate's  reindeer.  We  looked  in  vain — not  a  liv- 
ing thing  was  to  be  seen  in  any  direction.  Yes — when  we  were 
close  inshore  we  at  last  descried  a  large  flock  of  geese  waddling 
upward  from  the  beach.  We  were  base  enough  to  let  a  conjecture 
escape  us  that  these  were  the  mate's  reindeer — a  suspicion  which 
he  at  first  rejected  with  contempt.  Gradually,  however,  his  con- 
fidence oozed  away.  But  it  is  possible  to  do  an  injustice  even  to 
a  mate.  The  first  thing  I  saw  when  I  sprang  ashore  was  old 
reindeer  tracks.  The  mate  had  now  the  laugh  on  his  side,  ran 
from  track  to  track,  and  swore  that  it  was  reindeer  he  had 
seen. 

When  we  got  up  on  to  the  first  height  we  saw  several  reindeer 
on  flat  ground  to  the  south  of  us ;  but,  the  wind  being  from  the 
north,  we  had  to  go  back  and  make  our  way  south  along  the 
shore  till  we  got  to  leeward  of  them.  The  only  one  who  did  not 
approve  of  this  plan  was  the  mate,  who  was  in  a  state  of  fever- 
ish eagerness  to  rush  straight  at  some  reindeer  he  thought  he 
had  seen  to  the  east,  which,  of  course,  was  an  absolutely  certain 
way  to  clear  the  field  of  every  one  of  them.  He  asked  and 
received  permission  to  remain  behind  with  Hansen,  who  was  to 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA  SEA  89 

take  a  magnetic  observation  ;  but  had  to  promise  not  to  move  till 
he  got  the  order. 

On  the  way  along  the  shore  we  passed  one  great  flock  of 
geese  after  another;  they  stretched  their  necks  and  waddled 
aside  a  little  until  we  were  quite  near,  and  only  then  took  flight; 
but  we  had  no  time  to  waste  on  such  small  game.  A  little  far- 
ther on  we  caught  sight  of  one  or  two  reindeer  we  had  not 
noticed  before.  We  could  easily  have  stalked  them,  but  were 
afraid  of  getting  to  windward  of  the  others,  which  were  farther 
south.  At  last  we  got  to  leeward  of  these  latter  also,  but  they 
were  grazing  on  flat  ground,  and  it  was  anything  but  easy  to 
stalk  them — not  a  hillock,  not  a  stone  to  hide  behind.  The  only 
thing  was  to  form  a  long  line,  advance  as  best  we  could,  and,  if 
possible,  outflank  them.  In  the  meantime  we  had  caught  sight 
of  another  herd  of  reindeer  farther  to  the  north,  but  suddenly,  to 
our  astonishment,  saw  them  tear  off  across  the  plain  eastward,  in 
all  probability  startled  by  the  mate,  who  had  not  been  able  to 
keep  quiet  any  longer. 

A  little  to  the  north  of  the  reindeer  nearest  us  there  was  a 
hollow,  opening  from  the  shore,  from  which  it  seemed  that  it 
might  be  possible  to  get  a  shot  at  them.  I  went  back  to  try  this, 
while  the  others  kept  their  places  in  the  line.  As  I  went  down 
again  towards  the  shore  I  had  the  sea  before  me,  quiet  and  beau- 
tiful. The  sun  had  gone  down  behind  it  not  long  before,  and 
the  sky  was  glowing  in  the  clear,  light  night.  I  had  to  stand  still 
for  a  minute.  In  the  midst  of  all  this  beauty,  man  was  doing 
the  work  of  a  beast  of  prey.  At  this  moment  I  saw  to  the  north 
a  dark  speck  move  down  the  height  where  the  mate  and  Hansen 
ought  to  be.  It  divided  into  two,  and  the  one  moved  east,  just 
to  the  windward  of  the  animals  I  was  to  stalk.  They  would  get 
the  scent  immediately  and  be  off.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but 
to  hurry  on,  while  I  rained  anything  but  good  wishes  on  these 
fellows'  heads.  The  gully  was  not  so  deep  as  I  had  expected. 
Its  sides  were  just  high  enough  to  hide  me  when  I  crept  on  all 
fours.  In  the  middle  were  large  stones  and  clayey  gravel,  with 
a  little  runnel  soaking  through  them.  The  reindeer  were  still 
grazing  quietly,  only  now  and  then  raising  their  heads  to  look 
round.  My  "  cover  "  got  lower  and  lower,  and  to  the  north  I 
heard  the  mate.  He  would  presently  succeed  in  setting  off  my 
game.     It  was  imperative  to  get  on  quickly,  but  there  was  no 


90  FARTHEST  NORTH 

longer  cover  enough  for  me  to  advance  on  hands  and  knees.  My 
only  chance  was  to  wriggle  forward  like  a  snake  on  my  stomach. 
But  in  this  soft  clay — in  the  bed  of  the  stream  ?  Yes — meat  is 
too  precious  on  board,  and  the  beast  of  prey  is  too  strong  in  a 
man.  My  clothes  must  be  sacrificed  ;  on  I  crept  on  my  stomach 
through  the  mud.  But  soon  there  was  hardly  cover  enough 
even  for  this.  I  squeezed  myself  flat  among  the  stones  and 
ploughed  forward  like  a  drain-cutting  machine.  And  I  did  make 
way,  if  not  quickly  and  comfortably,  still  surely. 

All  this  time  the  sky  was  turning  darker  and  darker  red  be- 
hind me,  and  it  was  getting  more  and  more  difficult  to  use  the 
sights  of  my  gun,  not  to  mention  the  trouble  I  had  in  keeping 
the  clay  from  them  and  from  the  muzzle.  The  reindeer  still 
grazed  quietly  on.  When  they  raised  their  heads  to  look  round 
I  had  to  lie  as  quiet  as  a  mouse,  feeling  the  water  trickling 
gently  under  my  stomach  ;  when  they  began  to  nibble  the  moss 
again,  off  I  went  through  the  mud.  Presently  I  made  the 
disagreeable  discovery  that  they  were  moving  away  from  me 
about  as  fast  as  I  could  move  forward,  and  I  had  to  redouble  my 
exertions.  But  the  darkness  was  getting  worse  and  worse,  and 
I  had  the  mate  to  the  north  of  me,  and  presently  he  would  start 
them  off.  The  outlook  was  anything  but  bright  either  morally 
or  physically.  The  hollow  was  getting  shallower  and  shallower, 
so  that  I  was  hardly  covered  at  all.  I  squeezed  myself  still  deeper 
into  the  mud.  A  turn  in  the  ground  helped  me  forward  to  the 
next  little  height ;  and  now  they  were  right  in  front  of  me, 
within  what  I  should  have  called  easy  range  if  it  had  been  day- 
light. I  tried  to  take  aim,  but  could  not  see  the  bead  on  my 
gun. 

Man's  fate  is  sometimes  hard  to  bear.  My  clothes  were  drip- 
ping with  wet  clay,  and  after  what  seemed  to  me  most  meritori- 
ous exertions,  here  I  was  at  the  goal,  unable  to  take  advantage 
of  my  position.  But  now  the  reindeer  moved  down  into  a  small 
depression.  I  crept  forward  a  little  way  farther  as  quickly  as  I 
could.  I  was  in  a  splendid  position,  so  far  as  I  could  tell  in  the 
dark,  but  I  could  not  see  the  bead  any  better  than  before.  It 
was  impossible  to  get  nearer,  for  there  was  only  a  smooth  slope 
between  us.  There  was  no  sense  in  thinking  of  waiting  for  light 
to  shoot  by.  It  was  now  midnight,  and  I  had  that  terrible  mate  to 
the  north  of  me  ;  besides,  the  wind  was  not  to  be  trusted.    I  held 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA   SEA  91 

the  rifle  up  against  the  sky  to  see  the  bead  clearly,  and  then  low- 
ered it  on  the  reindeer,  I  did  this  once,  twice,  thrice.  The  bead 
was  still  far  from  clear ;  but,  all  the  same,  I  thought  I  might 
hit,  and  pulled  the  trigger.  The  two  deer  gave  a  sudden  start, 
looked  round  in  astonishment,  and  bolted  off  a  little  way  south. 
There  they  stood  still  again,  and  at  this  moment  were  joined  by 
a  third  deer,  which  had  been  standing  rather  farther  north.  I 
fired  off  all  the  cartridges  in  the  magazine,  and  all  to  the  same 
good  purpose.  The  creatures  started  and  moved  off  a  little  at 
each  shot,  and  then  trotted  farther  south.  Presently  they  made 
another  halt,  to  take  a  long,  careful  look  at  me ;  and  I  dashed  off 
westward,  as  hard  as  I  could  run,  to  turn  them.  Now  they  were 
off  straight  in  the  direction  where  some  of  my  comrades  ought 
to  be.  I  expected  every  moment  to  hear  shots  and  see  one  or 
two  of  the  animals  fall ;  but  away  they  ambled  southward,  quite 
unchecked.  At  last,  far  to  the  south,  crack  went  a  rifle.  I  could 
see  by  the  smoke  that  it  was  at  too  long  a  range ;  so  in  high 
dudgeon  I  shouldered  my  rifle  and  lounged  in  the  direction  of 
the  shot.  It  was  pleasant  to  see  such  a  good  result  for  all  one's 
trouble. 

No  one  was  to  be  seen  anywhere.  At  length  I  met  Sverdrup ; 
it  was  he  who  had  fired.  Soon  Blessing  joined  us,  but  all  the 
others  had  long  since  left  their  posts.  While  Blessing  went  back 
to  the  boat  and  his  botanizing  box,  Sverdrup  and  I  went  on  to 
try  our  luck  once  more.  A  little  farther  south  we  came  to  a 
valley  stretching  right  across  the  island.  On  the  farther  side  of 
it  we  saw  a  man  standing  on  a  hillock,  and  not  far  from  him  a 
herd  of  five  or  six  reindeer.  As  it  never  occurred  to  us  to  doubt 
that  the  man  was  in  the  act  of  stalking  these,  we  avoided  going 
in  that  direction,  and  soon  he  and  his  reindeer  disappeared  to  the 
west.  I  heard  afterwards  that  he  had  never  seen  the  deer.  As  it 
was  evident  that  when  the  reindeer  to  the  south  of  us  were 
startled  they  would  have  to  come  back  across  this  valley,  and  as 
the  island  at  this  part  was  so  narrow  that  we  commanded  the 
whole  of  it,  we  determined  to  take  up  our  posts  here  and  wait. 
We  accordingly  got  in  the  lee  of  some  great  boulders,  out  of  the 
wind.  In  front  of  Sverdrup  was  a  large  flock  of  geese,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  stream,  close  down  by  the  shore.  They  kept  up  an 
incessant  gabble,  and  the  temptation  to  have  a  shot  at  them  was 
very  great ;  but,  considering  the  reindeer,  we  thought  it  best  to 


92  FARTHEST  NORTH 

leave  them  in  peace.     They  gabbled  and  waddled  away  down 
through  the  mud  and  soon  took  wing. 

The  time  seemed  long.  At  first  we  listened  with  all  our  ears 
— the  reindeer  must  come  very  soon — and  our  eyes  wandered  in- 
cessantly backward  and  forward  along  the  slope  on  the  other  side 
of  the  valley.  But  no  reindeer  came,  and  soon  we  were  having  a 
struggle  to  keep  our  eyes  open  and  our  heads  up — we  had  not  had 
much  sleep  the  last  few  days.  They  must  be  coming  !  We  shook 
ourselves  awake,  and  gave  another  look  along  the  bank,  till  again 
the  eyes  softly  closed  and  the  heads  began  to  nod,  while  the 
chill  wind  blew  through  our  wet  clothes,  and  I  shivered  with  cold. 
This  sort  of  thing  went  on  for  an  hour  or  two,  until  the  sport 
began  to  pall  on  me,  and  I  scrambled  from  my  shelter  along  tow- 
ards Sverdrup,  who  was  enjoying  it  about  as  much  as  I  was. 
We  climbed  the  slope  on  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  and  were 
hardly  at  the  top  before  we  saw  the  horns  of  six  splendid  reindeer 
on  a  height  in  front  of  us.  They  were  restless,  scenting  westward, 
trotting  round  in  a  circle,  and  then  sniffing  again.  They  could 
not  have  noticed  us  as  yet,  as  the  wind  was  blowing  at  right 
angles  to  the  line  between  them  and  us.  We  stood  a  long  time 
watching  their  manoeuvres,  and  waiting  their  choice  of  a  direction, 
but  they  had  apparently  great  difficulty  in  making  it.  At  last 
off  they  swung  south  and  east,  and  off  we  went  southeast  as  hard 
as  we  could  go,  to  get  across  their  course  before  they  got  scent 
of  us.  Sverdrup  had  got  well  ahead,  and  I  saw  him  rushing 
across  a  flat  piece  of  ground :  presently  he  would  be  at  the  right 
place  to  meet  them.  I  stopped,  to  be  in  readiness  to  cut  them  off 
on  the  other  side  if  they  should  face  about  and  make  off  north- 
ward again.  There  were  six  splendid  animals,  a  big  buck  in  front. 
They  were  heading  straight  for  Sverdrup,  who  was  now  crouch- 
ing down  on  the  slope.  I  expected  every  moment  to  see  the  fore- 
most fall.  A  shot  rang  out !  Round  wheeled  the  whole  flock  like 
lightning,  and  back  they  came  at  a  gallop.  It  was  my  turn  now 
to  run  with  all  my  might,  and  off  I  went  over  the  stones,  down 
towards  the  valley  we  had  come  from.  I  only  stopped  once  or 
twice  to  take  breath,  and  to  make  sure  that  the  animals  were 
coming  in  the  direction  I  had  reckoned  on — then  off  again.  We 
were  getting  near  each  other  now;  they  were  coming  on  just 
where  I  had  calculated ;  the  thing  now  was  to  be  in  time  for  them. 
I  made  my  long  legs  go  their  fastest  over  the  boulders,  and  took 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA   SEA  93 

leaps  from  stone  to  stone  that  would  have  surprised  myself  at  a 
more  sober  moment.  More  than  once  my  foot  slipped,  and  I  went 
down  head-first  among  the  boulders,  gun  and  all.  But. the  wild 
beast  in  me  had  the  upper  hand  now.  The  passion  of  the  chase 
vibrated  through  every  fibre  of  my  body. 

We  reached  the  slant  of  the  valley  almost  at  the  same  time — 
a  leap  or  two  to  get  up  on  some  big  boulders,  and  the  moment  had 
come — I  imist  shoot,  though  the  shot  was  a  long  one.  When  the 
smoke  cleared  away  I  saw  the  big  buck  trailing  a  broken  hind-leg. 
When  their  leader  stopped,  the  whole  flock  turned  and  ran  in  a  ring 
round  the  poor  animal.  They  could  not  understand  what  was  hap- 
pening, and  strayed  about  wildly  with  the  balls  whistling  round 
them.  Then  off  they  went  down  the  side  of  the  valley  again, 
leaving  another  of  their  number  behind  with  a  broken  leg.  I  tore 
after  them,  across  the  valley  and  up  the  other  side,  in  the  hope 
of  getting  another  shot,  but  gave  that  up  and  turned  back  to 
make  sure  of  the  two  wounded  ones.  At  the  bottom  of  the  valley 
stood  one  of  the  victims  awaiting  its  fate.  It  looked  imploringly 
at  me,  and  then,  just  as  I  was  going  forward  to  shoot  it,  made  off 
much  quicker  than  I  could  have  thought  it  possible  for  an  animal 
on  three  legs  to  go.  Sure  of  my  shot,  of  course  I  missed  ;  and 
now  began  a  chase,  which  ended  in  the  poor  beast,  blocked  in 
every  other  direction,  rushing  down  towards  the  sea  and  wading 
into  a  small  lagoon  on  the  shore,  whence  I  feared  it  might  get 
right  out  into  the  sea.  At  last  it  got  its  quietus  there  in  the 
water.  The  other  one  was  not  far  off,  and  a  ball  soon  put  an  end 
to  its  sufferings  also.  As  I  was  proceeding  to  rip  it  up,  Henrik- 
sen  and  Johansen  appeared ;  they  had  just  shot  a  bear  a  little 
farther  south. 

After  disembowelling  the  reindeer,  we  went  towards  the  boat 
again,  meeting  Sverdrup  on  the  way.  It  was  now  well  on  in  the 
morning,  and  as  I  considered  that  we  had  already  spent  too 
much  time  here,  I  was  impatient  to  push  northward.  While 
Sverdrup  and  some  of  the  others  went  on  board  to  get  ready  for 
the  start,  the  rest  of  us  rowed  south  to  fetch  our  two  reindeer 
and  our  bear.  A  strong  breeze  had  begun  to  blow  from  the 
northeast,  and  as  it  would  be  hard  work  for  us  to  row  back 
against  it,  I  had  asked  Sverdrup  to  come  and  meet  us  with  the 
Fram^  if  the  soundings  permitted  of  his  doing  so.  We  saw 
quantities  of  seal  and  whitefish  along  the  shore,  but  we  had  not 


94  FARTHEST  NORTH 

time  to  go  after  them ;  all  we  wanted  now  was  to  get  south,  and 
in  the  first  place  to  pick  up  the  bear.  When  we  came  near  the 
place  where  we  expected  to  find  it,  we  did  see  a  large  white  heap 
resembling  a  bear  lying  on  the  ground,  and  I  was  sure  it  must 
be  the  dead  one,  but  Henriksen  maintained  that  it  was  not.  We 
went  ashore  and  approached  it,  as  it  lay  motionless  on  a  grassy 
bank.  I  still  felt  a  strong  suspicion  that  it  had  already  had  all 
the  shot  it  wanted.  We  drew  nearer  and  nearer,  but  it  gave  no 
sign  of  life.  I  looked  into  Henriksen's  honest  face,  to  make  sure 
that  they  were  not  playing  a  trick  on  me  ;  but  he  was  staring 
fixedly  at  the  bear.  As  I  looked,  two  shots  went  off,  and  to  my 
astonishment  the  great  creature  bounded  into  the  air  still  dazed 
with  sleep.  Poor  beast !  it  was  a  harsh  awakening.  Another 
shot,  and  it  fell  lifeless. 

We  first  tried  to  drag  the  bears  down  to  the  boat,  but  they 
were  too  heavy  for  us ;  and  we  now  had  a  hard  piece  of  work 
skinning  and  cutting  them  up,  and  carrying  down  all  we  wanted. 
But,  bad  as  it  was,  trudging  through  the  soft  clay  with  heavy 
quarters  of  bear  on  our  backs,  there  was  worse  awaiting  us  on 
the  beach.  The  tide  had  risen,  and  at  the  same  time  the  waves 
had  got  larger  and  swamped  the  boat,  and  were  now  breaking 
over  it.  Guns  and  ammunition  were  soaking  in  the  water ;  bits 
of  bread,  our  only  provision,  floated  round,  and  the  butter-dish 
lay  at  the  bottom,  with  no  butter  in  it.  It  required  no  small 
exertion  to  get  the  boat  drawn  up  out  of  this  heavy  surf  and 
emptied  of  water.  Luckily,  it  had  received  no  injury,  as  the 
beach  was  of  a  soft  sand  ;  but  the  sand  had  penetrated  with  the 
water  everywhere,  even  into  the  most  delicate  parts  of  the  locks 
of  our  rifles.  But  worst  of  all  was  the  loss  of  our  provisions,  for 
now  we  were  ravenously  hungry.  We  had  to  make  the  best  of 
a  bad  business,  and  eat  pieces  of  bread  soaked  in  sea-water  and 
flavored  with  several  varieties  of  dirt.  On  this  occasion,  too, 
I  lost  my  sketch  -  book,  with  some  sketches  that  were  of  value 
to  me. 

It  was  no  easy  task  to  get  our  heavy  game  into  the  boat  with 
these  big  waves  breaking  on  the  flat  beach.  We  had  to  keep  the 
boat  outside  the  surf,  and  haul  both  skins  and  flesh  on  board 
with  a  line  ;  a  good  deal  of  water  came  with  them,  but  there  was 
no  help  for  it.  And  then  we  had  to  row  north  along  the  shore 
against  the  wind  and  sea  as  hard  as  we  could.   It  was  very  tough 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA   SEA  95 

work.  The  wind  had  increased,  and  it  was  all  we  could  do  to 
make  headway  against  it.  Seals  were  diving  round  us,  white 
whales  coming  and  going,  but  we  had  no  eyes  for  them  now. 
Suddenly  Henriksen  called  out  that  there  was  a  bear  on  the 
point  in  front.  I  turned  round,  and  there  stood  a  beautiful  white 
fellow  rummaging  among  the  flotsam  on  the  beach.  As  we  had 
no  time  to  shoot  it,  we  rowed  on,  and  it  went  slowly  in  front  of 
us  northward  along  the  shore.  At  last,  with  great  exertions,  we 
reached  the  bay  where  we  were  to  put  in  for  the  reindeer.  The 
bear  was  there  before  us.  It  had  not  seen  the  boat  hitherto  ; 
but  now  it  got  scent  of  us  and  came  nearer.  It  was  a  tempting 
shot.  I  had  my  finger  on  the  trigger  several  times,  but  did  not 
draw  it.  After  all,  we  had  no  use  for  the  animal ;  it  was  quite 
as  much  as  we  could  do  to  stow  away  what  we  had  already.  It 
made  a  beautiful  target  of  itself  by  getting  up  on  a  stone  to 
have  a  better  scent,  and  looked  about,  and,  after  a  careful  sur- 
vey, it  turned  round  and  set  off  inland  at  an  easy  trot. 

The  surf  was  by  this  time  still  heavier.  It  was  a  flat,  shallow 
shore,  and  the  waves  broke  a  good  way  out  from  land.  We  rowed 
in  till  the  boat  touched  ground  and  the  breakers  began  to  wash 
over  us.  The  only  way  of  getting  ashore  was  to  jump  into  the 
sea  and  wade.  But  getting  the  reindeer  on  board  was  another 
matter.  There  was  no  better  landing-place  farther  north,  and 
hard  as  it  was  to  give  up  the  excellent  meat  after  all  our  trouble, 
it  seemed  to  me  there  was  nothing  else  for  it,  and  we  rowed  off 
towards  our  ship. 

It  was  the  hardest  row  I  ever  had  a  hand  in.  It  went  pretty 
well  to  begin  with  ;  we  had  the  current  with  us,  and  got  quickly 
out  from  land ;  but  presently  the  wind  rose,  the  current  slacken- 
ed, and  wave  after  wave  broke  over  us.  After  incredible  toil  we 
had  at  last  only  a  short  way  to  go.  I  cheered  up  the  good  fellows 
as  best  I  could,  reminding  them  of  the  smoking  hot  tea  that 
awaited  them  after  a  few  more  tough  pulls,  and  picturing  all  the 
good  things  in  store  for  them.  '  We  really  were  all  pretty  well 
done  up  now,  but  we  still  took  a  good  grip  of  the  oars,  soaking 
wet  as  we  were  from  the  sea  constantly  breaking  over  us,  for  of 
course  none  of  us  had  thought  of  such  things  as  oilskins  in  yes- 
terday's beautiful  weather.  But  we  soon  saw  that  with  all  our 
pulling  and  toiling  the  boat  was  making  no  headway  whatever. 
Apart  from  the  wind  and  the  sea  we  had  the  current  dead  against 


96  FARTHEST  NORTH 

us  here ;  all  our  exertions  were  of  no  avail.  We  pulled  till  our 
finger-tips  felt  as  if  they  were  bursting;  but  the  most  we  could 
manage  was  to  keep  the  boat  where  it  was ;  if  we  slackened  an 
instant  it  drifted  back.  I  tried  to  encourage  my  comrades ; 
'' Now  vfQ  made  a  little  way!  It  was  just  strength  that  was 
needed !"  But  all  to  no  purpose.  The  wind  whistled  round  our 
ears,  and  the  spray  dashed  over  us.  It  was  maddening  to  be  so 
near  the  ship  that  it  seemed  as  if  we  could  almost  reach  out  to 
her,  and  yet  feel  that  it  was  impossible  to  get  on  any  farther. 
We  had  to  go  in  under  the  land  again,  where  we  had  the  current 
with  us,  and  here  we  did  succeed  in  making  a  little  progress.  We 
rowed  hard  till  we  were  about  abreast  of  the  ship ;  then  we  once 
more  tried  to  sheer  across  to  her,  but  no  sooner  did  we  get  into 
the  current  again  than  it  mercilessly  drove  us  back.  Beaten 
again  !  And  again  we  tried  the  same  manoeuvre  with  the  same 
result.  Now  we  saw  them  lowering  a  buoy  from  the  ship — if  we 
could  only  reach  it  we  were  saved ;  but  we  did  not  reach  it.  They 
were  not  exactly  blessings  that  we  poured  on  those  on  board. 
Why  the  deuce  could  they  not  bear  down  to  us  when  they  saw 
the  straits  we  were  in?  or  why,  at  any  rate,  could  they  not  ease 
up  the  anchor,  and  let  the  ship  drift  a  little  in  our  direction  ? 
They  saw  how  little  was  needed  to  enable  us  to  reach  them. 
Perhaps  they  had  their  reasons. 

We  would  make  our  last  desperate  attempt.  We  went  at  it 
with  a  will.  Every  muscle  was  strained  to  the  utmost  —  it  was 
only  the  buoy  we  had  to  reach  this  time.  But  to  our  rage  we 
now  saw  the  buoy  being  hauled  up.  We  rowed  a  little  way  on, 
to  the  windward  of  the  Fram,  and  then  tried  again  to  sheer  over. 
This  time  we  got  nearer  her  than  we  had  ever  been  before ;  but 
we  were  disappointed  in  still  seeing  no  buoy,  and  none  was  thrown 
over ;  there  was  not  even  a  man  to  be  seen  on  deck.  We  roared 
like  madmen  for  a  buoy  —  we  had  no  strength  left  for  another 
attempt.  It  was  not  a  pleasing  prospect  to  have  to  drift  back, 
and  go  ashore  again  in  our  wet  clothes — we  would  get  on  board  ! 
Once  more  we  yelled  like  wild  Indians,  and  now  they  came  rush- 
ing aft  and  threw  out  the  buoy  in  our  direction.  One  more  cry 
to  my  mates  that  we  must  put  our  last  strength  into  the  work. 
There  were  only  a  few  boat-lengths  to  cover ;  we  bent  to  our  oars 
with  a  will.  Now  there  were  three  boat-lengths.  Another  des- 
perate spurt.     Now  there  were  two  and  a  half  boat-lengths — 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA   SEA  97 

presently  two — then  only  one !  A  few  more  frantic  pulls,  and 
there  was  a  little  less.  "  Now,  boys,  one  or  two  more  hard  pulls 
and  it's  over  !  Hard !  hard  !  !  Keep  to  it  I  Now  another  I  Don't 
give  up !  One  more  !  There,  we  have  it !  /  /"  And  one  joyful  sigh 
of  relief  passed  round  the  boat.  "  Keep  the  oars  going  or  the  rope 
will  break.  Row,  boys !"  And  row  we  did,  and  soon  they  had 
hauled  us  alongside  of  the  Fram.  Not  till  we  were  lying  there 
getting  our  bearskins  and  flesh  hauled  on  board  did  we  really 
know  what  we  had  had  to  fight  against.  The  current  was  running 
along  the  side  of  the  ship  like  a  rapid  river.  At  last  we  were 
actually  on  board.  It  was  evening  by  this  time,  and  it  was  splen- 
did to  get  some  good  hot  food  and  then  stretch  one's  limbs  in  a 
comfortable,  dry  berth.  There  is  a  satisfaction  in  feeling  that  one 
has  exerted  one's  self  to  some  purpose.  Here  was  the  net  result 
of  four-and-twenty  hours'  hard  toil :  we  had  shot  two  reindeer 
which  we  did  not  get,  got  two  bears  that  we  had  no  use  for,  and 
had  totally  ruined  one  suit  of  clothes.  Two  washings  had  not  the 
smallest  effect  upon  them,  and  they  hung  on  deck  to  air  for  the 
rest  of  this  trip. 

I  slept  badly  that  night,  for  this  is  what  I  find  in  my  diary : 
"  Got  on  board  after  what  I  think  was  the  hardest  row  I  ever  had. 
Slept  well  for  a  little,  but  am  now  lying  tossing  about  in  my 
berth,  unable  to  sleep.  Is  it  the  coffee  I  drank  after  supper  ?  or 
the  cold  tea  I  drank  when  I  awoke  with  a  burning  thirst  ?  I  shut 
my  eyes  and  try  again  time  after  time,  but  to  no  purpose.  And 
now  memory's  airy  visions  steal  softly  over  my  soul.  Gleam  after 
gleam  breaks  through  the  mist.  I  see  before  me  sunlit  landscapes 
— smiling  fields  and  meadows,  green,  leafy  trees  and  woods,  and 
blue  mountain  ridges.  The  singing  of  the  steam  in  the  boiler- 
pipe  turns  to  bell-ringing  —  church  bells  —  ringing  in  Sabbath 
peace  over  Vestre-Aker  on  this  beautiful  summer  morning.  I 
am  walking  with  father  along  the  avenue  of  small  birch-trees 
that  mother  planted,  up  towards  the  church,  which  lies  on  the 
height  before  us,  pointing  up  into  the  blue  sky  and  sending  its 
call  far  over  the  country-side.  From  up  there  you  can  see  a  long 
way.  Naesodden  looks  quite  close  in  the  clear  air,  especially  on 
an  autumn  morning.  And  we  give  a  quiet  Sunday  greeting  to 
the  people  that  drive  past  us,  all  going  our  way.  What  a  look  of 
Sunday  happiness  dwells  on  their  faces ! 

"I  did  not  think  it  all  so  delightful  then,  and  would  much 
7 


98  FARTHEST  NORTH 

rather  have  run  off  to  the  woods  with  my  bow  and  arrow  after 
squirrels  —  but  now,  how  fair,  how  wonderfully  beautiful  that 
sunlit  picture  seems  to  me  !  The  feeling  of  peace  and  happiness 
that  even  then  no  doubt  made  its  impression,  though  only  a 
passing  one,  comes  back  now  with  redoubled  strength,  and  all 
nature  seems  one  mighty,  thrilling  song  of  praise  !  Is  it  because 
of  the  contrast  with  this  poor,  barren,  sunless  land  of  mists — 
without  a  tree,  without  a  bush — nothing  but  stones  and  clay? 
No  peace  in  it  either — nothing  but  an  endless  struggle  to  get 
north,  always  north,  without  a  moment's  delay.  Oh,  how  one 
yearns  for  a  little  careless  happiness !" 

Next  day  we  were  again  ready  to  sail,  and  I  tried  to  force  the 
Fram  on  under  steam  against  wind  and  current.  But  the  cur- 
rent ran  strong  as  a  river,  and  we  had  to  be  specially  careful 
with  the  helm  ;  if  we  gave  her  the  least  thing  too  much  she 
would  take  a  sheer,  and  we  knew  there  were  shallows  and  rocks 
on  all  sides.  We  kept  the  lead  going  constantly.  For  a  time  all 
went  well,  and  we  made  way  slowly,  but  suddenly  she  took  a 
sheer  and  refused  to  obey  her  helm.  She  went  off  to  starboard. 
The  lead  indicated  shallow  water.  The  same  moment  came  the 
order,  "  Let  go  the  anchor  !"  And  to  the  bottom  it  went  with  a 
rush  and  a  clank.  There  we  lay  with  4  fathoms  of  water  under 
the  stern  and  9  fathoms  in  front  at  the  anchor.  We  were  not  a 
moment  too  soon.  We  got  the  Pram's  head  straight  to  the 
wind,  and  tried  again,  time  after  time,  but  always  with  the  same 
result.  The  attempt  had  to  be  given  up.  There  was  still  the 
possibility  of  making  our  way  out  of  the  sound  to  leeward 
of  the  land,  but  the  water  got  quickly  shallow  there,  and  we 
might  come  on  rocks  at  any  moment.  We  could  have  gone  on 
in  front  with  the  boat  and  sounded,  but  I  had  already  had  more 
than  enough  of  rowing  in  that  current.  For  the  present  we 
must  stay  where  we  were  and  anoint  ourselves  with  the  oint- 
ment called  Patience,  a  medicament  of  which  every  polar  ex- 
pedition ought  to  lay  in  a  large  supply.  We  hoped  on  for  a 
change,  but  the  current  remained  as  it  was,  and  the  wind  cer- 
tainly did  not  decrease.  I  was  in  despair  at  having  to  lie  here 
for  nothing  but  this  cursed  current,  with  open  sea  outside,  per- 
haps as  far  as  Cape  Chelyuskin,  that  eternal  cape,  whose  name 
had  been  sounding  in  my  ears  for  the  last  three  weeks. 

When  I  came  on  deck  next  morning  (August  23d)  winter  had 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA  SEA  99 

come.  There  was  white  snow  on  the  deck,  and  on  every  little 
projection  of  the  rigging  where  it  had  found  shelter  from  the 
wind ;  white  snow  on  the  land,  and  white  snow  floating  through 
the  air.  Oh,  how  the  snow  refreshes  one's  soul,  and  drives  away 
all  the  gloom  and  sadness  from  this  sullen  land  of  fogs  !  Look 
at  it  scattered  so  delicately,  as  if  by  a  loving  hand,  over  the 
stones  and  the  grass  flats  on  shore  !  But  wind  and  current  are 
much  as  they  were,  and  during  the  day  the  wind  blows  up  to  a 
regular  storm,  howling  and  rattling  in  the  Pram's  rigging. 

The  following  day  (August  24th)  I  had  quite  made  up  my 
mind  that  we  must  get  out  some  way  or  other.  When  I  came  on 
deck  in  the  morning  the  wind  had  gone  down  considerably,  and 
the  current  was  not  so  strong.  A  boat  would  almost  be  able  to 
row  against  it ;  anyhow,  one  could  be  eased  away  by  a  line  from 
the  stern,  and  keep  on  taking  soundings  there,  while  we  "kedged" 
the  Ft  am  with  her  anchor  just  clear  of  the  bottom.  But  before 
having  recourse  to  this  last  expedient  I  would  make  another  at- 
tempt to  go  against  the  wind  and  the  current.  The  engineers 
were  ordered  to  put  on  as  much  pressure  of  steam  as  they  dared, 
and  the  Fram  was  urged  on  at  her  top  speed.  Our  surprise  was 
not  small  when  we  saw  that  we  were  making  way,  and  even  at 
a  tolerable  rate.  Soon  we  were  out  of  the  sound,  or  "  Knipa  " 
(nipper),  as  we  christened  it,  and  could  beat  out  to  sea  with  steam 
and  sail.  Of  course,  we  had,  as  usual,  contrary  wind  and  thick 
weather.  There  is  ample  space  between  every  little  bit  of  sun- 
shine in  these  quarters. 

Next  day  we  kept  on  beating  northward  between  the  edge  of 
the  ice  and  the  land.  The  open  channel  was  broad  to  begin  with, 
but  farther  north  it  became  so  narrow  that  we  could  often  see 
the  coast  when  we  put  about  at  the  edge  of  the  ice.  At  this  time 
we  passed  many  unknown  islands  and  groups  of  islands.  There 
was  evidently  plenty  of  occupation  here,  for  any  one  who  could 
spare  the  time,  in  making  a  chart  of  the  coast.  Our  voyage  had 
another  aim,  and  all  that  we  could  do  was  to  make  a  few  occa- 
sional measurements  of  the  same  nature  as  Nordenskiold  had 
made  before  us. 

On  August  25th  I  noted  in  my  diary  that  in  the  afternoon  we 
had  seven  islands  in  sight.  They  were  higher  than  those  we  had 
seen  before,  and  consisted  of  precipitous  hills.  There  were  also 
small  glaciers  or  snow -fields,  and  the  rock  formation  showed 


lOO  FARTHEST  NORTH 

clear  traces  of  erosion  by  ice  or  snow,  this  being  especially  the 
case  on  the  largest  island,  where  there  were  even  small  valleys, 
partially  filled  with  snow. 

This  is  the  record  of  August  26th  :  "  Many  new  islands  in 
various  directions.  There  are  here,"  the  diary  continues,  "any 
number  of  unknown  islands,  so  many  that  one's  head  gets  con- 
fused in  trying  to  keep  account  of  them  all.  In  the  morning  we 
passed  a  very  rocky  one,  and  beyond  it  I  saw  two  others.  After 
them  land  or  islands  farther  to  the  north  and  still  more  to  the 
northeast.  We  had  to  go  out  of  our  course  in  the  afternoon, 
because  we  dared  not  pass  between  two  large  islands  on  account 
of  possible  shoals.  The  islands  were  round  in  form,  like  those 
we  had  seen  farther  back,  but  were  of  a  good  height.  Now  we 
held  east  again,  with  four  biggish  islands  and  two  islets  in  the 
offing.  On  our  other  side  we  presently  had  a  line  of  flat  islands 
with  steep  shores.  The  channel  was  far  from  safe  here.  In  the 
evening  we  suddenly  noticed  large  stones  standing  up  above  the 
water  among  some  ice-floes  close  on  our  port  bow,  and  on  our 
starboard  beam  was  a  shoal  with  stranded  ice-floes.  We  sounded, 
but  found  over  21  fathoms  of  water." 

I  think  this  will  suffice  to  give  an  idea  of  the  nature  of  this 
coast.  Its  belt  of  skerries,  though  it  certainly  cannot  be  classed 
with  the  Norwegian  one,  is  yet  of  the  kind  that  it  would  be  dif- 
ficult to  find  except  off  glacier  -  formed  coasts.  This  tends  to 
strengthen  the  opinion  I  had  formed  of  there  having  been  a 
glacial  period  in  the  earlier  history  of  this  part  of  the  world  also. 
Of  the  coast  itself,  we  unfortunately  saw  too  little  at  any  dis- 
tance from  which  we  could  get  an  accurate  idea  of  its  formation 
and  nature.  We  could  not  keep  near  land,  partly  because  of  the 
thick  weather,  and  partly  because  of  the  number  of  islands.  The 
little  I  did  see  was  enough  to  give  me  the  conviction  that  the 
actual  coast  line  differs  essentially  from  the  one  we  know  from 
maps ;  it  is  much  more  winding  and  indented  than  it  is  shown 
to  be.  I  even  several  times  thought  that  I  saw  the  openings  into 
deep  fjords,  and  more  than  once  the  suspicion  occurred  to  me 
that  this  was  a  typical  fjord  country  we  were  sailing  past,  in 
spite  of  the  hills  being  comparatively  low  and  rounded.  In 
this  supposition  I  was  to  be  confirmed  by  our  experiences  farther 
north. 

Our  record  of  August  27th  reads  as  follows :  "  Steamed  aniong 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA  SEA  loi 

a  variety  of  small  islands  and  islets.  Thick  fog  in  the  morning. 
At  12  noon  we  saw  a  small  island  right  ahead,  and  therefore 
changed  our  course  and  went  north.  We  were  soon  close  to  the 
ice,  and  after  3  in  the  afternoon  held  northeast  along  its  edge. 
Sighted  land  when  the  fog  cleared  a  little,  and  were  about  a  mile 
off  it  at  7  P.M." 

It  was  the  same  striated,  rounded  land,  covered  with  clay  and 
large  and  small  stones  strewn  over  moss  and  grass  flats.  Before 
us  we  saw  points  and  headlands,  with  islands  outside,  and  sounds 
and  fjords  between ;  but  it  was  all  locked  up  in  ice,  and  we  could 
not  see  far  for  the  fog.  There  was  that  strange  Arctic  hush  and 
misty  light  over  everything — that  grayish-white  light  caused  by 
the  reflection  from  the  ice  being  cast  high  into  the  air  against 
masses  of  vapor,  the  dark  land  offering  a  wonderful  contrast. 
We  were  not  sure  whether  this  was  the  land  near  Taimur  Sound 
or  that  by  Cape  Palander,  but  were  agreed  that  in  any  case  it 
would  be  best  to  hold  a  northerly  course,  so  as  to  keep  clear  of 
Almquist's  Islands,  which  Nordenskiold  marks  on  his  map  as  ly- 
ing off  Taimur  Island.  If  we  shaped  our  course  for  one  watch 
north,  or  north  to  west,  we  should  be  safe  after  that,  and  be  able 
again  to  hold  farther  east.  But  we  miscalculated,  after  all.  At 
midnight  we  turned  northeastward,  and  at  4  a.m.  (August  28th) 
land  appeared  out  of  the  fog  about  half  a  mile  off.  It  seemed  to 
Sverdrup,  who  was  on  deck,  the  highest  that  we  had  seen  since 
we  left  Norway.  He  consequently  took  it  to  be  the  mainland, 
and  wished  to  keep  well  outside  of  it,  but  was  obliged  to  turn 
from  this  course  because  of  ice.  We  held  to  the  W.S.W.,  and  it 
was  not  till  9  a.m.  that  we  rounded  the  western  point  of  a  large 
island  and  could  steer  north  again.  East  of  us  were  many  isl- 
ands or  points  with  solid  ice  between  them,  and  we  followed  the 
edge  of  the  ice.  All  the  morning  we  went  north  along  the  land 
against  a  strong  current.  There  seemed  to  be  no  end  to  this 
land.  Its  discrepancy  with  every  known  map  grew  more  and 
more  remarkable,  and  I  was  in  no  slight  dilemma.  We  had  for 
long  been  far  to  the  north  of  the  most  northern  island  indicated 
by  Nordenskiold.*     My  diary  this  day  tells  of  great  uncertainty. 

*  It  is  true  that  in  his  account  of  the  voyage  he  expressly  states  that 
the  continued  very  thick  fog  "  prevented  us  from  doing  more  than  map- 
ping out  most  vaguely  the  islands  among  and  past  which  the  Vega  sought 
her  way." 


102  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  This  land  (or  these  islands,  or  whatever  it  is)  goes  confounded- 
ly far  north.  If  it  is  a  group  of  islands  they  are  tolerably  large 
ones.  It  has  often  the  appearance  of  connected  land,  with  fjords 
and  points  ;  but  the  weather  is  too  thick  for  us  to  get  a  proper 
view.  .  .  .  Can  this  that  we  are  now  coasting  along  be  the  Tai- 
mur's  Island  of  the  Russian  maps  (or,  more  precisely,  Lapteff' s 
map),  and  is  it  separated  from  the  mainland  by  the  broad  strait 
indicated  by  him,  while  Nordenskiold's  Taimur  Island  is  what 
Lapteff  has  mapped  as  a  projecting  tongue  of  land  ?  This  sup- 
position would  explain  everything,  and  our  observations  would 
also  fit  in  with  it.  Is  it  possible  that  Nordenskiold  found  this 
strait,  and  took  it  for  Taimur  Strait,  while  in  reality  it  was  a 
new  one  ;  and  that  he  saw  Almquist's  Islands,  but  had  no  sus- 
picion that  Taimur  Island  lay  to  the  outside  of  them  ?  The  dif- 
ficulty about  this  explanation  is  that  the  Russian  maps  mark  no 
islands  round  Taimur  Island.  It  is  inconceivable  that  any  one 
should  have  travelled  all  about  here  in  sledges  without  seeing  all 
these  small  islands  that  lie  scattered  around.* 

"  In  the  afternoon  the  water-gauge  of  the  boiler  got  choked 
up ;  we  had  to  stop  to  have  it  repaired,  and  therefore  made  fast  to 
the  edge  of  the  ice.  We  spent  the  time  in  taking  in  drinking- 
water.  We  found  a  pool  on  the  ice,  so  small  that  we  thought 
it  would  only  do  to  begin  with  ;  but  it  evidently  had  a  'subter- 
ranean '  communication  with  other  fresh-water  ponds  on  the  floe. 
To  our  astonishment  it  proved  inexhaustible,  however  much  we 
scooped.  In  the  evening  we  stood  in  to  the  head  of  an  ice  bay, 
which  opened  out  opposite  the  most  northern  island  we  then  had 
in  sight.  There  was  no  passage  beyond.  The  broken  drift-ice 
lay  packed  so  close  in  on  the  unbroken  land-ice  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  tell  where  the  one  ended  and  the  other  began.  We 
could  see  islands  still  farther  to  the  northeast.     From  the  atmos- 

*  Later,  when  I  had  investigated  the  state  of  matters  outside  Norden- 
skiold's Taimur  Island,  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  same  remark  applied 
here  with  even  better  reason,  as  no  sledge  expedition  could  go  round  the 
coast  of  this  island  without  seeing  Almquist's  Islands,  which  lie  so  near, 
for  instance,  to  Cape  Lapteff,  that  they  ought  to  be  seen  even  in  very 
thick  weather.  It  would  be  less  excusable  to  omit  marking  these  islands, 
which  are  much  larger,  than  to  omit  the  small  ones  lying  off  the  coast  of 
the  large  island  (or,  as  I  now  consider  it,  group  of  large  islands)  we  were  at 
present  skirting. 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA   SEA  103 

phere  it  seemed  as  if  there  might  also  be  open  water  in  that  di- 
rection. To  the  north  it  all  looked  very  close,  but  to  the  west 
there  was  an  open  waterway  as  far  as  one  could  see  from  the 
masthead.  I  was  in  some  doubt  as  to  what  should  be  done.  There 
was  an  open  channel  for  a  short  way  up  past  the  north  point  of 
the  nearest  island,  but  farther  to  the  east  the  ice  seemed  to  be 
close.  It  might  be  possible  to  force  our  way  through  there,  but 
it  was  just  as  likely  that  we  should  be  frozen  in  ;  so  I  thought  it 
most  judicious  to  go  back  and  make  another  attempt  between 
these  islands  and  that  mainland  which  I  had  some  difficulty  in  be- 
lieving that  Sverdrup  had  seen  in  the  morning. 

"  Thursday,  August  20th.  Still  foggy  weather.  New  islands 
were  observed  on  the  way  back.  Sverdrup's  high  land  did  not 
come  to  much.  It  turned  out  to  be  an  island,  and  that  a  low  one. 
It  is  wonderful  the  way  things  loom  up  in  the  fog.  This  remind- 
ed me  of  the  story  of  the  pilot  at  home  in  the  Drobak  Channel. 
He  suddenly  saw  land  right  in  front,  and  gave  the  order,  '  Full 
speed  astern  !'  Then  they  approached  carefully  and  found  that  it 
was  half  a  baling-can  floating  in  the  water." 

After  passing  a  great  number  of  new  islands  we  got  into  open 
water  off  Taimur  Island,  and  steamed  in  still  weather  through 
the  sound  to  the  northeast.  At  5  in  the  afternoon  I  saw  from  the 
crow's-nest  thick  ice  ahead,  which  blocked  farther  progress.  It 
stretched  from  Taimur  Island  right  across  to  the  islands  south  of 
it.  On  the  ice  bearded  seals  {Phoca  barbata)  were  to  be  seen  in 
all  directions,  and  we  saw  one  walrus.  We  approached  the  ice  to 
make  fast  to  it,  but  the  Fram  had  got  into  dead-water,  and  made 
hardly  any  way,  in  spite  of  the  engine  going  full  pressure.  It 
was  such  slow  work  that  I  thought  I  would  row  ahead  to  shoot 
seal.  In  the  meantime  the  Fram  advanced  slowly  to  the  edge  of 
the  ice  with  her  machinery  still  going  at  full  speed. 

For  the  moment  we  had  simply  to  give  up  all  thoughts  of  get- 
ting on.  It  was  most  likely,  indeed,  that  only  a  few  miles  of  solid 
ice  lay  between  us  and  the  probably  open  Taimur  Sea;  but  to 
break  through  this  ice  was  an  impossibility.  It  was  too  thick, 
and  there  were  no  openings  in  it.  Nordenskiold  had  steamed 
through  here  earlier  in  the  year  (August  18,  1878)  without  the 
slightest  hinderance,*  and  here,  perhaps,  our  hopes,  for  this  year 

*  In  his  account  of  his  voyage  Nordenskiold  writes  as  follows  of  the 


104  FARTHEST  NORTH 

at  any  rate,  were  to  be  wrecked.  It  was  not  possible  that  the  ice 
should  melt  before  winter  set  in  in  earnest.  The  only  thing  to 
save  us  would  be  a  proper  storm  from  the  southwest.  Our  other 
slight  hope  lay  in  the  possibility  that  Nordenskiold's  Taimur 
Sound,  farther  south,  might  be  open,  and  that  we  might  manage 
to  get  the  Fram  through  there,  in  spite  of  Nordenskiold  having 
said  distinctly  "  that  it  is  too  shallow  to  allow  of  the  passage  of 
vessels  of  any  size." 

After  having  been  out  in  the  kayak  and  boat  and  shot  some 
seals,  we  went  on  to  anchor  in  a  bay  that  lay  rather  farther 
south,  where  it  seemed  as  if  there  would  be  a  little  shelter  in  case 
of  a  storm.  We  wanted  now  to  have  a  thorough  cleaning  out  of 
the  boiler,  a  very  necessary  operation.  It  took  us  more  than  one 
watch  to  steam  a  distance  we  could  have  rowed  in  half  an  hour 
or  less.  We  could  hardly  get  on  at  all  for  the  dead-water,  and  we 
swept  the  whole  sea  along  with  us.  It  is  a  peculiar  phenomenon, 
this  dead-water.  We  had  at  present  a  better  opportunity  of 
studying  it  than  we  desired.  It  occurs  where  a  surface  layer  of 
fresh  water  rests  upon  the  salt  water  of  the  sea,  and  this  fresh 
water  is  carried  along  with  the  ship,  gliding  on  the  heavier  sea  be- 
neath as  if  on  a  fixed  foundation.  The  difference  between  the  two 
strata  was  in  this  case  so  great  that,  while  we  had  drinking-water 
on  the  surface,  the  water  we  got  from  the  bottom  cock  of  the 
engine-room  was  far  too  salt  to  be  used  for  the  boiler.  Dead-water 
manifests  itself  in  the  form  of  larger  or  smaller  ripples  or  waves 
stretching  across  the  wake,  the  one  behind  the  other,  arising 
sometimes  as  far  forward  as  almost  amidships.  We  made  loops 
in  our  course,  turned  sometimes  right  round,  tried  all  sorts  of 
antics  to  get  clear  of  it,  but  to  very  little  purpose.  The  moment 
the  engine  stopped  it  seemed  as  if  the  ship  were  sucked  back. 
In  spite  of  the  Frames  weight  and  the  momentum  she  usually  has, 
we  could  in  the  present  instance  go  at  full  speed  till  within  a 
fathom  or  two  of  the  edge  of  the  ice,  and  hardly  feel  a  shock 
when  she  touched. 


condition  of  this  channel :  "  We  were  met  by  only  small  quantities  of  that 
sort  of  ice  which  has  a  layer  of  fresh-water  ice  on  the  top  of  the  salt,  and 
we  noticed  that  it  was  all  melting  fjord  6r  river  ice.  I  hardly  think  that 
we  came  all  day  on  a  single  piece  of  ice  big  enough  to  have  cut  up  a  seal 
upon." 


VOYAGE   THRO  UGH  THE  KARA   SEA  105 

Just  as  we  were  approaching  we  saw  a  fox  jumping  backward 
and  forward  on  the  ice,  taking  the  most  wonderful  leaps  and 
enjoying  life.  Sverdrup  sent  a  ball  from  the  forecastle  which 
put  an  end  to  it  on  the  spot. 

About  mid-day  two  bears  were  seen  on  land,  but  they  disap- 
peared before  we  got  in  to  shoot  them. 

The  number  of  seals  to  be  seen  in  every  direction  was  some- 
thing extraordinary,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  this  would  be  an 
uncommonly  good  hunting-ground.  The  flocks  I  saw  this  first 
day  on  the  ice  reminded  me  of  the  crested-seal  hunting-grounds 
on  the  west  coast  of  Greenland. 

This  experience  of  ours  may  appear  to  contrast  strangely  with 
that  of  the  Ve^a  expedition.  Nordenskiold  writes  of  this  sea,  com- 
paring it  with  the  sea  to  the  north  and  east  of  Spitzbergen:  "An- 
other striking  difference  is  the  scarcity  of  warm-blooded  animals 
in  this  region  as  yet  unvisited  by  the  hunter.  We  had  not  seen 
a  single  bird  in  the  whole  course  of  the  day,  a  thing  that  had 
never  before  happened  to  me  on  a  summer  voyage  in  the  Arctic 
regions,  and  we  had  hardly  seen  a  seal."  The  fact  that  they  had 
not  seen  a  seal  is  simply  enough  explained  by  the  absence  of  ice. 
From  my  impression  of  it,  the  region  must,  on  the  contrary, 
abound  in  seals.  Nordenskiold  himself  says  that  "numbers  of 
seals,  both  Phoca  barbata  and  Phoca  hispida^  were  to  be  seen  " 
on  the  ice  in  Taimur  Strait. 

So  this  was  all  the  progress  we  had  made  up  to  the  end  of 
August.  On  August  18,  1878,  Nordenskiold  had  passed  through 
this  sound,  and  on  the  19th  and  20th  passed  Cape  Chelyuskin ; 
but  here  was  an  impenetrable  mass  of  ice  frozen  on  to  the  land 
lying  in  our  way  at  the  end  of  the  month.  The  prospect  was 
anything  but  cheering.  Were  the  many  prophets  of  evil — there 
is  never  any  scarcity  of  them — to  prove  right  even  at  this  early 
stage  of  the  undertaking  ?  No  !  The  Taimur  Strait  must  be 
attempted,  and  should  this  attempt  fail  another  last  one  should 
be  made  outside  all  the  islands  again.  Possibly  the  ice  masses 
out  there  might  in  the  meantime  have  drifted  and  left  an  open 
way.     We  could  not  stop  here. 

September  came  in  with  a  still,  melancholy  snowfall,  and  this 
desolate  land,  with  its  low,  rounded  heights,  soon  lay  under  a  deep 
covering.  It  did  not  add  to  our  cheerfulness  to  see  winter  thus 
gently  and  noiselessly  ushered  in  after  an  all  too  short  summer. 


io6  FARTHEST  NORTH 

On  September  2d  the  boiler  was  ready  at  last,  was  filled  with 
fresh  water  from  the  sea  surface,  and  we  prepared  to  start. 
While  this  preparation  was  going  on  Sverdrup  and  I  went  ashore 
to  have  a  look  after  reindeer.  The  snow  was  lying  thick,  and  if 
it  had  not  been  so  wet  we  could  have  used  our  snow-shoes.  As 
it  was  we  tramped  about  in  the  heavy  slush  without  them,  and 
without  seeing  so  much  as  the  track  of  a  beast  of  any  kind.  A 
forlorn  land,  indeed  !  Most  of  the  birds  of  passage  had  already 
taken  their  way  south ;  we  had  met  small  flocks  of  them  at  sea. 
They  were  collecting  for  the  great  flight  to  the  sunshine,  and 
we,  poor  souls,  could  not  help  wishing  that  it  were  possible  to 
send  news  and  greeting  with  them.  A  few  solitary  Arctic  and 
ordinary  gulls  were  our  only  company  now.  One  day  I  found 
a  belated  straggler  of  a  goose  sitting  on  the  edge  of  the  ice. 

We  steamed  south  in  the  evening,  but  still  followed  by  the 
dead-water.  According  to  Nordenskidld's  map,  it  was  only  about 
20  miles  to  Taimur  Strait,  but  we  were  the  whole  night  doing 
this  distance.  Our  speed  was  reduced  to  about  a  fifth  part  of 
what  it  would  otherwise  have  been.  At  6  a.m.  (September  3d) 
we  got  in  among  some  thin  ice  that  scraped  the  dead-water  off 
us.  The  change  was  noticeable  at  once.  As  the  Fra^jt  cut  into 
the  ice  crust  she  gave  a  sort  of  spring  forward,  and,  after  this, 
went  on  at  her  ordinary  speed ;  and  henceforth  we  had  very 
little  more  trouble  with  dead-water. 

We  found  what,  according  to  the  map,  was  Taimur  Strait 
entirely  blocked  with  ice,  and  we  held  farther  south  to  see  if  we 
could  not  come  upon  some  other  strait  or  passage.  It  was  not 
an  easy  matter  finding  our  way  by  the  map.  We  had  not  seen 
Hovgaard's  Islands,  marked  as  lying  north  of  the  entrance  to 
Taimur  Strait ;  yet  the  weather  was  so  beautifully  clear  that  it 
seemed  unlikely  that  they  could  have  escaped  us  if  they  lay 
where  Nordenskiold's  sketch  -  map  places  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  saw  several  islands  in  the  offing.  These,  however,  lay 
so  far  out  that  it  is  not  probable  that  Nordenskiold  saw  them, 
as  the  weather  was  thick  when  he  was  here ;  and,  besides,  it  is 
impossible  that  islands  lying  many  miles  out  at  sea  could  have 
been  mapped  as  close  to  land,  with  only  a  narrow  sound  sepa- 
rating them  from  it.  Farther  south  we  found  a  narrow  open 
strait  or  fjord,  which  we  steamed  into,  in  order  if  possible  to  get 
some  better  idea  of  the  lay  of  the  land.     I  sat  up  in  the  crow's- 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA  SEA  107 

nest,  hoping  for  a  general  clearing  up  of  matters  ;  but  the  pros- 
pect of  this  seemed  to  recede  farther  and  farther.  What  we  now 
had  to  the  north  of  us,  and  what  I  had  taken  to  be  a  projection 
of  the  mainland,  proved  to  be  an  island  ;  but  the  fjord  wound  on 
farther  inland.  Now  it  got  narrower — presently  it  widened  out 
again.  The  mystery  thickened.  Could  this  be  Taimur  Strait, 
after  all  ?  A  dead  calm  on  the  sea.  Fog  everywhere  over  the 
land.  It  was  wellnigh  impossible  to  distinguish  the  smooth  sur- 
face of  the  water  from  the  ice,  and  the  ice  from  the  snow-cov- 
ered land.  Everything  is  so  strangely  still  and  dead.  The  sea 
rises  and  falls  with  each  twist  of  the  fjord  through  the  silent 
land  of  mists.  Now  we  have  open  water  ahead,  now  more  ice, 
and  it  is  impossible  to  make  sure  which  it  is.  Is  this  Taimur 
Strait  ?  Are  we  getting  through  ?  A  whole  year  is  at  stake  !  .  .  . 
No!  here  we  stop  —  nothing  but  ice  ahead.  No!  it  is  only 
smooth  water  with  the  snowy  land  reflected  in  it.  This  must 
be  Taimur  Strait ! 

But  now  we  had  several  large  ice-floes  ahead,  and  it  was  dif- 
ficult to  get  on  ;  so  we  anchored  at  a  point,  in  a  good,  safe 
harbor,  to  make  a  closer  inspection.  We  now  discovered  that  it 
was  a  strong  tidal  current  that  was  carrying  the  ice-floes  with 
it,  and  there  could  be  no  doubt  that  it  was  a  strait  we  were  ly- 
ing in.  I  rowed  out  in  the  evening  to  shoot  some  seals,  taking 
for  the  purpose  my  most  precious  weapon,  a  double-barrelled 
Express  rifle,  calibre  577.  As  we  were  in  the  act  of  taking  a 
sealskin  on  board  the  boat  heeled  over,  I  slipped,  and  my  rifle 
fell  into  the  sea — a  sad  accident.  Peter  Henriksen  and  Bentzen, 
who  were  rowing  me,  took  it  so  to  heart  that  they  could  not 
speak  for  some  time.  They  declared  that  it  would  never  do  to 
leave  the  valuable  gun  lying  there  in  5  fathoms  of  water.  So 
we  rowed  to  the  Fram  for  the  necessary  apparatus,  and  dragged 
the  spot  for  several  hours,  well  on  into  the  dark,  gloomy  night. 
While  we  were  thus  employed  a  bearded  seal  circled  round  and 
round  us,  bobbing  up  its  big,  startled  face,  now  on  one  side  of  us, 
now  on  the  other,  and  always  coming  nearer ;  it  was  evidently 
anxious  to  find  out  what  our  night  work  might  be.  Then  it 
dived  over  and  over  again,  probably  to  see  how  the  dragging 
was  getting  on.  Was  it  afraid  of  our  finding  the  rifle  ?  At  last  it 
became  too  intrusive.  I  took  Peter's  rifle  and  put  a  ball  through 
its  head ;  but  it  sank  before  we  could  reach  it,  and  we  gave  up 


io8  FARTHEST  NORTH 

the  whole  business  in  despair.  The  loss  of  that  rifle  saved  the 
life  of  many  a  seal ;  and,  alas  !  it  had  cost  me  ;£"28. 

We  took  the  boat  again  next  day  and  rowed  eastward,  to  find 
out  if  there  really  was  a  passage  for  us  through  this  strait.  It 
had  turned  cold  during  the  night  and  snow  had  fallen,  so  the  sea 
round  the  Fram  was  covered  with  tolerably  thick  snow-ice,  and 
it  cost  us  a  good  deal  of  exertion  to  break  through  it  into  open 
water  with  the  boat.  I  thought  it  possible  that  the  land  farther 
in  on  the  north  side  of  the  strait  might  be  that  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Actinia  Bay,  where  the  Vega  had  lain  ;  but  I  sought  in 
vain  for  the  cairn  erected  there  by  Nordenskiold,  and  presently 
discovered  to  my  astonishment  that  it  was  only  a  small  island, 
and  that  this  island  lay  on  the  south  side  of  the  principal  en- 
trance to  Taimur  Strait.  The  strait  was  very  broad  here,  and  I 
felt  pretty  certain  that  I  saw  where  the  real  Actinia  Bay  cut  into 
the  land  far  to  the  north. 

We  were  hungry  now,  and  were  preparing  to  take  a  meal  be- 
fore we  rowed  on  from  the  island,  when  we  discovered  to  our 
disappointment  that  the  butter  had  been  forgotten.  We  cram- 
med down  the  dry  biscuits  as  best  we  could,  and  worked  our 
jaws  till  they  were  stiff  on  the  pieces  we  managed  to  hack  off 
a  hard  dried  reindeer  chine.  When  we  were  tired  of  eating, 
though  anything  but  satisfied,  we  set  off,  giving  this  point  the 
name  of  "  Cape  Butterless."  We  rowed  far  in  through  the  strait, 
and  it  seemed  to  us  to  be  a  good  passage  for  ships — 8  or  9 
fathoms  right  up  to  the  shore.  However,  we  were  stopped  by 
ice  in  the  evening,  and  as  we  ran  the  risk  of  being  frozen  in  if 
we  pushed  on  any  farther  I  thought  it  best  to  turn.  We  cer- 
tainly ran  no  danger  of  starving,  for  we  saw  fresh  tracks  both  of 
bears  and  reindeer  everywhere,  and  there  were  plenty  of  seals  in 
the  water  ;  but  I  was  afraid  of  delaying  the  Fram^  in  view  of  the 
possibility  of  progress  in  another  direction.  So  we  toiled  back 
against  a  strong  wind,  not  reaching  the  ship  till  next  morning ; 
and  this  was  none  too  early,  for  presently  we  were  in  the  midst 
of  a  storm. 

On  the  subject  of  the  navigability  of  Taimur  Strait,  Norden- 
skiold writes  that,  "  according  to  soundings  made  by  Lieutenant 
Palander,  it  is  obstructed  by  rocky  shallows  ;  and  being  also  full 
of  strong  currents,  it  is  hardly  advisable  to  sail  through  it — at 
least,  until  the  direction  of  these  currents  has  been  carefully  in- 


VOYAGE   THRO  UGH  THE  KARA  SEA  109 

vestigated."  I  have  nothing  particular  to  add  to  this,  except 
that,  as  already  mentioned,  the  channel  was  clear  as  far  as  we 
penetrated,  and  had  the  appearance  of  being  practicable  as  far 
as  I  could  see.  I  was,  therefore,  determined  that  we  would,  if  nec- 
essary, try  to  force  our  way  through  with  the  Fram. 

The  5th  of  September  brought  snow  with  a  stiff  breeze,  which 
steadily  grew  stronger.  When  it  was  rattling  in  the  rigging  in 
the  evening  we  congratulated  each  other  on  being  safe  on  board 
— it  would  not  have  been  an  easy  matter  to  row  back  to-day. 
But  altogether  I  was  dissatisfied.  There  was  some  chance,  in- 
deed, that  this  wind  might  loosen  the  ice  farther  north,  and  yes- 
terday's experiences  had  given  me  the  hope  of  being  able,  in 
case  of  necessity,  to  force  a  way  through  this  strait ;  but  now 
the  wind  was  steadily  driving  larger  masses  of  ice  in  past  us ; 
and  this  approach  of  winter  was  alarming — it  might  quite  well 
be  on  us  in  earnest  before  any  channel  was  opened.  I  tried  to 
reconcile  myself  to  the  idea  of  wintering  in  our  present  sur- 
roundings. I  had  already  laid  all  the  plans  for  the  way  in  which 
we  were  to  occupy  ourselves  during  the  coming  year.  Besides 
an  investigation  of  this  coast,  which  offered  problems  enough  to 
solve,  we  were  to  explore  the  unknown  interior  of  the  Taimur 
Peninsula  right  across  to  the  mouth  of  the  Chatanga.  With  our 
dogs  and  snow-shoes  we  should  be  able  to  go  far  and  wide ;  so 
the  year  would  not  be  a  lost  one  as  regarded  geography  and 
geology.  But  no  !  I  could  not  reconcile  myself  to  it  !  I  could 
not !  A  year  of  one's  life  was  a  year ;  and  our  expedition  prom- 
ised to  be  a  long  one  at  best.  What  tormented  me  most  was  the 
reflection  that  if  the  ice  stopped  us  now  we  could  have  no  assur- 
ance that  it  would  not  do  the  same  at  the  same  time  next  year ; 
it  has  been  observed  so  often  that  several  bad  ice-years  come  to- 
gether, and  this  was  evidently  none  of  the  best.  Though  I  would 
hardly  confess  the  feeling  of  depression  even  to  myself,  I  must 
say  that  it  was  not  on  a  bed  of  roses  I  lay  these  nights  until 
sleep  came  and  carried  me  off  into  the  land  of  forgetfulness. 

Wednesday,  the  6th  of  September,  was  the  anniversary  of  my 
wedding-day.  I  was  superstitious  enough  to  feel  when  I  awoke 
in  the  morning  that  this  day  would  bring  a  change,  if  one  were 
coming  at  all.  The  storm  had  gone  down  a  little,  the  sun  peeped 
out,  and  life  seemed  brighter.  The  wind  quieted  down  altogether 
in  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  the  weather  becoming  calm  and 


1 10  FARTHEST  NORTH 

beautiful.  The  strait  to  the  north  of  us,  which  was  blocked  be- 
fore with  solid  ice,  had  been  swept  open  by  the  storm ;  but  the 
strait  to  the  east,  where  we  had  been  with  the  boat,  was  firmly- 
blocked,  and  if  we  had  not  turned  when  we  did  that  evening  we 
should  have  been  there  yet,  and  for  no  one  knows  how  long.  It 
seemed  to  us  not  improbable  that  the  ice  between  Cape  Lapteff 
and  Almquist's  Islands  might  be  broken  up.  We  therefore  got 
up  steam  and  set  off  north  about  6.30  p.m.  to  try  our  fortune  once 
more.  I  felt  quite  sure  that  the  day  would  bring  us  luck.  The 
weather  was  still  beautiful,  and  we  were  thoroughly  enjoying  the 
sunshine.  It  was  such  an  unusual  thing  that  Nordahl,  when  he 
was  working  among  the  coals  in  the  hold  in  the  afternoon,  mis- 
took a  sunbeam  falling  through  the  hatch  on  the  coal  dust  for  a 
plank,  and  leaned  hard  on  it.  He  was  not  a  little  surprised  when 
he  fell  right  through  it  on  to  some  iron  lumber. 

It  became  more  and  more  difficult  to  make  anything  of  the 
land,  and  our  observation  for  latitude  at  noon  did  not  help  to 
clear  up  matters.  It  placed  us  at  76°  2  north  latitude,  or  about 
14  miles  from  what  is  marked  as  the  mainland  on  Nordenskiold's 
or  Bove's  map.  It  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  these  should 
be  correct,  as  the  weather  seems  to  have  been  foggy  the  whole 
time  the  explorers  were  here. 

Nor  were  we  successful  in  finding  Hovgaard's  Islands  as  we 
sailed  north.  When  I  supposed  that  we  were  off  them,  just  on 
the  north  side  of  the  entrance  to  Taimur  Strait,  I  saw,  to  my 
surprise,  a  high  mountain  almost  directly  north  of  us,  which 
seemed  as  if  it  must  be  on  the  mainland.  What  could  be  the 
explanation  of  this  ?  I  began  to  have  a  growing  suspicion  that 
this  was  a  regular  labyrinth  of  islands  we  had  got  into.  We  were 
hoping  to  investigate  and  clear  up  the  matter  when  thick  weather, 
with  sleet  and  rain,  most  inconveniently  came  on,  and  we  had  to 
leave  this  problem  for  the  future  to  solve. 

The  mist  was  thick,  and  soon  the  darkness  of  night  was  added 
to  it,  so  that  we  could  not  see  land  at  any  great  distance.  It 
might  seem  rather  risky  to  push  ahead  now,  but  it  was  an  oppor- 
tunity not  to  be  lost.  We  slackened  speed  a  little,  and  kept  on 
along  the  coast  all  night,  in  readiness  to  turn  as  soon  as  land  was 
observed  ahead.  Satisfied  that  things  were  in  good  hands,  as 
it  was  Sverdrup's  watch,  I  lay  down  in  my  berth  with  a  lighter 
heart  than  I  had  had  for  long. 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA  SEA  m 

At  6  o'clock  next  morning  (September  7th)  Sverdrup  roused 
me  with  the  information  that  we  had  passed  Taimur  Island,  or 
Cape  Lapteff,  at  3  a.m.,  and  were  now  at  Taimur  Bay,  but  with 
close  ice  and  an  island  ahead.  It  was  possible  that  we  might 
reach  the  island,  as  a  channel  had  just  opened  through  the  ice  in 
that  direction  ;  but  we  were  at  present  in  a  tearing  "whirlpool" 
current,  and  should  be  obliged  to  put  back  for  the  moment. 
After  breakfast  I  went  up  into  the  crow's-nest.  It  was  brilliant 
sunshine.  I  found  that  Sverdrup's  island  must  be  mainland, 
which,  however,  stretched  remarkably  far  west  compared  with 
that  given  on  the  maps.  I  could  still  see  Taimur  Island  behind 
me,  and  the  most  easterly  of  Almquist's  Islands  lay  gleaming  in 
the  sun  to  the  north.  It  was  a  long,  sandy  point  that  we  had 
ahead,  and  I  could  follow  the  land  in  a  southerly  direction  till  it 
disappeared  on  the  horizon  at  the  head  of  the  bay  in  the  south. 
Then  there  was  a  small  strip  where  no  land,  only  open  water, 
could  be  made  out.  After  that  the  land  emerged  on  the  west 
side  of  the  bay,  stretching  towards  Taimur  Island.  With  its 
heights  and  round  knolls  this  land  was  essentially  different  from 
the  low  coast  on  the  east  side  of  the  bay. 

To  the  north  of  the  point  ahead  of  us  I  saw  open  water  ;  there 
was  some  ice  between  us  and  it,  but  the  Frant  forced  her  way 
through.  When  we  got  out,  right  off  the  point,  I  was  surprised 
to  notice  the  sea  suddenly  covered  with  brown,  clayey  water.  It 
could  not  be  a  deep  layer,  for  the  track  we  left  behind  was  quite 
clear.  The  clayey  water  seemed  to  be  skimmed  to  either  side 
by  the  passage  of  the  ship.  I  ordered  soundings  to  be  taken, 
and  found,  as  I  expected,  shallower  water — first  8  fathoms,  then 
6i,  then  5^.  I  stopped  now,  and  backed.  Things  looked  very 
suspicious,  and  round  us  ice-floes  lay  stranded.  There  was  also 
a  very  strong  current  running  northeast.  Constantly  sounding, 
we  again  went  slowly  forward.  Fortunately  the  lead  went  on 
showing  5  fathoms.  Presently  we  got  into  deeper  water  —  6 
fathoms,  then  6^ — and  now  we  went  on  at  full  speed  again.  We 
were  soon  out  into  the  clear,  blue  water  on  the  other  side.  There 
was  quite  a  sharp  boundary-line  between  the  brown  surface  water 
and  the  clear  blue.  The  niuddy  water  evidently  came  from  some 
river  a  little  farther  south. 

From  this  point  the  land  trended  back  in  an  easterly  direction, 
and  we  held  east  and  northeast  in  the  open  water  between  it  and 


112  FARTHEST  NORTH 

the  ice.  In  the  afternoon  this  channel  grew  very  narrow,  and 
we  got  right  under  the  coast,  where  it  again  slopes  north.  We 
kept  close  along  it  in  a  very  narrow  cut,  with  a  depth  of  6  to  8 
fathoms,  but  in  the  evening  had  to  stop,  as  the  ice  lay  packed 
close  in  to  the  shore  ahead  of  us. 

This  land  we  had  been  coasting  along  bore  a  strong  resem- 
blance to  Yalmal.  The  same  low  plains,  rising  very  little  above 
the  sea,  and  not  visible  at  any  great  distance.  It  was  perhaps 
rather  more  undulating.  At  one  or  two  places  I  even  saw  some 
ridges  of  a  certain  elevation  a  little  way  inland.  The  shore  the 
whole  way  seemed  to  be  formed  of  strata  of  sand  and  clay,  the 
margin  sloping  steeply  to  the  sea. 

Many  reindeer  herds  were  to  be  seen  on  the  plains,  and  next 
morning  (September  8th)  I  went  on  shore  on  a  hunting  expedi- 
tion. Having  shot  one  reindeer,  I  was  on  my  way  farther  in- 
land in  search  of  more,  when  I  made  a  surprising  discovery, 
which  attracted  all  my  attention  and  made  me  quite  forget  the 
errand  I  had  come  on.  It  was  a  large  fjord  cutting  its  way  in 
through  the  land  to  the  north  of  me.  I  went  as  far  as  possible 
to  find  out  all  I  could  about  it,  but  did  not  manage  to  see  the 
end  of  it.  So  far  as  I  cojild  see,  it  was  a  fine,  broad  sheet  of 
water,  stretching  eastward  to  some  blue  mountains  far,  far  in- 
land, which,  at  the  extreme  limit  of  my  vision,  seemed  to  slope 
down  to  the  water.  Beyond  them  I  could  distinguish  nothing. 
My  imagination  was  fired,  and  for  a  moment  it  seemed  to  me  as 
if  this  might  almost  be  a  strait,  stretching  right  across  the  land 
here,  and  making  an  island  of  the  Chelyuskin  Peninsula.  But 
probably  it  was  only  a  river,  which  widened  out  near  its  mouth 
into  a  broad  lake,  as  several  of  the  Siberian  rivers  do.  All  about 
the  clay  plains  I  was  tramping  over,  enormous  erratic  blocks,  of 
various  formations,  lay  scattered.  They  can  only  have  been 
brought  here  by  the  great  glaciers  of  the  Ice  Age.  There  was 
not  much  life  to  be  seen.  Besides  reindeer  there  were  just  a 
few  willow-grouse,  snow-buntings,  and  snipe ;  and  I  saw  tracks 
of  foxes  and  lemmings.  This  farthest  north  part  of  Siberia  is 
quite  uninhabited,  and  has  probably  not  been  visited  even  by 
the  wandering  nomads.  However,  I  *saw  a  circular  moss  -  heap 
on  a  plain  far  inland,  which  looked  as  if  it  might  be  the  work  of 
man's  hand.  Perhaps,  after  all,  some  Samoyede  had  been  here 
collecting  moss  for  his  reindeer  ;  but  it  must  have  been  long 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA  SEA  113 

ago ;  for  the  moss^  loa^d  quite  black  and  rotten.  The  heap 
was  quite  possibly  only  one  of  Nature's  freaks — she  is  often  ca- 
pricious. 

What  a  constant  alternation  of  light  and  shadow  there  is  in 
this  Arctic  land.  When  I  went  up  to  the  crow's-nest  next  morn- 
ing (September  9th)  I  saw 'that  the  ice  to  the  north  had  loosened 
from  the  land,  and  I  could  trace  a  channel  which  might  lead  us 
northward  into  open  water.  I  at  once  gave  the  order  to  get  up 
steam.  The  barometer  was  certainly  low — lower  than  we  had 
ever  had  it  yet ;  it  was  down  to  733  mm. — the  wind  was  blowing 
in  heavy  squalls  off  the  land,  and  in  on  the  plains  the  gusts  were 
whirling  up  clouds  of  sand  and  dust. 

Sverdrup  thought  it  would  be  safer  to  stay  where  we  were ; 
but  it  would  be  too  annoying  to  miss  this  splendid  opportunity  ; 
and  the  sunshine  was  so  beautiful,  and  the  sky  so  smiling  and 
reassuring.  I  gave  orders  to  set  sail,  and  soon  we  were  pushing 
on  northward  through  the  ice,  under  steam,  and  with  every 
stitch  of  canvas  that  we  could  crowd  on.  Cape  Chelyuskin  must  be 
vanquished  !  Never  had  the  Fram  gone  so  fast ;  she  made  more 
than  8  knots  by  the  log  ;  it  seemed  as  though  she  knew  how 
much  depended  on  her  getting  on.  Soon  we  were  through  the 
ice,  and  had  open  water  along  the  land  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach.  We  passed  point  after  point,  discovering  new  fjords  and 
islands  on  the  way,  and  soon  I  thought  that  I  caught  a  glimpse 
through  the  large  telescope  of  some  mountains  far  away  north  ; 
they  must  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cape  Chelyuskin  itself. 

The  land  along  which  we  to-day  coasted  to  the  northward  was 
quite  low,  some  of  it  like  what  I  had  seen  on  shore  the  previous 
day.  At  some  distance  from  the  low  coast,  fairly  high  moun- 
tains or  mountain  chains  were  to  be  seen.  Some  of  them  seemed 
to  consist  of  horizontal  sedimentary  schist;  they  were  flat-topped, 
with  precipitous  sides.  Farther  inland  the  mountains  were  all 
white  with  snow.  At  one  point  it  seemed  as  if  the  whole  range 
were  covered  with  a  sheet  of  ice,  or  great  snow-field  that  spread 
itself  down  the  sides.  At  the  edge  of  this  sheet  I  could  see  pro- 
jecting masses  of  rock,  but  all  the  inner  part  was  spotless  white. 
It  seemed  almost  too  continuous  and  even  to  be  new  snow,  and 
looked  like  a  permanent  snow  mantle. 

Nordenskiold's  map  marks  at  this  place  "High  mountain 
chains  inland";  and  this  agrees  with  our  observations,  though  I 


114  FARTHEST  NORTH 

cannot  assert  that  the  mountains  are  of  any  considerable  height. 
But  when,  in  agreement  with  earlier  maps,  he  marks  at  the  same 
place  "High,  rocky  coast,"  his  terms  are  open  to  objection.  The 
coast  is,  as  already  mentioned,  quite  low,  and  consists,  in  great 
part  at  least,  of  layers  of  clay  or  loose  earth.  Nordenskiold 
either  took  this  last  description  from  the  earlier,  unreliable  maps, 
or  possibly  allowed  himself  to  be  misled  by  the  fog  which  beset 
them  during  their  voyage  in  these  waters. 

In  the  evening  we  were  approaching  the  north  end  of  the 
land,  but  the  current,  which  we  had  had  with  us  earlier  in  the 
day,  was  now  against  us,  and  it  seemed  as  if  we  were  never  to 
get  past  an  island  that  lay  off  the  shore  to  the  north  of  us.  The 
mountain  height  which  I  had  seen  at  an  earlier  hour  through 
the  telescope  lay  here  some  way  inland.  It  was  flat  on  the  top, 
with  precipitous  sides,  like  those  mountains  last  described.  It 
seemed  to  be  sandstone  or  basaltic  rock;  only  the  horizontal 
strata  of  the  ledges  on  its  sides  were  not  visible.  I  calculated 
its  height  at  looo  to  1500  feet.  Out  at  sea  we  saw  several  new 
islands,  the  nearest  of  them  being  of  some  size. 

The  moment  seemed  to  be  at  hand  when  we  were  at  last  to 
round  that  point  which  had  haunted  us  for  so  long — the  second 
of  the  greatest  difficulties  I  expected  to  have  to  overcome  on 
this  expedition.  I  sat  up  in  the  crow's-nest  in  the  evening,  look- 
ing out  to  the  north.  The  land  was  low  and  desolate.  The  sun 
had  long  since  gone  down  behind  the  sea,  and  the  dreamy  even- 
ing sky  was  yellow  and  gold.  It  was  lonely  and  still  up  here, 
high  above  the  water.  Only  one  star  was  to  be  seen.  It  stood 
straight  above  Cape  Chelyuskin,  shining  clearly  and  sadly  in  the 
pale  sky.  As  we  sailed  on  and  got  the  cape  more  to  the  east  of 
us  the  star  went  with  it ;  it  was  always  there,  straight  above. 
I  could  not  help  sitting  watching  it.  It  seemed  to  have  some 
charm  for  me,  and  to  bring  such  peace.  Was  it  my  star  ?  Was 
it  the  spirit  of  home  following  and  smiling  to  me  now  ?  Many 
a  thought  it  brought  to  me  as  the  Fram  toiled  on  through 
the  melancholy  night,  past  the  northernmost  point  of  the  old 
world. 

Towards  morning  we  were  off  what  we  took  to  be  actually  the 
northern  extremity.  We  stood  in  near  land,  and  at  the  change 
of  the  watch,  exactly  at  4  o'clock,  our  flags  were  hoisted,  and  our 
three  last  cartridges  sent  a  thundering  salute  over  the  sea.     Al- 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA  SEA  115 

most  at  the  same  moment  the  sun  rose.    Then  our  poetic  doctor 
burst  forth  into  the  following  touching  lines  : 

"  Up  go  the  flags,  off  goes  the  gun ; 
The  clock  strikes  four — and  lo,  the  sun !" 

-  As  the  sun  rose,  the  Chelyuskin  troll,  that  had  so  long  had  us 
in  his  power,  was  banned.  We  had  escaped  the  danger  of  a  winter's 
imprisonment  on  this  coast,  and  we  saw  the  way  clear  to  our 
goal — the  drift-ice  to  the  north  of  the  New  Siberian  Islands.  In 
honor  of  the  occasion  all  hands  were  turned  out,  and  punch,  fruit, 
and  cigars  were  served  in  the  festally  lighted  saloon.  Something 
special  in  the  way  of  a  toast  was  expected  on  such  an  occasion. 
I  lifted  my  glass  and  made  the  following  speech  :  "  Skoal,  my 
lads,  and  be  glad  we've  passed  Chelyuskin !"  Then  there  was 
some  organ-playing,  during  which  I  went  up  into  the  crow's-nest 
again,  to  have  a  last  look  at  the  land.  I  now  saw  that  the  height 
I  had  noticed  in  the  evening,  which  has  already  been  described, 
lies  on  the  west  side  of  the  peninsula,  while  farther  east  a  lower 
and  more  rounded  height  stretches  southward.  This  last  must 
be  the  one  mentioned  by  Nordenskiold,  and,  according  to  his 
description,  the  real  north  point  must  lie  out  beyond  it ;  so  that 
we  were  now  off  King  Oscar's  Bay  ;  but  I  looked  in  vain  through 
the  telescope  for  Nordenskiold's  cairn.  I  had  the  greatest  in- 
clination to  land,  but  did  not  think  that  we  could  spare  the  time. 
The  bay,  which  was  clear  of  ice  at  the  time  of  the  Vega's  visit, 
was  now  closed  in  with  thick  winter  ice,  frozen  fast  to  the  land. 
We  had  an  open  channel  before  us ;  but  we  could  see  the 
edge  of  the  drift-ice  out  at  sea.  A  little  farther  west  we  passed 
a  couple  of  small  islands,  lying  a  short  way  from  the  coast.  We 
had  to  stop  before  noon  at  the  northwestern  corner  of  Chelyuskin, 
on  account  of  the  drift-ice,  which  seemed  to  reach  right  into  the 
land  before  us.  To  judge  by  the  dark  air,  there  was  open  water 
again  on  the  other  side  of  an  island  which  lay  ahead.  We  landed 
and  made  sure  that  some  straits  or  fjords  on  the  inside  of  this 
island,  to  the  south,  were  quite  closed  with  firm  ice ;  and  in  the 
evening  thQ  Fram  forced  her  way  through  the  drift-ice  on  the  out- 
side of  it.  We  steamed  and  sailed  southward  along  the  coast  all 
night,  making  splendid  way ;  when  the  wind  was  blowing  stiffest 
we  went  at  the  rate  of  9  knots.  We  came  upon  ice  every  now  and 
then,  but  got  through  it  easily. 


ii6  FARTHEST  NORTH 

Towards  morning  (September  nth)  we  had  high  land  ahead, 
and  had  to  change  our  course  to  due  east,  keeping  to  this  all  day. 
When  I  came  on  deck  before  noon  I  saw  a  fine  tract  of  hill  coun- 
try, with  high  summits  and  valleys  between.  It  was  the  first  view 
of  the  sort  since  we  had  left  Vardo,  and,  after  the  monotonous 
low  land  we  had  been  coasting  along  for  months,  it  was  refresh- 
ing to  see  such  mountains  again.  They  ended  with  a  precipitous 
descent  to  the  east,  and  eastward  from  that  extended  a  perfectly 
flat  plain.  In  the  course  of  the  day  we  quite  lost  sight  of  land, 
and,  strangely  enough,  did  not  see  it  again ;  nor  did  we  see  the 
islands  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  though,  according  to  the  maps, 
our  course  lay  close  past  them. 

Thursday,  September  12th.  Henriksen  awoke  me  this  morning 
at  6  with  the  information  that  there  were  several  walruses  lying 
on  a  floe  quite  close  to  us.  "  By  Jove  !"  Up  I  jumped  and  had 
my  clothes  on  in  a  trice.  It  was  a  lovely  morning  —  fine,  still 
weather ;  the  walruses'  guffaw  sounded  over  to  us  along  the  clear 
ice  surface.  They  were  lying  crowded  together  on  a  floe  a  little 
to  landward  from  us,  blue  mountains  glittering  behind  them  in 
the  sun.  At  last  the  harpoons  were  sharpened,  guns  and  car- 
tridges ready,  and  Henriksen,  Juell,  and  I  set  off.  There  seemed 
to  be  a  slight  breeze  from  the  south,  so  we  rowed  to  the  north 
side  of  the  floe,  to  get  to  leeward  of  the  animals.  From  time  to 
time  their  sentry  raised  his  head,  but  apparently  did  not  see  us. 
We  advanced  slowly,  and  soon  we  were  so  near  that  we  had  to 
row  very  cautiously.  Juell  kept  us  going,  while  Henriksen  was 
ready  in  the  bow  with  a  harpoon,  and  I  behind  him  with  a  gun. 
The  moment  the  sentry  raised  his  head  the  oars  stopped,  and  we 
stood  motionless ;  when  he  sank  it  again,  a  few  more  strokes 
brought  us  nearer. 

Body  to  body  they  lay  close-packed  on  a  small  floe,  old  and 
young  ones  mixed.  Enormous  masses  of  flesh  they  were  !  Now 
and  again  one  of  the  ladies  fanned  herself  by  moving  one  of  her 
flippers  backward  and  forward  over  her  body  ;  then  she  lay  quiet 
again  on  her  back  or  side.  "  Good  gracious  !  what  a  lot  of  meat !" 
said  Juell,  who  was  cook.  More  and  more  cautiously  we  drew 
near.  While  I  sat  ready  with  the  gun,  Henriksen  took  a  good 
grip  of  the  harpoon  shaft,  and  as  the  boat  touched  the  floe  he 
rose,  and  off  flew  the  harpoon.  But  it  struck  too  high,  glanced 
off  the  tough  hide,  and  skipped  over  the  backs  of  the  animals. 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA  SEA  n? 

Now  there  was  a  pretty  to  do  !  Ten  or  twelve  great  weird  faces 
glared  upon  us  at  once  ;  the  colossal  creatures  twisted  themselves 
round  with  incredible  celerity,  and  came  waddling  with  lifted 
heads  and  hollow  bellowings  to  the  edge  of  the  ice  where  we  lay. 
It  was  undeniably  an  imposing  sight ;  but  I  laid  my  gun  to  my 
shoulder  and  fired  at  one  of  the  biggest  heads.  The  animal 
staggered,  and  then  fell  head  foremost  into  the  water.  Now  a 
ball  into  another  head  ;  this  creature  fell  too,  but  was  able  to  fling 
itself  into  the  sea.  And  now  the  whole  tierd  dashed  in,  and  we 
as  well  as  they  were  hidden  in  spray.  It  had  all  happened  in  a 
few  seconds.  But  up  they  came  again  immediately  round  the 
boat,  one  head  bigger  and  uglier  than  another,  their  young 
ones  close  beside  them.  They  stood  up  in  the  water,  bellowed 
and  roared  till  the  air  trembled,  threw  themselves  forward 
towards  us,  then  rose  up  again,  and  new  bellowings  filled  the 
air.  Then  they  rolled  over  and  disappeared  with  a  splash,  then 
bobbed  up  again.  The  water  foamed  and  boiled  for  yards 
around — the  ice-world  that  had  been  so  still  before  seemed  in  a 
moment  to  have  been  transformed  into  a  raging  bedlam.  Any 
moment  we  might  expect  to  have  a  walrus  tusk  or  two  through 
the  boat,  or  to  be  heaved  up  and  capsized.  Something  of  this 
kind  was  the  very  least  that  could  happen  after  such  a  terrible 
commotion.  But  the  hurly-burly  went  on  and  nothing  came  of 
it.  I  again  picked  out  my  victims.  They  went  on  bellowing  and 
grunting  like  the  others,  but  with  blood  streaming  from  their 
mouths  and  noses.  Another  ball,  and  one  tumbled  over  and 
floated  on  the  water ;  now  a  ball  to  the  second,  and  it  did  the 
same.  Henriksen  was  ready  with  the  harpoons,  and  secured 
them  both.  One  more  was  shot ;  but  we  had  no  more  harpoons, 
and  had  to  strike  a  seal-hook  into  it  to  hold  it  up.  The  hook 
slipped,  however,  and  the  animal  sank  before  we  could  save  it. 
While  we  were  towing  our  booty  to  an  ice-floe  we  were  still,  for 
part  of  the  time  at  least,  surrounded  by  walruses  ;  but  there  was 
no  use  in  shooting  any  more,  for  we  had  no  means  of  carrying 
them  off.  The  Fram  presently  came  up  and  took  our  two  on 
board,  and  we  were  soon  going  ahead  along  the  coast.  We  saw 
many  walruses  in  this  part.  We  shot  two  others  in  the  after- 
noon, and  could  have  got  many  more  if  we  had  had  time  to  spare. 
It  was  in  this  same  neighborhood  that  Nordenskiold  also  saw  one 
or  two  small  herds. 


ii8  FARTHEST  NORTH 

We  now  continued  our  course,  against  a  strong  current,  south- 
ward along  the  coast,  past  the  mouth  of  the  Chatanga.  This 
eastern  part  of  the  Taimur  Peninsula  is  a  comparatively  high, 
mountainous  region,  but  with  a  lower  level  stretch  between  the 
mountains  and  the  sea — apparently  the  same  kind  of  low  land 
we  had  seen  along  the  coast  almost  the  whole  way.  As  the  sea 
seemed  to  be  tolerably  open  and  free  from  ice,  we  made  several 
attempts  to  shorten  our  course  by  leaving  the  coast  and  striking 
across  for  the  mouth  6f  the  Olenek  ;  but  every  time  thick  ice 
drove  us  back  to  our  channel  by  the  land. 

On  September  14th  we  were  off  the  land  lying  between  the 
Chatanga  and  the  Anabara.  This  also  was  fairly  high,  moun- 
tainous country,  with  a  low  strip  by  the  sea.  "  In  this  respect," 
so  I  write  in  my  diary,  "  this  whole  coast  reminds  one  very  much 
of  Jaederen,  in  Norway.  But  the  mountains  here  are  not  so  well 
separated,  and  are  considerably  lower  than  those  farther  north. 
The  sea  is  unpleasantly  shallow  ;  at  one  time  during  the  night  we 
had  only  4  fathoms,  and  were  obliged  to  put  back  some  distance. 
We  have  ice  outside,  quite  close ;  but  yet  there  is  a  sufficient 
fairway  to  let  us  push  on  eastward." 

The  following  day  we  got  into  good,  open  water,  but  shallow — 
never  more  than  6  to  7  fathoms.  We  heard  the  roaring  of  waves 
to  the  east,  so  there  must  certainly  be  open  water  in  that  direc- 
tion, which,  indeed,  we  had  expected.  It  was  plain  that  the  Lena, 
with  its  masses  of  warm  water,  was  beginning  to  assert  its  influ- 
ence. The  sea  here  was  browner,  and  showed  signs  of  some 
mixture  of  muddy  river-water.     It  was  also  much  less  salt. 

"  It  would  be  foolish,"  I  write  in  my  diary  for  this  day  (Sep- 
tember 15th),  "to  go  in  to  the  Olenek,  now  that  we  are  so  late. 
Even  if  there  were  no  danger  from  shoals,  it  would  cost  us  too 
much  time — probably  a  year.  Besides,  it  is  by  no  means  sure 
that  the  Fra^n  can  get  in  there  at  all ;  it  would  be  a  very  tiresome 
business  if  she  went  aground  in  these  waters.  No  doubt  we 
should  be  very  much  the  better  of  a  few  more  dogs,  but  to  lose 
a  year  is  too  much  ;  we  shall  rather  head  straight  east  for  the 
New  Siberian  Islands,  now  that  there  is  a  good  opportunity  and 
really  bright  prospects. 

"  The  ice  here  puzzles  me  a  good  deal.  How  in  the  world  is 
it  not  swept  northward  by  the  current,  which,  according  to  my 
calculations,  ought  to  set  north  from  this  coast,  and  which  indeed 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA  SEA  119 

we  ourselves  have  felt.  And  it  is  such  hard,  thick  ice— has  the 
appearance  of  being  several  years  old.  Does  it  come  from  the 
eastward,  or  does  it  lie  and  grind  round  here  in  the  sea  between 
the  'north-going '  current  of  the  Lena  and  the  Taimur  Peninsula  ? 
I  cannot  tell  yet,  but  anyhow  it  is  different  from  the  thin,  one- 
year-old  ice  we  have  seen  until  now  in  the  Kara  Sea  and  west  of 
Cape  Chelyuskin. 

''Saturday,  September  i6th.  We  are  keeping  a  northwesterly 
course  (by  compass)  through  open  water,  and  have  got  pretty 
well  north,  but  see  no  ice,  and  the  air  is  dark  to  the  northward. 
Mild  weather,  and  water  comparatively  warm,  as  high  as  35° 
Fahr.  We  have  the  current  against  us,  and  are  always  consid- 
erably west  of  our  reckoning.  Several  flocks  of  eider-duck  were 
seen  in  the  course  of  the  day.  We  ought  to  have  land  to  the 
north  of  us  ;  can  it  be  that  which  is  keeping  back  the  ice  ?" 

Next  day  we  met  ice,  and  had  to  hold  a  little  to  the  south  to 
keep  clear  of  it ;  and  I  began  to  fear  that  we  should  not  be  able 
to  get  as  far  as  I  had  hoped.  But  in  my  notes  for  the  following 
day  (Monday,  September  i8th)  I  read  :  "A  splendid  day.  Shaped 
our  course  northward,  to  the  west  of  Bielkoff  Island.  Open  sea  ; 
good  wind  from  the  west ;  good  progress.  Weather  clear,  and 
we  had  a  little  sunshine  in  the  afternoon.  Now  the  decisive 
moment  approaches.  At  12.15  shaped  our  course  north  to  east 
(by  compass).  Now  it  is  to  be  proved  if  my  theory,  on  which 
the  whole  expedition  is  based,  is  correct — if  we  are  to  find  a  little 
north  from  here  a  north-flowing  current.  So  far  everything  is 
better  than  I  had  expected.  We  are  in  latitude  75^°  N.,  and 
have  still  open  water  and  dark  sky  to  the  north  and  west.  In 
the  evening  there  was  ice-light  ahead  and  on  the  starboard  bow. 
About  seven  I  thought  that  I  could  see  ice,  which,  however,  rose 
so  regularly  that  it  more  resembled  land,  but  it  was  too  dark  to 
see  distinctly.  It  seemed  as  if  it  might  be  Bielkoff  Island,  and  a 
big  light  spot  farther^to  the  east  might  even  be  the  reflection 
from  the  snow-covered  Kotelnoi.  I  should  have  liked  to  run  in 
here,  partly  to  see  a  little  of  this  interesting  island,  and  partly 
to  inspect  the  stores  which  we  knew  had  been  deposited  for  us 
here  by  the  friendly  care  of  Baron  von  Toll ;  but  time  was  pre- 
cious, and  to  the  north  the  sea  seemed  to  lie  open  to  us.  Prospects 
were  bright,  and  we  sailed  steadily  northward,  wondering  what 
the  morrow  would  bring— disappointment  or  hope  ?    If  all  went 


I20  FARTHEST  NORTH 

well  we  should  reach  Sannikoff  Land— that,  as  yet,  untrodden 
ground. 

"  It  was  a  strange  feeling  to  be  sailing  away  north  in  the  dark 
night  to  unknown  lands,  over  an  open,  rolling  sea,  where  no  ship, 
no  boat  had  been  before.  We  might  have  been  hundreds  of 
miles  away  in  more  southerly  waters,  the  air  was  so  mild  for 
September  in  this  latitude. 

"Tuesday,  September  19th.  I  have  never  had  such  a  splen- 
did sail.  On  to  the  north,  steadily  north,  with  a  good  wind,  as 
fast  as  steam  and  sail  can  take  us,  and  open  sea  mile  after  mile, 
watch  after  watch,  through  these  unknown  regions,  always  clearer 
and  clearer  of  ice  one  might  almost  say  !  How  long  will  this  last? 
The  eye  always  turns  to  the  northward  as  one  paces  the  bridge. 
It  is  gazing  into  the  future.  But  there  is  always  the  same  dark 
sky  ahead,  which  means  open  sea.  My  plan  was  standing  its  test. 
It  seemed  as  if  luck  had  been  on  our  side  ever  since  the  6th  of 
September.  We  see  'nothing  but  clean  water,'  as  Henriksen 
answered  from  the  crow's-nest  when  I  called  up  to  him.  When 
he  was  standing  at  the  wheel  later  in  the  morning,  and  I  was  on 
the  bridge,  he  suddenly  said  :  '  They  little  think  at  home  in  Nor- 
way just  now  that  we  are  sailing  straight  for  the  Pole  in  clear 
water.'  *  No,  they  don't  believe  we  have  got  so  far.*  And  I 
shouldn't  have  believed  it  myself  if  any  one  had  prophesied  it  to 
me  a  fortnight  ago  ;  but  true  it  is.  All  my  reflections  and  in- 
ferences on  the  subject  had  led  me. to  expect  open  water  for  a 
good  way  farther  north  ;  but  it  is  seldom  that  one's  inspirations 
turn  out  to  be  so  correct.  No  ice-light  in  any  direction,  not  even 
now  in  the  evening.  We  saw  no  land  the  whole  day ;  but  we  had 
fog  and  thick  weather  all  morning  and  forenoon,  so  that  we  were 
still  going  at  half-speed,  as  we  were  afraid  of  coming  suddenly 
on  something.  Now  we  are  almost  in  77°  north  latitude.  How 
long  is  it  to  go  on  ?  I  have  said  all  along  that  I  should  be  glad 
if  we  reached  78°  ;  but  Sverdrup  is  less  easily  satisfied  ;  he  says 
over  80° — perhaps  84°,  85°.  He  even  talks  seriously  of  the  open 
Polar  Sea,  which  he  once  read  about ;  he  always  comes  back 
upon  it,  in  spite  of  my  laughing  at  him. 

"  I  have  almost  to  ask  myself  if  this  is  not  a  dream.  One 
must  have  gone  against  the  stream  to  know  what  it  means  to 
go  with  the  stream.  As  it  was  on  the  Greenland  expedition,  so 
it  is  here. 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA  SEA  I2i 

'"Dort  ward  der  Traum  zur  Wirklichkeit, 
Hier  wird  die  Wirklichkeit  zum  Traum!' 

"  Hardly  any  life  visible  here.  Saw  an  auk  or  black  guillemot 
to-day,  and  later  a  sea-gull  in  the  distance.  When  I  was  hauling 
up  a  bucket  of  water  in  the  evening  to  wash  the  deck  I  noticed 
that  it  was  sparkling  with  phosphorescence.  One  could  almost 
have  imagined  one's  self  to  be  in  the  South. 

"  Wednesday,  September  20th.  I  have  had  a  rough  awakening 
from  my  dream.  As  I  was  sitting  at  11  a.m.,  looking  at  the  map 
and  thinking  that  my  cup  would  soon  be  full — we  had  almost 
reached  78° — there  was  a  sudden  luff,  and  I  rushed  out.  Ahead 
of  us  lay  the  edge  of  the  ice,  long  and  compact,  shining  through 
the  fog.  I  had  a  strong  inclination  to  go  eastward,  on  the  pos- 
sibility of  there  being  land  in  that  direction  ;  but  it  looked  as  if 
the  ice  extended  farther  south  there,  and  there  was  the  proba- 
bility of  being  able  to  reach  a  higher  latitude  if  we  kept  west ; 
so  we  headed  that  way.  The  sun  broke  through  for  a  moment 
just  now,  so  we  took  an  observation,  which  showed  us  to  be  in 
about  77°  44'  north  latitude." 

We  now  held  northwest  along  the  edge  of  the  ice.  It  seemed 
to  me  as  if  there  might  be  land  at  no  great  distance,  we  saw 
such  a  remarkable  number  of  birds  of  various  kinds.  A  flock  of 
snipe  or  wading  b\rds  met  us,  followed  us  for  a  time,  and  then 
took  their  way  south.  They  were  probably  on  their  passage  from 
some  land  to  the  north  of  us.  We  could  see  nothing,  as  the  fog 
lay  persistently  over  the  ice.  Again,  later,  we  saw  flocks  of  small 
snipe,  indicating  the  possible  proximity  of  land.  Next  day  the 
weather  was  clearer,  but  still  there  was  no  land  in  sight.  We 
were  now  a  good  way  north  of  the  spot  where  Baron  von  Toll 
has  mapped  the  south  coast  of  Sannikoff  Land,  but  in  about  the 
same  longitude.  So  it  is  probably  only  a  small  island,  and  in  any 
case  cannot  extend  far  north. 

On  September  21st  we  had  thick  fog  again,  and  when  we  had 
sailed  north  to  the  head  of  a  bay  in  the  ice,  and  could  get  no  far- 
ther, I  decided  to  wait  here  for  clear  weather  to  see  if  progress 
farther  north  were  possible.  I  calculated  that  we  were  now  in 
about  78i°  north  latitude.  We  tried  several  times  during  the  day 
to  take  soundings,  but  did  not  succeed  in  reaching  the  bottom 
with  215  fathoms  of  line. 


122  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"To-day  made  the  agreeable  discovery  that  there  are  bugs  on 
board.     Must  plan  a  campaign  against  them. 

"Friday,  September  2 2d.  Brilliant  sunshine  once  again,  and 
white,  dazzling  ice  ahead.  First  we  lay  still  in  the  fog  because 
we  could  not  see  which  way  to  go  ;  now  it  is  clear,  and  we  know 
just  as  little  about  it.  It  looks  as  if  we  were  at  the  northern 
boundary  of  the  open  water.  To  the  west  the  ice  appears  to  ex- 
tend south  again.  To  the  north  it  is  compact  and  white — only 
a  small  open  rift  or  pool  every  here  and  there ;  and  the  sky  is 
whitish-blue  everywhere  on  the  horizon.  It  is  from  the  east  we 
have  just  come,  but  there  we  could  see  very  little  ;  and  for  want 
of  anything  better  to  do  we  shall  make  a  short  excursion  in  that 
direction,  on  the  possibility  of  finding  openings  in  the  ice.  If 
there  were  only  time,  what  I  should  like  would  be  to  go  east  as 
far  as  Sannikoff  Land,  or,  better  still,  all  the  way  to  Bennet 
Land,  to  see  what  condition  things  are  in  there  ;  but  it  is  too 
late  now.  The  sea  will  soon  be  freezing,  and  we  should  run  a 
great  risk  of  being  frozen  in  at  a  disadvantageous  point." 

Earlier  Arctic  explorers  have  considered  it  a  necessity  to  keep 
near  some  coast.  But  this  was  exactly  what  I  wanted  to  avoid. 
It  was  the  drift  of  the  ice  that  I  wished  to  get  into,  and  what  I 
most  feared  was  being  blocked  by  land.  It  seemed  as  if  we  might 
do  much  worse  than  give  ourselves  up  to  the  ice  where  we  were 
— especially  as  our  excursion  to  the  east  had  j)roved  that  follow- 
ing the  ice-edge  in  that  direction  would  soon  force  us  south  again. 
So  in  the  meantime  we  made  fast  to  a  great  ice-block  and  pre- 
pared to  clean  the  boiler  and  shift  coals.  "  We  are  lying  in  open 
water,  with  only  a  few  large  floes  here  and  there  ;  but  I  have  a 
presentiment  that  this  is  our  winter  harbor. 

"  Great  bug  war  to-day.  We  play  the  big  steam  hose  on  mat- 
tresses, sofa-cushions  —  everything  that  we  think  can  possibly 
harbor  the  enemies.  All  clothes  are  put  into  a  barrel,  which  is 
hermetically  closed,  except  where  the  hose  is  introduced.  Then 
full  steam  is  set  on.  It  whizzes  and  whistles  inside,  and  a  little 
forces  its  way  through  the  joints,  and  we  think  that  the  animals 
must  be  having  a  fine  hot  time  of  it.  But  suddenly  the  barrel 
cracks,  the  steam  rushes  out,  and  the  lid  bursts  off  with  a  violent 
explosion  and  is  flung  far  along  the  deck.  I  still  hope  that  there 
has  been  a  great  slaughter,  for  these  are  horrible  enemies.  Juell 
tried  the  old  experiment  of  setting  one  on  a  piece  of  wood  to  see 


VOYAGE   THROUGH  THE  KARA  SEA  123 

if  it  would  creep  north.     It  would  not  move  at  all,  so  he  took  a 
blubber  hook  and  hit  it  to  make  it  go ;  but  it  would  do  nothing 
but  wriggle  its  head  —  the  harder  he  hit  the  more  it  wriggled 
*  Squash  it,  then,'  said  Bentzen.     And  squashed  it  was. 

"  Friday,  September  23d.  We  are  still  at  the  same  moorings, 
working  at  the  coal.  An  unpleasant  contrast  —  everything  on 
board,  men  and  dogs  included,  black  and  filthy,  and  everything 
around  white  and  bright  in  beautiful  sunshine.  It  looks  as  if 
more  ice  were  driving  in. 

"Sunday,  September  24th.  Still  coal-shifting.  Fog  in  the 
morning,  which  cleared  off  as  the  day  went  on,  when  we  discov- 
ered that  we  were  closely  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  tolerably 
thick  ice.  Between  the  floes  lies  slush-ice,  which  will  soon  be 
quite  firm.  There  is  an  open  pool  to  be  seen  to  the  north,  but 
not  a  large  one.  From  the  crow's-nest,  with  the  telescope,  we 
can  still  descry  the  sea  across  the  ice  to  the  south.  It  looks  as  if 
we  were  being  shut  in.  Well,  we  must  e'en  bid  the  ice  welcome. 
A  dead  region  this  ;  no  life  in  any  direction,  except  a  single  seal 
i^Phoca  foetidd)  in  the  water  ;  and  on  the  floe  beside  us  we  can  see 
a  bear-track  some  days  old.  We  again  try  to  get  soundings,  but 
still  find  no  bottom ;  it  is  remarkable  that  there  should  be  such 
depth  here." 

Ugh  !  one  can  hardly  imagine  a  dirtier,  nastier  job  than  a 
spell  of  coal-shifting  on  board.  It  is  a  pity  that  such  a  useful 
thing  as  coal  should  be  so  black  !  What  we  are  doing  now  is 
only  hoisting  it  from  the  hold  and  filling  the  bunkers  with 
it ;  but  every  man  on  board  must  help,  and  everything  is  in  a 
mess.  So  many  men  must  stand  on  the  coal-heap  in  the  hold 
and  fill  the  buckets,  and  so  many  hoist  them.  Jacobsen  is  spe- 
cially good  at  this  last  job  ;  his  strong  arms  pull  up  bucket  after 
bucket  as  if  they  were  as  many  boxes  of  matches.  The  rest  of 
us  go  backward  and  forward  with  the  buckets  between  the  main- 
hatch  and  the  half-deck,  pouring  the  coal  into  the  bunkers  ;  and 
down  below  stands  Amundsen  packing  it,  as  black  as  he  can  be. 
Of  course  coal-dust  is  flying  over  the  whole  deck  ;  the  dogs  creep 
into  corners,  black  and  tousled;  and  we  ourselves  — well,  we 
don't  wear  our  best  clothes  on  such  days.  We  got  some  amuse- 
ment out  of  the  remarkable  appearance  of  our  faces,  with  their 
dark  complexions,  black  streaks  at  the  most  unlikely  places,  and 
eyes  and  white  teeth  shining  through  the  dirt.    Any  one  happen- 


124  FARTHEST  NORTH 

ing  to  touch  the  white  wall  below  with  his  hand  leaves  a  black 
five-fingered  blot ;  and  the  doors  have  a  wealth  of  such  memen- 
tos. The  seats  of  the  sofas  must  have  their  wrong  sides  turned 
up,  else  they  would  bear  lasting  marks  of  another  part  of  the 
body ;  and  the  table-cloth — well,  we  fortunately  do  not  possess 
such  a  thing.  In  short,  coal-shifting  is  as  dirty  and  wretched 
an  experience  as  one  can  well  imagine  in  these  bright  and  pure 
surroundings.  One  good  thing  is  that  there  is  plenty  of  fresh 
water  to  wash  with  ;  we  can  find  it  in  every  hollow  on  the  floes, 
so  there  is  some  hope  of  our  being  clean  again  in  time,  and  it  is 
possible  that  this  may  be  our  last  coal-shifting. 

"  Monday,  September  25th.  Frozen  in  faster  and  faster  ! 
Beautiful,  still  weather  ;  13  degrees  of  frost  last  night.  Winter 
is  coming  now.  Had  a  visit  from  a  bear,  which  was  off  again 
before  any  one  got  a  shot  at  it." 


CHAPTER    VI 
THE  WINTER  NIGHT 

It  really  looked  as  if  we  were  now  frozen  in  for  good,  and  I 
did  not  expect  to  get  the  Frain  out  of  the  ice  till  we  were  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Pole,  nearing  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Autumn 
was  already  well  advanced ;  the  sun  stood  lower  in  the  heavens 
day  by  day,  and  the  temperature  sank  steadily.  The  long  night 
of  winter  was  approaching  —  that  dreaded  night.  There  was 
nothing  to  be  done  except  prepare  ourselves  for  it,  and  by 
degrees  we  converted  our  ship,  as  well  as  we  could,  into  com- 
fortable winter  quarters ;  while  at  the  same  time  we  took  every 
precaution  to  assure  her  against  the  destructive  influences  of 
cold,  drift  -  ice,  and  the  other  forces  of  nature  to  which  it  was 
prophesied  that  we  must  succumb.  The  rudder  was  hauled  up, 
so  that  it  might  not  be  destroyed  by  the  pressure  of  the  ice. 
We  had  intended  to  do  the  same  with  the  screw  ;  but  as  it,  with 
its  iron  case,  would  certainly  help  to  strengthen  the  stern,  and 
especially  the  rudder-stock,  we  let  it  remain  in  its  place.  We  had 
a  good  deal  of  work  with  the  engine,  too  ;  each  separate  part  was 
taken  out,  oiled,  and  laid  away  for  the  winter ;  slide-valves,  pis- 
tons, shafts,  were  examined  and  thoroughly  cleaned.  All  this 
was  done  with  the  very  greatest  care.  Amundsen  looked  after 
that  engine  as  if  it  had  been  his  own  child ;  late  and  early  he 
was  down  tending  it  lovingly ;  and  we  used  to  tease  him  about 
it,  to  see  the  defiant  look  come  into  his  eyes  and  hear  him  say : 
"  It's  all  very  well  for  you  to  talk,  but  there's  not  such  another 
engine  in  the  world,  and  it  would  be  a  sin  and  a  shame  not 
to  take  good  care  of  it."  Assuredly  he  left  nothing  undone.  I 
don't  suppose  a  day  passed,  winter  or  summer,  all  these  three 
years,  that  he  did  not  go  down  and  caress  it,  and  do  something 
or  other  for  it. 

We  cleared  up  in  the  hold  to  make  room  for  a  joiner's  work- 


126  FARTHEST  NORTH 

shop  down  there ;  our  mechanical  workshop  we  had  in  the 
engine-room.  The  smithy  was  at  first  on  deck,  and  afterwards 
on  the  ice  ;  tinsmith's  work  was  done  chiefly  in  the  chart-room  ; 
shoemaker's  and  sailmaker's,  and  various  odd  sorts  of  work,  in 
the  saloon.  And  all  these  occupations  were  carried  on  with  in- 
terest and  activity  during  the  rest  of  the  expedition.  There  was 
nothing,  from  the  most  delicate  instruments  down  to  wooden 
shoes  and  axe-handles,  that  could  not  be  made  on  board  the 
Frain.  When  we  were  found  to  be  short  of  sounding-line,  a 
grand  rope-walk  was  constructed  on  the  ice.  It  proved  to  be  a 
very  profitable  undertaking,  and  was  well  patronized. 

Presently  we  began  putting  up  the  windmill  which  was  to 
drive  the  dynamo  and  produce  the  electric  light.  While  the  ship 
was  going,  the  dynamo  was  driven  by  the  engine,  but  for  a  long 
time  past  we  had  had  to  be  contented  with  petroleum  lamps  in 
our  dark  cabins.  The  windmill  was  erected  on  the  port  side  of 
the  fore-deck,  between  the  main-hatch  and  the  rail.  It  took  sev- 
eral weeks  to  get  this  important  appliance  into  working  order. 

As  mentioned  on  page  44,  we  had  also  brought  with  us  a  "  horse- 
mill  "  for  driving  the  dynamo.  I  had  thought  that  it  might  be 
of  service  in  giving  us  exercise  whenever  there  was  no  other 
physical  work  for  us.  But  this  time  never  came,  and  so  the 
"  horse-mill "  was  never  used.  There  was  always  something  to 
occupy  us ;  and  it  was  not  difficult  to  find  work  for  each  man 
that  gave  him  sufficient  exercise,  and  so  much  distraction  that 
the  time  did  not  seem  to  him  unbearably  long. 

There  were  the  care  of  the  ship  and  rigging,  the  inspection  of 
sails,  ropes,  etc.,  etc.;  there  were  provisions  of  all  kinds  to  be  got 
out  from  the  cases  down  in  the  hold,  and  handed  over  to  the  cook ; 
there  was  ice  —  good,  pure,  fresh -water  ice  —  to  be  found  and 
carried  to  the  galley  to  be  melted  for  cooking,  drinking,  and 
washing  water.  Then,  as  already  mentioned,  there  was  always 
something  doing  in  the  various  workshops.  Now  "  Smith  Lars  " 
had  to  straighten  the  long-boat  davits,  which  had  been  twisted  by 
the  waves  in  the  Kara  Sea ;  now  it  was  a  hook,  a  knife,  a  bear- 
trap,  or  something  else  to  be  forged.  The  tinsmith,  again  "  Smith 
Lars,"  had  to  solder  together  a  great  tin  pail  for  the  ice-melting 
in  the  galley.  The  mechanician,  Amundsen,  would  have  an  order 
for  some  instrument  or  other  —  perhaps  a  new  current-gauge. 
The  watchmaker,  Mogstad,  would  have  a  thermograph  to  examine 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  127 

and  clean,  or  a  new  spring  to  put  into  a  watch.  The  sailmaker 
might  have  an  order  for  a  quantity  of  dog-harness.  Then  each 
man  had  to  be  his  own  shoemaker  —  make  himself  canvas  boots 
with  thick,  warm,  wooden  soles,  according  to  Sverdrup's  newest 
pattern.  Presently  there  would  come  an  order  to  mechanician 
Amundsen  for  a  supply  of  new  zinc  music-sheets  for  the  organ — 
these  being  a  brand-new  invention  of  the  leader  of  the  expe- 
dition. The  electrician  would  have  to  examine  and  clean  the 
accumulator  batteries,  which  were  in  danger  of  freezing.  When 
at  last  the  windmill  was  ready,  it  had  to  be  attended  to,  turned 
according  to  the  wind,  etc.  And  when  the  wind  was  too  strong 
some  one  had  to  climb  up  and  reef  the  mill  sails,  which  was 
not  a  pleasant  occupation  in  this  winter  cold,  and  involved 
much  breathing  on  fingers  and  rubbing  of  the  tip  of  the 
nose. 

It  happened  now  and  then,  too,  that  the  ship  required  to  be 
pumped.  This  became  less  and  less  necessary  as  the  water  froze 
round  her  and  in  the  interstices  in  her  sides.  The  pumps,  there- 
fore, were  not  touched  from  December,  1893,  till  July,  1895.  The 
only  noticeable  leakage  during  that  time  was  in  the  engine-room, 
but  it  was  nothing  of  any  consequence ;  just  a  few  buckets  of  ice 
that  had  to  be  hewn  away  every  month  from  the  bottom  of  the 
ship  and  hoisted  up. 

To  these  varied  employments  was  presently  added,  as  the 
most  important  of  all,  the  taking  of  scientific  observations,  which 
gave  many  of  us  constant  occupation.  Those  that  involved  the 
greatest  labor  were,  of  course,  the  meteorological  observations, 
which  were  taken  every  four  hours  day  and  night ;  indeed,  for  a 
considerable  part  of  the  time,  every  two  hours.  They  kept  one 
man,  sometimes  two,  at  work  all  day.  It  was  Hansen  who  had 
the  principal  charge  of  this  department,  and  his  regular  assistant 
until  March,  1895,  was  Johansen,  whose  place  was  then  taken  by 
Nordahl.  The  night  observations  were  taken  by  whoever  was  on 
watch.  About  every  second  day,  when  the  weather  was  clear, 
Hansen  and  his  assistant  took  the  astronomical  observation  which 
ascertained  our  position.  This  was  certainly  the  work  which  was 
followed  with  most  interest  by  all  the  members  of  the  expedition  ; 
and  it  was  not  uncommon  to  see  Hansen's  cabin,  while  he  was 
making  his  calculations,  besieged  with  idle  spectators,  waiting  to 
hear  the  result— whether  we  had  drifted  north  or  south  since  the 


128  FARTHEST  NORTH 

last  observation,  and  how  far.  The  state  of  feeling  on  board 
very  much  depended  on  these  results. 

Hansen  had  also  at  stated  periods  to  take  observations  to  de- 
termine the  magnetic  constant  in  this  unknown  region.  These 
were  carried  on  at  first  in  a  tent,  specially  constructed  for  the 
purpose,  which  was  soon  erected  on  the  ice ;  but  later  we  built 
him  a  large  snow  hut,  as  being  both  more  suitable  and  more  com- 
fortable. 

For  the  ship's  doctor  there  was  less  occupation.  He  looked 
long  and  vainly  for  patients,  and  at  last  had  to  give  it  up  and  in 
despair  take  to  doctoring  the  dogs.  Once  a  month  he  too  had  to 
make  his  scientific  observations,  which  consisted  in  the  weighing 
of  each  man,  and  the  counting  of  blood  corpuscles,  and  estimating 
the  amount  of  blood  pigment,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  number 
of  red-blood  corpuscles  and  the  quantity  of  red  coloring  matter 
(haemoglobin)  in  the  blood  of  each.  This  was  also  work  that  was 
watched  with  anxious  interest,  as  every  man  thought  he  could 
tell  from  the  result  obtained  how  long  it  would  be  before  scurvy 
overtook  him. 

Among  our  scientific  pursuits  may  also  be  mentioned  the  de- 
termining of  the  temperature  of  the  water  and  of  its  degree  of 
saltness  at  varying  depths  ;  the  collection  and  examination  of 
such  animals  as  are  to  be  found  in  these  northern  seas ;  the  as- 
certaining of  the  amount  of  electricity  in  the  air ;  the  observa- 
tion of  the  formation  of  the  ice,  its  growth  and  thickness,  and  of 
the  temperature  of  the  different  layers  of  ice  ;  the  investigation 
of  the  currents  in  the  water  under  it,  etc.,  etc.  I  had  the  main 
charge  of  this  department.  There  remain  to  be  mentioned  the 
regular  observation  of  the  aurora  borealis,  which  we  had  a  splen- 
did opportunity  of  studying.  After  I  had  gone  on  with  it  for 
some  time.  Blessing  undertook  this  part  of  my  duties ;  and  when 
I  left  the  ship  I  made  over  to  him  all  the  other  observations  that 
were  under  my  charge  Not  an  inconsiderable  item  of  our  scien- 
tific work  were  the  soundings  and  dredgings.  At  the  greater 
depths  it  was  such  an  undertaking  that  every  one  had  to  assist ; 
and,  from  the  way  we  were  obliged  to  do  it  later,  one  sounding 
sometimes  gave  occupation  for  several  days. 

One  day  differed  very  little  from  another  on  board,  and  the- 
description  of  one  is,  in  every  particular  of  any  importance,  a 
description  of  all. 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  129 

We  all  turned  out  at  eight,  and  breakfasted  on  hard  bread 
(both  rye  and  wheat),  cheese  (Dutch -clove  cheese,  Cheddar, 
Gruyere,  and  Mysost,  or  goat's-whey  cheese,  prepared  from  dry 
powder),  corned  beef  or  corned  mutton,  luncheon  ham  or  Chi- 
cago tinned  tongue  or  bacon,  cod-caviare,  anchovy  roe ;  also  oat- 
meal biscuits  or  English  ship-biscuits — with  orange  marmalade 
or  Frame  Food  jelly.  Three  times  a  week  we  had  fresh-baked 
bread  as  well,  and  often  cake  of  some  kind.  As  for  our  bever- 
ages, we  began  by  having  coffee  and  chocolate  day  about ;  but 
afterwards  had  coffee  only  two  days  a  week,  tea  two,  and  choco- 
late three. 

After  breakfast  some  men  went  to  attend  to  the  dogs — give 
them  their  food,  which  consisted  of  half  a  stockfish  or  a  couple 
of  dog-biscuits  each,  let  them  loose,  or  do  whatever  else  there 
was  to  do  for  them.  The  others  went  all  to  their  different  tasks. 
Each  took  his  turn  of  a  week  in  the  galley — helping  the  cook  to 
wash  up,  lay  the  table,  and  wait.  The  cook  himself  had  to  ar- 
range his  bill  of  fare  for  dinner  immediately  after  breakfast,  and 
to  set  about  his  preparations  at  once.  Some  of  us  would  take  a 
turn  on  the  floe  to  get  some  fresh  air,  and  to  examine  the  state 
of  the  ice,  its  pressure,  etc.  At  i  o'clock  all  were  assembled 
for  dinner,  which  generally  consisted  of  three  courses  —  soup, 
meat,  and  dessert ;  or  soup,  fish,  and  meat ;  or  fish,  meat,  and 
dessert ;  or  sometimes  only  fish  and  meat.  With  the  meat  we 
always  had  potatoes,  and  either  green  vegetables  or  macaroni. 
I  think  we  were  all  agreed  that  the  fare  was  good ;  it  would 
hardly  have  been  better  at  home ;  for  some  of  us  it  would  per- 
haps have  been  worse.  And  we  looked  like  fatted  pigs ;  one 
or  two  even  began  to  cultivate  a  double  chin  and  a  corporation. 
As  a  rule,  stories  and  jokes  circulated  at  table  along  with  the 
bock-beer. 

After  dinner  the  smokers  of  our  company  would  march  off, 
well  fed  and  contented,  into  the  galley,  which  was  smoking- 
room  as  well  as  kitchen,  tobacco  being  tabooed  in  the  cabins  ex- 
cept on  festive  occasions.  Out  there  they  had  a  good  smoke  and 
chat ;  many  a  story  was  told,  and  not  seldom  some  warm  dispute 
arose.  Afterwards  came,  for  most  of  us,  a  short  siesta.  Then 
each  went  to  his  work  again  until  we  were  summoned  to  supper 
at  6  o'clock,  when  the  regulation  day's  work  was  done.  Supper 
was  almost  the  same  as  breakfast,  except  that  tea  was  always 
9 


130  FARTHEST  NORTH 

the  beverage.  Afterwards  there  was  again  smoking  in  the  gal- 
ley, while  the  saloon  was  transformed  into  a  silent  reading-room. 
Good  use  was  made  of  the  valuable  library  presented  to  the  ex- 
pedition by  generous  publishers  and  other  friends.  If  the  kind 
donors  could  have  seen  us  away  up  there,  sitting  round  the  table 
at  night  with  heads  buried  in  books  or  collections  of  illustra- 
tions, and  could  have  understood  how  invaluable  these  compan- 
ions were  to  us,  they  would  have  felt  rewarded  by  the  knowledge 
that  they  had  conferred  a  real  boon — that  they  had  materially 
assisted  in  making  the  Fram  the  little  oasis  that  it  was  in  this 
vast  ice  desert.  About  half-past  seven  or  eight  cards  or  other 
games  were  brought  out,  and  we  played  well  on  into  the  night, 
seated  in  groups  round  the  saloon  table.  One  or  other  of  us 
might  go  to  the  organ,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  the  crank- 
handle,  perform  some  of  our  beautiful  pieces,  or  Johansen  would 
bring  out  the  accordion  and  play  many  a  fine  tune.  His  crown- 
ing efforts  were  "  Oh,  Susanna  !"  and  "  Napoleon's  March  Across 
the  Alps  in  an  Open  Boat."  About  midnight  we  turned  in, 
and  then  the  night-watch  was  set.  Each  man  went  on  for  an 
hour.  Their  most  trying  work  on  watch  seems  to  have  been 
writing  their  diaries  and  looking  out,  when  the  dogs  barked,  for 
any  signs  of  bears  at  hand.  Besides  this,  every  two  hours  or 
four  hours  the  watch  had  to  go  aloft  or  onto  the  ice  to  take  the 
meteorological  observations. 

I  believe  I  may  safely  say  that  on  the  whole  the  time  passed 
pleasantly  and  imperceptibly,  and  that  we  throve  in  virtue  of 
the  regular  habits  imposed  upon  us. 

My  notes  from  day  to  day  will  give  the  best  idea  of  our  life, 
in  all  its  monotony.  They  are  not  great  events  that  are  here 
recorded,  but  in  their  very  bareness  they  give  a  true  picture. 
Such,  and  no  other,  was  our  life.  I  shall  give  some  quotations 
direct  from  my  diary  : 

"Tuesday,  September  26th.  Beautiful  weather.  The  sun 
stands  much  lower  now ;  it  was  9®  above  the  horizon  at  mid-day. 
Winter  is  rapidly  approaching  ;  there  are  14^"  of  frost  this  even- 
ing, but  we  do  not  feel  it  cold.  To-day's  observations  unfortu- 
nately show  no  particular  drift  northward  ;  according  to  them 
we  are  still  in  78°  50'  north  latitude.  I  wandered  about  over 
the  floe  towards  evening.  Nothing  more  wonderfully  beautiful 
can  exist  than  the  Arctic  night.     It  is  dreamland,  painted  in  the 


"THE   SALOON   WAS   CONVERTED   INTO   A   READING-ROOM ' 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  131 

imagination's  most  delicate  tints  ;  it  is  color  etherealized.  One 
shade  melts  into  the  other,  so  that  you  cannot  tell  where  one 
ends  and  the  other  begins,  and  yet  they  are  all  there.  No  forms 
— it  is  all  faint,  dreamy  color  music,  a  far-away,  long-drawn-out 
melody  on  muted  strings.  Is  not  all  life's  beauty  high,  and 
delicate,  and  pure  like  this  night  ?  Give  it  brighter  colors,  and 
it  is  no  longer  so  beautiful.  The  sky  is  like  an  enormous  cupola, 
blue  at  the  zenith,  shading  down  into  green,  and  then  into  lilac 
and  violet  at  the  edges.  Over  the  ice-fields  there  are  cold  violet- 
blue  shadows,  with  lighter  pink  tints  where  a  ridge  here  and 
there  catches  the  last  reflection  of  the  vanished  day.  Up  in  the 
blue  of  the  cupola  shine  the  stars,  speaking  peace,  as  they  always 
do,  those  unchanging  friends.  In  the  south  stands  a  large  red- 
yellow  moon,  encircled  by  a  yellow  ring  and  light  golden  clouds 
floating  on  the  blue  background.  Presently  the  aurora  borealis 
shakes  over  the  vault  of  heaven  its  veil  of  glittering  silver — 
changing  now  to  yellow,  now  to  green,  now  to  red.  It  spreads, 
it  contracts  again,  in  restless  change  ;  next  it  breaks  into  wav- 
ing, many-folded  bands  of  shining  silver,  over  which  shoot  bil- 
lows of  glittering  rays,  and  then  the  glory  vanishes.  Presently 
it  shimmers  in  tongues  of  flame  over  the  very  zenith,  and  then 
again  it  shoots  a  bright  ray  right  up  from  the  horizon,  until  the 
whole  melts  away  in  the  moonlight,  and  it  is  as  though  one 
heard  the  sigh  of  a  departing  spirit.  Here  and  there  are  left  a 
few  waving  streamers  of  light,  vague  as  a  foreboding — they  are 
the  dust  from  the  aurora's  glittering  cloak.  But  now  it  is  grow- 
ing again  ;  new  lightnings  shoot  up,  and  the  endless  game  begins 
afresh.  And  all  the  time  this  utter  stillness,  impressive  as  the 
symphony  of  infinitude.  I  have  never  been  able  to  grasp  the 
fact  that  this  earth  will  some  day  be  spent  and  desolate  and 
empty.  To  what  end,  in  that  case,  all  this  beauty,  with  not  a 
creature  to  rejoice  in  it?  Now  I  begin  to  divine  it.  This  is 
the  coming  earth  —  here  are  beauty  and  death.  But  to  what 
purpose  ?  Ah,  what  is  the  purpose  of  all  these  spheres  ?  Read 
the  answer,  if  you  can,  in  the  starry  blue  firmament. 

"Wednesday,  September  27th.  Gray  weather  and  strong  wind 
from  the  south-southwest.  Nordahl,  who  is  cook  to-day,  had  to 
haul  up  some  salt  meat  which,  rolled  in  a  sack,  had  been  steep- 
ing for  two  days  in  the  sea.  As  soon  as  he  got  hold  of  it  he 
called  out,  horrified,  that  it  was  crawling  with  animals.     He  let 


132  FARTHEST  NORTH 

go  the  sack  and  jumped  away  from  it,  the  animals  scattering 
round  in  every  direction.  They  proved  to  be  sand- hoppers,  or 
Amphipoda.Yfhich  had  eaten  their  way  into  the  meat.  There 
were  pints  of  them,  both  inside  and  outside  of  the  sack.  A 
pleasant  discovery  ;  there  will  be  no  need  to  starve  when  such 
food  is  to  be  had  by  hanging  a  sack  in  the  water. 

"  Bentzen  is  the  wag  of  the  party  ;  he  is  always  playing  some 
practical  joke.  Just  now  one  of  the  men  came  rushing  up  and 
stood  respectfully  waiting  for  me  to  speak  to  him.  It  was 
Bentzen  that  had  told  him  I  wanted  him.  It  won't  be  long 
before  he  has  thought  of  some  new  trick. 

"  Thursday,  September  28th.  Snowfall  with  wind.  To  -  day 
the  dogs'  hour  of  release  has  come.  Until  now  their  life  on 
board  has  been  really  a  melancholy  one.  They  have  been  tied 
up  ever  since  we  left  Khabarova.  The  stormy  seas  have  broken 
over  them,  and  they  have  been  rolled  here  and  there  in  the 
water  on  the  deck ;  they  have  half  hanged  themselves  in  their 
leashes,  howling  miserably  ;  they  have  had  the  hose  played  over 
them  every  time  the  deck  was  washed  ;  they  have  been  seasick  ; 
in  bad  as  in  good  weather  they  have  had  to  lie  on  the  spot  hard 
fate  had  chained  them  to,  without  more  exercise  than  going 
backward  and  forward  the  length  of  their  chains.  It  is  thus 
you  are  treated,  you  splendid  animals,  who  are  to  be  our  stay  in 
the  hour  of  need  !  When  that  time  comes  you  will,  for  a  while 
at  least,  have  the  place  of  honor.  When  they  were  let  loose 
there  was  a  perfect  storm  of  jubilation.  They  rolled  in  the 
snow,  washed  and  rubbed  themselves,  and  rushed  about  the  ice 
in  wild  joy,  barking  loudly.  Our  floe,  a  short  time  ago  so  lone- 
some and  forlorn,  was  quite  a  cheerful  sight  with  this  sudden 
population  ;  the  silence  of  ages  was  broken." 

It  was  our  intention  after  this  to  tie  up  the  dogs  on  the  ice. 

"  Friday,  September  29th.  Dr.  Blessing's  birthday,  in  honor 
of  which  we  of  course  had  a  fete,  our  first  great  one  on  board. 
There  was  a  double  occasion  for  it.  Our  mid-day  observation 
showed  us  to  be  in  latitude  79°  5'  north ;  so  we  had  passed  one 
more  degree.  We  had  no  fewer  than  five  courses  at  dinner,  and 
a  more  than  usually  elaborate  concert  during  the  meal.  Here 
follows  a  copy  of  the  printed  menu  : 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  i33 

'FRAM' 
Menu.    September  29,  1893 


Soupe  a  la  julienne  avec  des  macaroni-dumplings. 

Potage  de  poison  {sic)  avec  des  pommes  de  terra. 

Pudding  de  Nordahl. 

Glace  du  Greenland. 

De  la  table  biere  de  la  Ringnaees. 

Marmalade  intacte. 


Music  a  Dine  {sic) 


1.  Valse  Myosotic. 

2.  Menuette  de  Don  Juan  de  Mozart. 

3.  Les  Troubadours. 

4.  College  Hornpipe. 

5.  Die  letzte  Rose  de  Martha. 

6.  Ein  flotter  Studio  Marsch  de  Phil.  Farbach. 

7.  Valse  de  Lagune  de  Strauss. 

8.  Le  Chanson  du  Nord  (Du  gamla,  du  friska.  .  .  .). 

9.  Hoch  Habsburg  Marsch  de  Krai. 

10.  Josse  Karads  Polska. 

11.  Vart  Land,  V art  Land. 

12.  Le  Chanson  de  Chaseuse. 

13.  Les  Roses,  Valse  de  Metra. 

14.  Fischers  Hornpipe. 

15.  Traum-Valse  de  Millocher. 

16.  Hemlandssang.    '  A  le  miserable.' 

17.  Diamanten  und  Perlen. 

18.  Marsch  de  '  Det  lustiga  Kriget.' 

19.  Valse  de  '  Det  lustige  Kriget.' 

20.  Priere  du  Freischiitz." 

I  hope  my  readers  will  admit  that  this  was  quite  a  fine  enter- 
tainment to  be  given  in  latitude  79°  north  ;  but  of  such  we  had 
many  on  board  the  Fram  at  still  higher  latitudes. 

"  Coffee  and  sweets  were  served  after  dinner ;  and  after  a 
better  supper  than  usual  came  strawberry  and  lemon-ice  (alias 
granitta)  and  limejuice  toddy,  without  alcohol.  The  health  of 
the  hero  of  the  day  was  first  proposed  '  in  a  few  well  -  chosen 


134  FARTHEST  NORTH 

words ' ;  and  then  we  drank  a  bumper  to  the  seventy-ninth  de- 
gree, which  we  were  sure  was  only  the  first  of  many  degrees  to 
be  conquered  in  the  same  way. 

"  Saturday,  September  30th.  I  am  not  satisfied  that  the  Pram's 
present  position  is  a  good  one  for  the  winter.  The  great  floe  on 
the  port  side  to  which  we  are  moored  sends  out  an  ugly  projec- 
tion about  amidships,  which  might  give  her  a  bad  squeeze  in  case 
of  the  ice  packing.  We  therefore  began  to-day  to  warp  her  back- 
ward into  better  ice.  It  is  by  no  means  quick  work.  The  com- 
paratively open  channel  around  us  is  now  covered  with  tolerably 
thick  ice,  which  has  to  be  hewn  and  broken  in  pieces  with  axes, 
ice-staves,  and  walrus-spears.  Then  the  capstan  is  manned,  and 
we  heave  her  through  the  broken  floe  foot  by  foot.  The  temper- 
ature this  evening  is  —12.6°  C.     A  wonderful  sunset. 

"Sunday,  October  ist.  Wind  from  the  W.S.W.  and  weather 
mild.  We  are  taking  a  day  of  rest,  which  means  eating,  sleep- 
ing, smoking,  and  reading. 

"  Monday,  October  2d.  Warped  the  ship  farther  astern,  until 
we  found  a  good  berth  for  her  out  in  the  middle  of  the  newly 
frozen  pool.  On  the  port  side  we  have  our  big  floe,  with  the 
dogs'  camp  —  thirty  -  five  black  dogs  tied  up  on  the  white  ice. 
This  floe  turns  a  low,  and  by  no  means  threatening,  edge  towards 
us.  We  have  good  low  ice  on  the  starboard  too  ;  and  between 
the  ship  and  the  floes  we  have  on  both  sides  the  newly  frozen 
surface  ice,  which  has,  in  the  process  of  warping,  also  got  packed 
in  under  the  ship's  bottom,  so  that  she  lies  in  a  good  bed. 

"  As  Sverdrup,  Juell,  and  I  were  sitting  in  the  chart-room  in 
the  afternoon,  splicing  rope  for  the  sounding-line,  Peter*  rushed 
in  shouting,  '  A  bear  !  a  bear  !'  I  snatched  up  my  rifle  and  tore 
out.  'Where  is  it?'  'There,  near  the  tent,  on  the  starboard 
side  ;  it  came  right  up  to  it,  and  had  almost  got  hold  of  them  !' 

"  And  there  it  was,  big  and  yellow,  snuffing  away  at  the  tent 
gear.  Hansen,  Blessing,  and  Johansen  were  running  at  the  top 
of  their  speed  towards  the  ship.  Onto  the  ice  I  jumped,  and  off 
I  went,  broke  through,  stumbled,  fell,  and  up  again.  The  bear 
in  the  mean  time  had  done  sniffing,  and  had  probably  determined 
that  an  iron  spade,  an  ice-staff,  an  axe,  some  tent-pegs,  and  a 
canvas  tent  were  too  indigestible  food  even  for  a  bear's  stomach. 

*  Peter  Henriksen. 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  135 

Anyhow,  it  was  following  with  mighty  strides  in  the  track  of  the 
fugitives.  It  caught  sight  of  me  and  stopped,  astonished,  as  if  it 
were  thinking,  '  What  sort  of  insect  can  that  be  ?'  I  went  on  to 
within  easy  range  ;  it  stood  still,  looking  hard  at  me.  At  last  it 
turned  its  head  a  little,  and  I  gave  it  a  ball  in  the  neck.  With- 
out moving  a  limb,  it  sank  slowly  to  the  ice.  I  now  let  loose 
some  of  the  dogs,  to  accustom  them  to  this  sort  of  sport,  but 
they  showed  a  lamentable  want  of  interest  in  it ;  and  '  Kvik,'  on 
whom  all  our  hope  in  the  matter  of  bear-hunting  rested,  bristled 
up  and  approached  the  dead  animal  very  slowly  and  carefully, 
with  her  tail  between  her  legs — a  sorry  spectacle. 

"  I  must  now  give  the  story  of  the  others  who  made  the  bear's 
acquaintance  first.  Hansen  had  to-day  begun  to  set  up  his  ob- 
servatory tent  a  little  ahead  of  the  ship,  on  the  starboard  bow. 
In  the  afternoon  he  got  Blessing  and  Johansen  to  help  him. 
While  they  were  hard  at  work  they  caught  sight  of  the  bear  not 
far  from  them,  just  off  the  bow  of  the  Fram. 

"  *  Hush  !     Keep  quiet,  in  case  we  frighten  him,'  says  Hansen. 

"  *  Yes,  yes  !'     And  they  crouch  together  and  look  at  him. 

" '  I  think  I'd  better  try  to  slip  on  board  and  announce  him,' 
says  Blessing. 

"  '  I  think  you  should,'  says  Hansen. 

'*  And  off  steals  Blessing  on  tiptoe,  so  as  not  to  frighten  the 
bear.  By  this  time  Bruin  has  seen  and  scented  them,  and  comes 
jogging  along,  following  his  nose,  towards  them. 

"  Hansen  now  began  to  get  over  his  fear  of  startling  him. 
The  bear  caught  sight  of  Blessing  slinking  off  to  the  ship  and  set 
after  him.  Blessing  also  was  now  much  less  concerned  than  he 
had  been  as  to  the  bear's  nerves.  He  stopped,  uncertain  what  to 
do  ;  but  a  moment's  reflection  brought  him  to  the  conclusion 
that  it  was  pleasanter  to  be  three  than  one  just  then,  and  he 
went  back  to  the  others  faster  than  he  had  gone  from  them. 
The  bear  followed  at  a  good  rate.  Hansen  did  not  like  the  look 
of  things,  and  thought  the  time  had  come  to  try  a  dodge  he  had 
seen  recommended  in  a  book.  He  raised  himself  to  his  full 
height,  flung  his  arms  about,  and  yelled  with  all  the  power  of  his 
lungs,  ably  assisted  by  the  others.  But  the  bear  came  on  quite  un- 
disturbed. The  situation  was  becoming  critical.  Each  snatched 
up  his  weapon — Hansen  an  ice-staff,  Johansen  an  axe,  and  Bless- 
ing nothing.     They  screamed  with  all  their  strength,  '  Bear  ! 


136  FARTHEST  NORTH 

bear !'  and  set  off  for  the  ship  as  hard  as  they  could  tear.  But 
the  bear  held  on  his  steady  course  to  the  tent,  and  examined 
everything  there  before  (as  we  have  seen)  he  went  after  them. 

"  It  was  a  lean  he-bear.  The  only  thing  that  was  found  in  its 
stomach  when  it  was  opened  was  a  piece  of  paper,  with  the 
names  '  Liitken  and  Mohn.'  This  was  the  wrapping-paper  of  a 
'  ski '  light,  and  had  been  left  by  one  of  us  somewhere  on  the  ice. 
After  this  day  some  of  the  members  of  the  expedition  would 
hardly  leave  the  ship  without  being  armed  to  the  teeth. 

"  Wednesday,  October  4th.  Northwesterly  wind  yesterday  and 
to-day.  Yesterday  we  had — 16°,  and  to-day — 14°  C.  I  have 
worked  all  day  at  soundings  and  got  to  about  800  fathoms  depth. 
The  bottom  samples  consisted  of  a  layer  of  gray  clay  4  to  4^ 
inches  thick,  and  below  that  brown  clay  or  mud.  The  temperature 
was,  strangely  enough,  just  above  freezing-point  (-i-o.i8°  C.)  at 
the  bottom,  and  just  below  freezing-point  (—0.4°  C.)  75  fathoms 
up.  This  rather  disposes  of  the  story  of  a  shallow  polar  basin 
and  of  the  extreme  coldness  of  the  water  of  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

"  While  we  were  hauling  up  the  line  in  the  afternoon  the  ice 
cracked  a  little  astern  of  the  Frani^  and  the  crack  increased  in 
breadth  so  quickly  that  three  of  us,  who  had  to  go  out  to  save 
the  ice-anchors,  were  obliged  to  make  a  bridge  over  it  with  a  long 
board  to  get  back  to  the  ship  again.  Later  in  the  evening  there 
was  some  packing  in  the  ice,  and  several  new  passages  opened 
out  behind  this  first  one. 

"  Thursday,  October  5th.  As  I  was  dressing  this  morning, 
just  before  breakfast,  the  mate  rushed  down  to  tell  me  a  bear 
was  in  sight.  I  was  soon  on  deck  and  saw  him  coming  from  the 
south,  to  the  lee  of  us.  He  was  still  a  good  way  off,  but  stopped 
and  looked  about.  Presently  he  lay  down,  and  Henriksen  and  I 
started  off  across  the  ice,  and  were  lucky  enough  to  send  a  bullet 
into  his  breast  at  about  310  yards,  just  as  he  was  moving  off. 

"  We  are  making  everything  snug  for  the  winter  and  for  the 
ice-pressure.  This  afternoon  we  took  up  the  rudder.  Beautiful 
weather,  but  cold, — 18°  C.  at  8  p.m.  The  result  of  the  medical  in- 
spection to  -  day  was  the  discovery  that  we  still  have  bugs  on 
board  ;  and  I  do  not  know  what  we  are  to  do.  We  have  no  steam 
now,  and  must  fix  our  hopes  on  the  cold. 

"  I  must  confess  that  this  discovery  made  me  feel  quite  ill.  If 
bugs  got  into  our  winter  furs  the  thing  was  hopeless.     So  the 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  I37 

next  day  there  was  a  regular  feast  of  purification,  according  to 
the  most  rigid  antiseptic  prescriptions.  Each  man  had  to  deliver 
up  his  old  clothes,  every  stitch  of  them,  wash  himself,  and  dress 
in  new  ones  from  top  to  toe.  All  the  old  clothes,  fur  rugs,  and 
such  things  were  carefully  carried  up  onto  the  deck,  and  kept 
there  the  whole  winter.  This  was  more  than  even  these  animals 
could  stand  ;  53°  C.  of  cold  proved  to  be  too  much  for  them,  and 
we  saw  no  more  of  them.  As  the  bug  is  made  to  say  in  the  pop- 
ular rhyme : 

" '  Put  me  in  the  boiling  pot,  and  shut  me  down  tight ; 
But  don't  leave  me  out  on  a  cold  winter  night!' 

"Friday,  October  6th.  Cold,  down  to  11°  below  zero  (Fahr.). 
To-day  we  have  begun  to  rig  up  the  windmill.  The  ice  has  been 
packing  to  the  north  of  the  Pram's  stern.  As  the  dogs  will  freeze 
if  they  are  kept  tied  up  and  get  no  exercise,  we  let  them  loose 
this  afternoon,  and  are  going  to  try  if  we  can  leave  them  so.  Of 
course  they  at  once  began  to  fight,  and  some  poor  creatures 
limped  away  from  the  battle-field  scratched  and  torn.  But  other- 
wise great  joy  prevailed  ;  they  leaped,  and  ran,  and  rolled  them- 
selves in  the  snow.     Brilliant  aurora  in  the  evening. 

"  Saturday,  October  7th.  Still  cold,  with  the  same  northerly 
wind  we  have  had  all  these  last  days.  I  am  afraid  we  are  drift- 
ing far  south  now.  A  few  days  ago  we  were,  according  to  the 
observations,  in  78°  47'  north  latitude.  That  was  16'  south  in 
less  than  a  week.  This  is  too  much ;  but  we  must  make  it  up 
again ;  we  must  get  north.  It  means  going  away  from  home 
now,  but  soon  it  will  mean  going  nearer  home.  What  depth  of 
beauty,  with  an  undercurrent  of  endless  sadness,  there  is  in 
these  dreamily  glowing  evenings !  The  vanished  sun  has  left 
its  track  of  melancholy  flame.  Nature's  music,  which  fills  all 
space,  is  instinct  with  sorrow  that  all  this  beauty  should  be 
spread  out  day  after  day,week  after  week,  year  after  year,  over  a 
dead  world.  Why  ?  Sunsets  are  always  sad  at  home  too.  This 
thought  makes  the  sight  seem  doubly  precious  here  and  doubly 
sad.  There  is  red  burning  blood  in  the  west  against  the  cold 
snow — and  to  think  that  this  is  the  sea,  stiffened  in  chains,  in 
death,  and  that  the  sun  will  soon  leave  us,  and  we  shall  be  in 
the  dark  alone  !  'And  the  earth  was  without  form  and  void'; 
is  this  the  sea  that  is  to  come  ? 


138  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"Sunday,  October  8th.  Beautiful  weather.  Made  a  snow- 
shoe  expedition  westward,  all  the  dogs  following.  The  running 
was  a  little  spoiled  by  the  brine,  which  soaks  up  through  the 
snow  from  the  surface  of  the  ice — flat,  newly  frozen  ice,  with 
older,  uneven  blocks  breaking  through  it.  I  seated  myself  on  a 
snow  hummock  far  away  out ;  the  dogs  crowded  round  to  be 
patted.  My  eye  wandered  over  the  great  snow  plain,  endless  and 
solitary — nothing  but  snow,  snow  everywhere. 

"  The  observations  to-day  gave  us  an  unpleasant  surprise  ;  we 
are  now  down  in  78°  35'  north  latitude ;  but  there  is  a  simple 
enough  explanation  of  this  when  one  thinks  of  all  the  northerly 
and  northwesterly  wind  we  have  had  lately,  with  open  water  not 
far  to  the  south  of  us.  As  soon  as  everything  is  frozen  we  must 
go  north  again  ;  there  can  be  no  question  of  that ;  but  none  the 
less  this  state  of  matters  is  unpleasant.  I  find  some  comfort  in 
the  fact  that  we  have  also  drifted  a  little  east,  so  that  at  all  events 
we  have  kept  with  the  wind  and  are  not  drifting  down  westward. 

"  Monday,  October  9th.  I  was  feverish  both  during  last  night 
and  to-day.  Goodness  knows  what  is  the  meaning  of  such  non- 
sense. When  I  was  taking  water  samples  in  the  morning  I  dis- 
covered that  the  water  -  lifter  suddenly  stopped  at  the  depth  of 
a  little  less  than  80  fathoms.  It  was  really  the  bottom.  So  we 
have  drifted  south  again  to  the  shallow  water.  We  let  the  weight 
lie  at  the  bottom  for  a  little,  and  saw  by  the  line  that  for  the 
moment  we  were  drifting  north.  This  was  some  small  comfort, 
anyhow. 

"  All  at  once  in  the  afternoon,  as  we  were  sitting  idly  chatter- 
ing, a  deafening  noise  began,  and  the  whole  ship  shook.  This  was 
the  first  ice-pressure.  Every  one  rushed  on  deck  to  look.  The 
Frani  behaved  beautifully,  as  I  had  expected  she  would.  On 
pushed  the  ice  with  steady  pressure,  but  down  under  us  it  had  to 
go,  and  we  were  slowly  lifted  up.  These  '  squeezings  '  continued 
off  and  on  all  the  afternoon,  and  were  sometimes  so  strong 
that  the  Fram  was  lifted  several  feet ;  but  then  the  ice  could  no 
longer  bear  her,  and  she  broke  it  below  her.  Towards  evening 
the  whole  slackened  again,  till  we  lay  in  a  good -sized  piece  of 
open  water,  and  had  hurriedly  to  moor  her  to  our  old  floe,  or  we 
should  have  drifted  off.  There  seems  to  be  a  good  deal  of  move- 
ment in  the  ice  here.  Peter  has  just  been  telling  us  that  he 
hears  the  dull  booming  of  strong  pressures  not  far  off. 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  139 

*'  Tuesday,  October  loth.     The  ice  continues  disturbed. 

"Wednesday,  October  nth.  The  bad  news  was  brought  this 
afternoon  that  '  Job '  is  dead,  torn  in  pieces  by  the  other  dogs. 
He  was  found  a  good  way  from  the  ship,  '  Old  Suggen '  lying 
watching  the  corpse,  so  that  no  other  dog  could  get  to  it.  They 
are  wretches,  these  dogs ;  no  day  passes  without  a  fight.  In  the 
day-time  one  of  us  is  generally  at  hand  to  stop  it,  but  at  night 
they  seldom  fail  to  tear  and  bite  one  of  their  comrades.  Poor 
'  Barabbas '  is  almost  frightened  out  of  his  wits.  He  stays  on 
board  now,  and  dares  not  venture  on  the  ice,  because  he  knows 
the  other  monsters  would  set  on  him.  There  is  not  a  trace  of 
chivalry  about  these  curs.  When  there  is  a  fight,  the  whole 
pack  rush  like  wild  beasts  on  the  loser.  But  is  it  not,  perhaps, 
the  law  of  nature  that  the  strong,  and  not  the  weak,  should  be 
protected  ?  Have  not  we  human  beings,  perhaps,  been  trying  to 
turn  nature  topsy-turvy  by  protecting  and  doing  our  best  to 
keep  life  in  all  the  weak  ? 

"  The  ice  is  restless,  and  has  pressed  a  good  deal  to-day  again. 
It  begins  with  a  gentle  crack  and  moan  along  the  side  of  the 
ship,  which  gradually  sounds  louder  in  every  key.  Now  it  is  a 
high  plaintive  tone,  now  it  is  a  grumble,  now  it  is  a  snarl,  and 
the  ship  gives  a  start  up.  The  noise  steadily  grows  till  it  is  like 
all  the  pipes  of  an  organ  ;  the  ship  trembles  and  shakes,  and  rises 
by  fits  and  starts,  or  is  sometimes  gently  lifted.  There  is  a  pleas- 
ant comfortable  feeling  in  sitting  listening  to  all  this  uproar  and 
knowing  the  strength  of  our  ship.  Many  a  one  would  have  been 
crushed  long  ago.  But  outside  the  ice  is  ground  against  our 
ship's  sides,  the  piles  of  broken-up  floe  are  forced  under  her  heavy, 
invulnerable  hull,  and  we  lie  as  if  in  a  bed.  Soon  the  noise  be- 
gins to  die  down  ;  the  ship  sinks  into  its  old  position  again,  and 
presently  all  is  silent  as  before.  In  several  places  round  us  the  ice 
is  piled  up,  at  one  spot  to  a  considerable  height.  Towards  even- 
ing there  was  a  slackening,  and  we  lay  again  in  a  large,  open  pool. 

"Thursday,  October  12th.  In  the  morning  we  and  our  floe 
were  drifting  on  blue  water  in  the  middle  of  a  large,  open  lane, 
which  stretched  far  to  the  north,  and  in  the  north  the  atmos- 
phere at  the  horizon  was  dark  and  blue.  As  far  as  we  could  see 
with  the  small  field-glass  from  the  crow's-nest,  there  was  no  end 
to  the  open  water,  with  only  single  pieces  of  ice  sticking  up  in  it 
here  and  there.     These  are  extraordinary  changes.     I  wondered 


I40  FARTHEST  NORTH 

if  we  should  prepare  to  go  ahead.  But  they  had  long  ago  taken 
the  machinery  to  pieces  for  the  winter,  so  that  it  would  be  a 
matter  of  time  to  get  it  ready  for  use  again.  Perhaps  it  would 
be  best  to  wait  a  little.  Clear  weather,  with  sunshine— a  beauti- 
ful, inspiriting  winter  day — but  the  same  northerly  wind.  Took 
soundings,  and  found  50  fathoms  of  water  (90  metres).  We  are 
drifting  slowly  southward.  Towards  evening  the  ice  packed 
together  again  with  much  force  ;  but  the  Frain  can  hold  her 
own.  In  the  afternoon  I  fished  in  a  depth  of  about  27  fathoms 
(50  metres)  with  Murray's  silk  net,*  and  had  a  good  take,  espe- 
cially of  small  crustaceans  {Copepoda,  Ostracoda,  Amphipoda,  etc.) 
and  of  a  little  Arctic  worm  (Spadelld)  that  swims  about  in  the 
sea.  It  is  horribly  difficult  to  manage  a  little  fishing  here.  No 
sooner  have  you  found  an  opening  to  slip  your  tackle  through 
than  it  begins  to  close  again,  and  you  have  to  haul  up  as  hard  as 
you  can,  so  as  not  to  get  the  line  nipped  and  lose  everything.  It 
is  a  pity,  for  there  are  interesting  hauls  to  be  made.  One  sees 
phosphorescence  \  in  the  water  here  whenever  there  is  the  small- 
est opening  in  the  ice.  There  is  by  no  means  such  a  scarcity  of 
animal  life  as  one  might  expect. 

"Friday,  October  13th.  Now  we  are  in  the  very  midst  of 
what  the  prophets  would  have  had  us  dread  so  much.  The  ice 
is  pressing  and  packing  round  us  with  a  noise  like  thunder.  It 
is  piling  itself  up  into  long  walls,  and  heaps  high  enough  to  reach 
a  good  way  up  the  FrairCs  rigging ;  in  fact,  it  is  trying  its  very 
utmost  to  grind  the  Frain  into  powder.  But  here  we  sit  quite 
tranquil,  not  even  going  up  to  look  at  all  the  hurly-burly,  but 
just  chatting  and  laughing  as  usual.  Last  night  there  was  tre- 
mendous pressure  round  our  old  dog-floe.  The  ice  had  towered 
up  higher  than  the  highest  point  of  the  floe  and  hustled  down 
upon  it.  It  had  quite  spoiled  a  well,  where  we  till  now  had  found 
good  drinking-water,  filling  it  with  brine.  Furthermore,  it  had 
cast  itself  over  our  stern  ice-anchor  and  part  of  the  steel  cable 
which  held  it,  burying  them  so  effectually  that  we  had  afterwards 

*  This  silk  bag-net  is  intended  to  be  dragged  after  a  boat  or  ship  to 
catch  the  living  animals  or  plant  organisms  at  various  depths.  We  used 
them  constantly  during  our  drifting,  sinking  them  to  different  depths 
under  the  ice,  and  they  often  brought  up  rich  spoils. 

t  This  phosphorescence  is  principally  due  to  small  luminous  Crustacea 
{Copepoda). 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  141 

to  cut  the  cable.  Then  it  covered  our  planks  and  sledges,  which 
stood  on  the  ice.  Before  long  the  dogs  were  in  danger,  and  the 
watch  had  to  turn  out  all  hands  to  save  them.  At  last  the  floe 
split  in  two.  This  morning  the  ice  was  one  scene  of  melancholy- 
confusion,  gleaming  in  the  most  glorious  sunshine.  Piled  up  all 
round  us  were  high,  steep  ice  walls.  Strangely  enough,  we  had 
lain  on  the  very  verge  of  the  worst  confusion,  and  had  escaped 
with  the  loss  of  an  ice-anchor,  a  piece  of  steel  cable,  a  few  planks 
and  other  bits  of  wood,  and  half  of  a  Samoyede  sledge,  all  of 
which  might  have  been  saved  if  we  had  looked  after  them  in 
time.  But  the  men  have  grown  so  indifferent  to  the  pressure 
now  that  they  do  not  even  go  up  to  look,  let  it  thunder  ever  so 
hard.  They  feel  that  the  ship  can  stand  it,  and  so  long  as  that 
is  the  case  there  is  nothing  to  hurt  except  the  ice  itself. 

"  In  the  morning  the  pressure  slackened  again,  and  we  were 
soon  lying  in  a  large  piece  of  open  water,  as  we  did  yesterday. 
To-day,  again,  this  stretched  far  away  towards  the  northern  hori- 
zon, where  the  same  dark  atmosphere  indicated  some  extent  of 
open  water.  I  now  gave  the  order  to  put  the  engine  together 
again  ;  they  told  me  it  could  be  done  in  a  day  and  a  half  or  at 
most  two  days.  We  must  go  north  and  see  what  there  is  up 
there.  I  think  it  possible  that  it  may  be  the  boundary  between 
the  ice-drift  the  Jeannette  was  in  and  the  pack  we  are  now  drift- 
ing south  with — or  can  it  be  land  ? 

"  We  had  kept  company  quite  long  enough  with  the  old,  now 
broken -up  floe,  so  worked  ourselves  a  little  way  astern  after 
dinner,  as  the  ice  was  beginning  to  draw  together.  Towards 
evening  the  pressure  began  again  in  earnest,  and  was  especially 
bad  round  the  remains  of  our  old  floe,  so  that  I  believe  we  may 
congratulate  ourselves  on  having  left  it.  It  is  evident  that  the 
pressure  here  stands  in  connection  with,  is  perhaps  caused  by, 
the  tidal  wave.  It  occurs  with  the  greatest  regularity.  The  ice 
slackens  twice  and  packs  twice  in  24  hours.  The  pressure  has 
happened  about  4,  5,  and  6  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  almost  at 
exactly  the  same  hour  in  the  afternoon,  and  in  between  we  have 
always  lain  for  some  part  of  the  time  in  open  water.  The  very 
great  pressure  just  now  is  probably  due  to  the  spring-tide  ;  we 
had  new  moon  on  the  9th,  which  was  the  first  day  of  the  pressure. 
Then  it  was  just  after  mid-day  when  we  noticed  it,  but  it  has 
been  later  every  day,  and  now  it  is  at  8  p.m." 


142  FARTHEST  NORTH 

The  theory  of  the  ice-pressure  being  caused  to  a  considerable 
extent  by  the  tidal  wave  has  been  advanced  repeatedly  by  Arc- 
tic explorers.  During  the  Franis  drifting  we  had  better  oppor- 
tunity than  most  of  them  to  study  this  phenomenon,  and  our 
experience  seems  to  leave  no  doubt  that  over  a  wide  region  the 
tide  produces  movement  and  pressure  of  the  ice.  It  occurs  es- 
pecially at  the  time  of  the  spring-tides,  and  more  at  new  moon 
than  at  full  moon.  During  the  intervening  periods  there  was,  as 
a  rule,  little  or  no  trace  of  pressure.  But  these  tidal  pressures 
did  not  occur  during  the  whole  time  of  our  drifting.  We  noticed 
them  especially  the  first  autumn,  while  we  were  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  the  open  sea  north  of  Siberia,  and  the  last  year,  when  the 
Fram  was  drawing  near  the  open  Atlantic  Ocean  ;  they  were 
less  noticeable  while  we  were  in  the  polar  basin.  Pressure  oc- 
curs here  more  irregularly,  and  is  mainly  caused  by  the  wind 
driving  the  ice.  When  one  pictures  to  one's  self  these  enormous 
ice  -  masses,  drifting  in  a  certain  direction,  suddenly  meeting 
hinderances — for  example,  ice-masses  drifting  from  the  opposite 
direction,  owing  to  a  change  of  wind  in  some  more  or  less  dis- 
tant quarter — it  is  easy  to  understand  the  tremendous  pressure 
that  must  result. 

Such  an  ice  conflict  is  undeniably  a  stupendous  spectacle. 
One  feels  one's  self  to  be  in  the  presence  of  titanic  forces,  and  it 
is  easy  to  understand  how  timid  souls  may  be  overawed  and  feel 
as  if  nothing  could  stand  before  it.  For  when  the  packing  begins 
in  earnest  it  seems  as  though  there  could  be  no  spot  on  the 
earth's  surface  left  unshaken.  First  you  hear  a  sound  like  the 
thundering  rumbling  of  an  earthquake  far  away  on  the  great 
waste ;  then  you  hear  it  in  several  places,  always  coming  nearer 
and  nearer.  The  silent  ice  world  re-echoes  with  thunders  ;  nat- 
ure's giants  are  awakening  to  the  battle.  The  ice  cracks  on  ev- 
ery side  of  you,  and  begins  to  pile  itself  up  ;  and  all  of  a  sudden 
you  too  find  yourself  in  the  midst  of  the  struggle.  There  are 
bowlings  and  thunderings  round  you  ;  you  feel  the  ice  trembling, 
and  hear  it  rumbling  under  your  feet ;  there  is  no  peace  any- 
where. In  the  semi-darkness  you  can  see  it  piling  and  tossing 
itself  up  into  high  ridges  nearer  and  nearer  you — floes  lo,  12,  15 
feet  thick,  broken,  and  flung  on  the  top  of  each  other  as  if  they 
were  feather-weights.  They  are  quite  near  you  now,  and  you 
jump  away  to  save  your  life.     But  the  ice  splits  in  front  of  you, 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  I43 

a  black  gulf  opens,  and  water  streams  up.  You  turn  in  another 
direction,  but  there  through  the  dark  you  can  just  see  a  new- 
ridge  of  moving  ice-blocks  coming  towards  you.  You  try  an- 
other direction,  but  there  it  is  the  same.  All  round  there  is 
thundering  and  roaring,  as  of  some  enormous  waterfall,  with  ex- 
plosions like  cannon  salvoes.  Still  nearer  you  it  comes.  The 
floe  you  are  standing  on  gets  smaller  and  smaller  ;  water  pours 
over  it ;  there  can  be  no  escape  except  by  scrambling  over  the 
rolling  ice-blocks  to  get  to  the  other  side  of  the  pack.  But  now 
the  disturbance  begins  to  calm  down.  The  noise  passes  on,  and 
is  lost  by  degrees  in  the  distance. 

This  is  what  goes  on  away  there  in  the  North  month  after 
month  and  year  after  year.  The  ice  is  split  and  piled  up  into 
mounds,  which  extend  in  every  direction.  If  one  could  get  a 
bird's-eye  view  of  the  ice-fields,  they  would  seem  to  be  cut  up 
into  squares  or  meshes  by  a  network  of  these  packed  ridges,  or 
pressure-dikes,  as  we  called  them,  because  they  reminded  us  so 
much  of  snow-covered  stone  dikes  at  home,  such  as,  in  many 
parts  of  the  country,  are  used  to  enclose  fields.  At  first  sight 
these  pressure-ridges  appeared  to  be  scattered  about  in  all  possi- 
ble directions,  but  on  closer  inspection  I  was  sure  that  I  discov- 
ered certain  directions  which  they  tended  to  take,  and  especially 
that  they  were  apt  to  run  at  right  angles  to  the  course  of  the 
pressure  which  produced  them.  In  the  accounts  of  Arctic  ex- 
peditions one  often  reads  descriptions  of  pressure  -  ridges  or 
pressure  -  hummocks  as  high  as  50  feet.  These  are  fairy  tales. 
The  authors  of  such  fantastic  descriptions  cannot  have  taken 
the  trouble  to  measure.  During  the  whole  period  of  our  drifting 
and  of  our  travels  over  the  ice-fields  in  the  far  North  I  only  once 
saw  a  hummock  of  a  greater  height  than  23  feet.  Unfortunately, 
I  had  not  the  opportunity  of  measuring  this  one,  but  I  believe  I 
may  say  with  certainty  that  it  was  very  nearly  30  feet  high.  All 
the  highest  blocks  I  measured  —  and  they  were  many  —  had  a 
height  of  18  to  23  feet ;  and  I  can  maintain  with  certainty  that 
the  packing  of  sea  ice  to  a  height  of  over  25  feet  is  a  very  rare 
exception.* 

*  Markham's  account  gives  us  to  understand  that  on  the  north  side  of 
Grinnell  Land  he  came  across  hummocks  which  measured  43  feet.  I  do  not 
feel  at  all  certain  that  these  were  not  in  reality  icebergs;  but  it  is  no  doubt 
possible  that  such  hummocks  might  be  formed  by  violent  pressure  against 


144  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"Saturday,  October  14th.  To-day  we  have  got  on  the  rud- 
der ;  the  engine  is  pretty  well  in  order,  and  we  are  clear  to  start 
north  when  the  ice  opens  to-morrow  morning.  It  is  still  slack- 
ening and  packing  quite  regularly  twice  a  day,  so  that  we  can 
calculate  on  it  beforehand.  To-day  we  had  the  same  open  chan- 
nel to  the  north,  and  beyond  it  open  sea  as  far  as  our  view  ex- 
tended. What  can  this  mean  ?  This  evening  the  pressure  has 
been  pretty  violent.  The  floes  were  packed  up  against  the  Fram 
on  the  port  side,  and  were  once  or  twice  on  the  point  of  toppling 
over  the  rail.  The  ice,  however,  broke  below  ;  they  tumbled  back 
again,  and  had  to  go  under  us,  after  all.  It  is  not  thick  ice,  and 
cannot  do  much  damage ;  but  the  force  is  something  enormous. 
On  the  masses  come  incessantly  without  a  pause ;  they  look  ir- 
resistible ;  but  slowly  and  surely  they  are  crushed  against  the 
Fram's  sides.  Now  (8.30  p.m.)  the  pressure  has  at  last  stopped. 
Clear  evening,  sparkling  stars,  and  flaming  northern  lights." 

I  had  finished  writing  my  diary,  gone  to  bed,  and  was  lying 
reading,  in  The  Origin  of  Species^  about  the  struggle  for  exist- 
ence, when  I  heard  the  dogs  out  on  the  ice  making  more 
noise  than  usual.  I  called  into  the  saloon  that  some  one 
ought  to  go  up  and  see  if  it  was  bears  they  were  barking  at. 
Hansen  went,  and  came  back  immediately,  saying  that  he  be- 
lieved he  had  seen  some  large  animal  out  in  the  dark.  "  Go  and 
shoot  it,  then."  That  he  was  quite  ready  to  do,  and  went  up 
again  at  once,  accompanied  by  some  of  the  others.  A  shot  went 
off  on  deck  above  my  head,  then  another ;  shot  followed  shot, 
nine  in  all.  Johansen  and  Henriksen  rushed  down  for  more 
cartridges,  and  declared  that  the  creature  was  shot,  it  was  roar- 
ing so  horribly  ;  but  so  far  they  had  only  indistinctly  seen  a 
large  grayish-white  mass  out  there  in  the  dark,  moving  about 
among  the  dogs.  Now  they  were  going  on  to  the  ice  after  it. 
Four  of  them  set  off,  and  not  far  away  they  really  did  find  a 
dead  bear,  with  marks  of  two  shots.  It  was  a  young  one.  The 
old  one  must  be  at  hand,  and  the  dogs  were  still  barking  loudly. 
Now  they  all  felt  sure  that  they  had  seen  two  together,  and  that 
the  other  also  must  be  badly  wounded.  Johansen  and  Henrik- 
sen heard  it  groaning  in  the  distance  when  they  were  out  on  the 

land  or  something  resembling  it.    After  our  experience,  however,  I  cannot 
believe  in  the  possibility  of  their  occurring  in  open  sea. 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  I45 

ice  again  afterwards  to  fetch  a  knife  they  had  left  lying  where 
the  dead  one  had  lain.  The  creature  had  been  dragged  on  board 
and  skinned  at  once,  before  it  had  time  to  stiffen  in  the  cold. 

"Sunday,  October  15th.  To  our  surprise,  the  ice  did  not 
slacken  away  much  during  last  night  after  the  violent  pressure ; 
and,  what  was  worse,  there  was  no  indication  of  slackening  in 
the  morning,  now  that  we  were  quite  ready  to  go.  Slight  signs 
of  it  showed  themselves  a  little  later,  upon  which  I  gave  orders  to 
get  up  steam  ;  and  while  this  was  being  done  I  took  a  stroll  on  the 
ice,  to  look  for  traces  of  yesterday  evening.  I  found  tracks  not 
only  of  the  bear  that  had  been  killed  and  of  a  larger  one  that 
might  be  the  mother,  but  of  a  third,  which  must  have  been  badly 
wounded,  as  it  had  sometimes  dragged  itself  on  its  hind-quarters, 
and  had  left  a  broad  track  of  blood.  After  following  the  traces 
for  a  good  way  and  discovering  that  I  had  no  weapon  to  despatch 
the  animal  with  but  my  own  fists,  I  thought  it  would  be  as  well 
to  return  to  the  ship  to  get  a  gun  and  companions  who  would 
help  to  drag  the  bear  back.  I  had  also  some  small  hope  that  in 
the  meantime  the  ice  might  have  slackened,  so  that,  in  place  of 
going  after  game,  we  might  go  north  with  the  Fram.  But  no 
such  luck  !  So  I  put  on  my  snow-shoes  and  set  off  after  our  bear, 
some  of  the  dogs  with  me,  and  one  or  two  men  following.  At 
some  distance  we  came  to  the  place  where  it  had  spent  the  night 
— poor  beast,  a  ghastly  night !  Here  I  also  saw  tracks  of  the 
mother.  One  shudders  to  think  of  her  watching  over  her  poor 
young  one,  which  must  have  had  its  back  shot  through.  Soon  we 
came  up  to  the. cripple,  dragging  itself  away  from  us  over  the 
ice  as  best  it  could.  Seeing  no  other  way  of  escape,  it  threw  it- 
self into  a  small  water  opening  and  dived  time  after  time.  While 
we  were  putting  a  noose  on  a  rope  the  dogs  rushed  round  the 
hole  as  if  they  had  gone  mad,  and  it  was  difficult  to  keep  them 
from  jumping  into  the  water  after  the  bear.  At  last  we  were 
ready,  and  the  next  time  the  creature  came  up  it  got  a  noose 
round  one  paw  and  a  ball  in  the  head.  While  the  others  drew  it 
to  the  ship,  I  followed  the  mother's  tracks  for  some  way,  but 
could  not  find  her.  I  had  soon  to  turn  back  to  see  if  there  was 
no  prospect  of  moving  the  Fram;  but  I  found  that  the  ice  had 
packed  together  again  a  little  at  the  very  time  when  we  could 
generally  calculate  on  its  slackening.  In  the  afternoon  Hansen 
and  I  went  off  once  more  after  the  bear.    We  saw,  as  I  expected, 


h6  farthest  north 

that  she  had  come  back,  and  had  followed  her  daughter's  funeral 
procession  for  some  way,  but  then  she  had  gone  off  east,  and  as  it 
grew  dark  we  lost  her  tracks  in  some  newly  packed  ice.  We  have 
only  one  matter  for  regret  in  connection  with  this  bear  episode, 
and  that  is  the  disappearance  of  two  dogs — '  Narrifas '  and  '  Fox.' 
Probably  they  went  off  in  terror  on  the  first  appearance  of  the 
three  bears.  They  may  have  been  hurt,  but  I  have  seen  nothing 
to  suggest  this.  The  ice  is  quiet  this  evening  also,  only  a  little 
pressure  about  7  o'clock. 

"Monday,  October  i6th.  Ice  quiet  and  close.  Observations 
on  the  12th  placed  us  in  78°  5' north  latitude.  Steadily  south- 
ward. This  is  almost  depressing.  The  two  runaways  returned 
this  morning. 

"  Tuesday,  October  17th.  Continuous  movement  in  the  ice.  It 
slackened  a  little  again  during  the  night ;  some  way  off  to  star- 
board there  was  a  large  opening.  Shortly  after  midnight  there 
was  strong  pressure,  and  between  11  and  12  a.m.  came  a  tremen- 
dous squeeze  ;  since  then  it  has  slackened  again  a  little. 

"  Wednesday,  October  i8th.  When  the  meteorologist,  Johansen, 
was  on  deck  this  morning  reading  the  thermometers,  he  noticed 
that  the  dogs,  which  are  now  tied  up  on  board,  were  barking 
loudly  down  at  something  on  the  ice.  He  bent  over  the  rail 
astern,  near  the  rudder,  and  saw  the  back  of  a  bear  below  him, 
close  in  at  the  ship's  side.  Off  he  went  for  a  gun,  and  the  animal 
fell  with  a  couple  of  shots.  We  saw  afterwards  by  its  tracks  that 
it  had  inspected  all  the  heaps  of  sweepings  round  the  ship. 

"  A  little  later  in  the  morning  I  went  for  a  stroll  on  the  ice. 
Hansen  and  Johansen  were  busy  with  some  magnetic  observations 
to  the  south  of  the  ship.  It  was  beautiful  sunshiny  weather.  I 
was  standing  beside  an  open  pool  a  little  way  ahead,  examining 
the  formation  and  growth  of  the  new  ice,  when  I  heard  a  gun  go 
off  on  board.  I  turned,  and  just  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  bear  mak- 
ing off  towards  the  hummocks.  It  was  Henriksen  who  had  seen 
it  from  the  deck  coming  marching  towards  the  ship.  When  it 
was  a  few  paces  off  it  saw  Hansen  and  Johansen,  and  made 
straight  for  them.  By  this  time  Henriksen  had  got  his  gun,  but 
it  missed  fire  several  times.  He  has  an  unfortunate  liking  for 
smearing  the  lock  so  well  with  vaseline  that  the  spring  works  as 
if  it  lay  in  soft  soap.  At  last  it  went  off,  and  the  ball  went  through 
the  bear's  back  and  breast  in  a  slanting  direction.     The  animal 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  H? 

stood  up  on  its  hind-legs,  fought  the  air  with  its  fore-paws,  then 
flung  itself  forward  and  sprang  off,  to  fall  after  about  30  steps  ; 
the  ball  had  grazed  the  heart.  It  was  not  till  the  shot  went  off 
that  Hansen  saw  the  bear,  and  then  he  rushed  up  and  put  two 
revolver-balls  into  its  head.  It  was  a  large  bear,  the  largest  we 
had  got  yet. 

"  About  mid-day  I  was  in  the  crow's-nest.  In  spite  of  the  clear 
weather  I  could  not  discover  land  on  any  side.  The  opening  far 
to  the  north  has  quite  disappeared  ;  but  during  the  night  a  large 
new  one  has  formed  quite  close  to  us.  It  stretches  both  north 
and  south,  and  has  now  a  covering  of  ice.  The  pressure  is  chiefly 
confined  to  the  edges  of  this  opening,  and  can  be  traced  in  walls 
of  packed  ice  as  far  as  the  horizon  in  both  directions.  To  the 
east  the  ice  is  quite  unbroken  and  flat.  We  have  lain  just  in  the 
worst  pressure. 

'' Thursday,  October  19th.  The  ice  again  slackened  a  little 
last  night.  In  the  morning  I  attempted  a  drive  with  six  of  the 
dogs.  When  I  had  managed  to  harness  them  to  the  Samoyede 
sledge,  had  seated  myself  on  it,  and  called  '  Pr-r-r-r  !  pr-r-r-r  !' 
they  went  off  in  quite  good  style  over  the  ice.  But  it  was  not 
long  before  we  came  to  some  high  pack  -  ice  and  had  to  turn. 
This  was  hardly  done  before  they  were  off  back  to  the  ship  at 
lightning  speed,  and  they  were  not  to  be  got  away  from  it  again. 
Round  and  round  it  they  went,  from  refuse-heap  to  refuse-heap. 
If  I  started  at  the  gangway  on  the  starboard  side,  and  tried  by 
thrashing  them  to  drive  them  out  over  the  ice,  round  the  stern 
they  flew  to  the  gangway  on  the  port  side.  I  tugged,  swore,  and 
tried  everything  I  could  think  of,  but  all  to  no  purpose.  I  got 
out  and  tried  to  hold  the  sledge  back,  but  was  pulled  off  my 
feet,  and  dragged  merrily  over  the  ice  in  my  smooth  sealskin 
breeches,  on  back,  stomach,  side — just  as  it  happened.  When  I 
managed  to  stop  them  at  some  pieces  of  pack-ice  or  a  dust-heap, 
round  they  went  again  to  the  starboard  gangway,  with  me 
dangling  behind,  swearing  madly  that  I  would  break  every  bone 
in  their  bodies  when  I  got  at  them.  This  game  went  on  till 
they  probably  tired  of  it,  and  thought  they  might  as  well  go  my 
way  for  a  change.  So  now  they  went  off  beautifully  across  the 
flat  floe  until  I  stopped  for  a  moment's  breathing  space.  But  at 
the  first  movement  I  made  in  the  sledge  they  were  off  again, 
tearing  wildly  back  the  way  we  had  come.     I  held  on  convulsive- 


148  FARTHEST  NORTH 

ly,  pulled,  raged,  and  used  the  whip  ;  but  the  more  I  lashed  the 
faster  they  went  on  their  own  way.  At  last  I  got  them  stopped 
by  sticking  my  legs  down  into  the  snow  between  the  sledge- 
shafts,  and  driving  a  strong  seal-hook  into  it  as  well.  But  while 
I  was  off  my  guard  for  a  moment  they  gave  a  tug.  I  lay  with 
my  hinder-part  where  my  legs  had  been,  and  we  went  on  at  light- 
ning speed — that  substantial  part  of  my  body  leaving  a  deep 
track  in  the  snow.  This  sort  of  thing  went  on  time  after  time. 
I  lost  the  board  I  should  have  sat  on,  then  the  whip,  then  my 
gloves,  then  my  cap  —  these  losses  not  improving  my  temper. 
Once  or  twice  I  ran  round  in  front  of  the  dogs,  and  tried  to 
force  them  to  turn  by  lashing  at  them  with  the  whip.  They 
jumped  to  both  sides  and  only  tore  on  the  faster  ;  the  reins  got 
twisted  round  my  ankles,  and  I  was  thrown  flat  on  the  sledge, 
and  they  went  on  more  wildly  than  ever.  This  was  my  first 
experience  in  dog  driving  on  my  own  account,  and  I  will  not 
pretend  that  I  was  proud  of  it.  I  inwardly  congratulated  myself 
that  my  feats  had  been  unobserved. 

"  In  the  afternoon  I  examined  the  melted  water  of  the  newly 
formed  brownish  -  red  ice,  of  which  there  is  a  good  deal  in  the 
openings  round  us  here.  The  microscope  proved  this  color  to 
be  produced  by  swarms  of  small  organisms,  chiefly  plants — quan- 
tities of  diatomas  and  some  algae,  a  few  of  them  very  peculiar  in 
form. 

"Saturday,  October  21st.  I  have  stayed  in  to-day  because  of 
an  affection  of  the  muscles,  or  rheumatism,  which  I  have  had  for 
some  days  on  the  right  side  of  my  body,  and  for  which  the  doc- 
tor is  '  massaging '  me,  thereby  greatly  adding  to  my  sufferings. 
Have  I  really  grown  so  old  and  palsied,  or  is  the  whole  thing 
imagination  ?  It  is  all  I  can  do  to  limp  about ;  but  I  just  won- 
der if  I  could  not  get  up  and  run  with  the  best  of  them  if  there 
happened  to  be  any  great  occasion  for  it :  I  almost  believe  I 
could.  A  nice  Arctic  hero  of  32,  lying  here  in  my  berth  !  Have 
had  a  good  time  reading  home  letters,  dreaming  myself  at  home, 
dreaming  of  the  home-coming — in  how  many  years?  Successful 
or  unsuccessful,  what  does  that  matter  ? 

*'  I  had  a  sounding  taken  ;  it  showed  over  73  fathoms  (135  m.), 
so  we  are  in  deeper  water  again.  The  sounding-line  indicated 
that  we  are  drifting  southwest.  I  do  not  understand  this  steady 
drift  southward.     There  has  not  been  much  wind  either  lately  ; 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  149 

there  is  certainly  a  little  from  the  north  to-day,  but  not  strong. 
What  can  be  the  reason  of  it  ?  With  all  my  information,  all  my 
reasoning,  all  my  putting  of  two  and  two  together,  I  cannot 
account  for  any  south-going  current  here — there  ought  to  be  a 
north -going  one.  If  the  current  runs  south  here,  how  is  that 
great  open  sea  we  steamed  north  across  to  be  explained?  and 
the  bay  we  ended  in  farthest  north  ?  These  could  only  be  pro- 
duced by  the  north -going  current  which  I  presupposed.  The 
only  thing  which  puts  me  out  a  bit  is  that  west -going  current 
which  we  had  against  us  during  our  whole  voyage  along  the 
Siberian  coast.  We  are  never  going  to  be  carried  away  south 
by  the  New  Siberian  Islands,  and  then  west  along  the  coast  of 
Siberia,  and  then  north  by  Cape  Chelyuskin,  the  very  way  we 
came  !  That  would  be  rather  too  much  of  a  good  thing — to  say 
nothing  of  its  being  dead  against  every  calculation. 

"  Well,  who  cares  ?  Somewhere  we  must  go  ;  we  can't  stay 
here  forever.  '  It  will  all  come  right  in  the  end,'  as  the  saying 
goes ;  but  I  wish  we  could  get  on  a  little  faster  wherever  we  are 
going.  On  our  Greenland  expedition,  too,  we  were  carried  south 
to  begin  with,  and  that  ended  well. 

"Sunday,  October  2 2d.  Henriksen  took  soundings  this  morn- 
ing, and  found  70  fathoms  (129  m.)  of  water.  '  If  we  are  drifting 
at  all,'  said  he,  '  it  is  to  the  east  ;  but  there  seems  to  be  almost 
no  movement.'     No  wind  to-day.     I  am  keeping  in  my  den. 

"  Monday,  October  23d.  Still  in  the  den.  To-day,  5  fathoms 
shallower  than  yesterday.  The  line  points  southwest,  which 
means  that  we  are  drifting  northeastward.  Hansen  has  reck- 
oned out  the  observation  for  the  19th,  and  finds  that  we  must 
have  got  10  minutes  farther  north,  and  must  be  in  78°  15'  N.  lat. 
So  at  last,  now  that  the  wind  has  gone  down,  the  north-going 
current  is  making  itself  felt.  Some  channels  have  opened  near 
us,  one  along  the  side  of  the  ship,  and  one  ahead,  near  the  old 
channel.     Only  slight  signs  of  pressure  in  the  afternoon. 

"  Tuesday,  October  24th.  Between  4  and  5  a.m.  there  was 
strong  pressure,  and  the  Pram  was  lifted  up  a  little.  It  looks 
as  if  the  pressure  were  going  to  begin  again  :  we  have  spring-tide 
with  full  moon.  The  ice  opened  so  much  this  morning  that  the 
Pram  was  afloat  in  her  cutting  ;  later  on  it  closed  again,  and 
about  1 1  there  was  some  strong  pressure ;  then  came  a  quiet 
time  ;  but  in  the  afternoon  the  pressure  began  once  more,  and 


150  FARTHEST  NORTH 

was  violent  from  4  to  4.30.  The  Frani  was  shaken  and  lifted  up ; 
didn't  mind  a  bit.  Peter  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  the  pressure 
was  coming  from  the  northeast,  for  he  had  heard  the  noise  ap- 
proaching from  that  direction.  Johansen  let  down  the  silk  net 
for  me  about  11  fathoms.  It  was  all  he  could  do  to  get  it  up 
again  in  time,  but  it  brought  up  a  good  catch.  Am  still  keep- 
ing in. 

''Wednesday,  October  25th.  We  had  a  horrible  pressure  last 
night.  I  awoke  and  felt  the  Pram  being  lifted,  shaken,  and 
tossed  about,  and  heard  the  loud  cracking  of  the  ice  breaking 
against  her  sides.  After  listening  for  a  little  while  I  fell  asleep 
again,  with  a  snug  feeling  that  it  was  good  to  be  on  board  the 
Fram ;  it  would  be  confoundedly  uncomfortable  to  have  to  be 
ready  to  turn  out  every  time  there  was  a  little  pressure,  or  to 
have  to  go  off  with  our  bundles  on  our  backs  like  the  Tegethoff 
people. 

"  It  is  quickly  getting  darker.  The  sun  stands  lower  and 
lower  every  time  we  see  it  ;  soon  it  will  disappear  altogether,  if 
it  has  not  done  so  already  The  long,  dark  winter  is  upon  us, 
and  glad  shall  we  be  to  see  the  spring  ;  but  nothing  matters 
much  if  we  could  only  begin  to  move  north.  There  is  now 
southwesterly  wind,  and  the  windmill,  which  has  been  ready  for 
several  days,  has  been  tried  at  last  and  works  splendidly  We 
have  beautiful  electric  light  to-day,  though  the  wind  has  not 
been  especially  strong  (5-8  m.  per  second).  Electric  lamps  are 
a  grand  institution.  What  a  strong  influence  light  has  on  one's 
spirits  !  There  was  a  noticeable  brightening-up  at  the  dinner- 
table  to-day  ;  the  light  acted  on  our  spirits  like  a  draught  of 
good  wine.  And  how  festive  the  saloon  looks  !  We  felt  it  quite 
a  great  occasion — drank  Oscar  Dickson's  health,  and  voted  him 
the  best  of  good  fellows. 

"  Wonderful  moonshine  this  evening,  light  as  day  ;  and  along 
with  it  aurora  borealis,  yellow  and  strange  in  the  white  moon- 
light ;  a  large  ring  round  the  moon  —  all  this  over  the  great 
stretch  of  white,  shining  ice,  here  and  there  in  our  neighborhood 
piled  up  high  by  the  pressure.  And  in  the  midst  of  this  silent, 
silvery  ice -world  the  windmill  sweeps  round  its  dark  wings 
against  the  deep-blue  sky  and  the  aurora.  A  strange  contrast  : 
civilization  making  a  sudden  incursion  into  this  frozen,  ghostly 
world. 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  151 

"To-morrow  is  the  Pram's  birthday.  How  many  memories 
it  recalls  of  the  launch-day  a  year  ago  ! 

"Thursday,  October  26th.  Fifty  -  four  fathoms  (90  m.)  of 
water  when  the  soundings  were  taken  this  morning.  We  are 
moving  quickly  north  —  due  north  —  says  Peter.  It  does  look 
as  if  things  were  going  better.  Great  celebration  of  the  day, 
beginning  with  target  -  shooting.  Then  we  had  a  splendid 
dinner  of  four  courses,  which  put  our  digestive  apparatus 
to  a  severe  test.  The  Pram's  health  was  drunk  amidst  great 
and  stormy  applause.  The  proposer's  words  were  echoed  by 
all  hearts  when  he  said  that  she  was  such  an  excellent  ship 
for  our  purpose  that  we  could  not  imagine  a  better  (great  ap- 
plause), and  we  therefore  wished  her,  and  ourselves  with  her,  long 
life  ('Hear,  hear!').  After  supper  came  strawberry  and  lemon 
punch,  and  prizes  were  presented  with  much  cereniony  and  a 
good  deal  of  fun  ;  all  being  '  taken  off '  in  turn  in  suitable  mot- 
toes, for  the  most  part  composed  by  the  ship's  doctor.  There 
was  a  prize  for  each  man.  The  first  prize -taker  was  awarded 
the  wooden  cross  of  the  Order  of  the  Pram^  to  wear  suspended 
from  his  neck  by  a  ribbon  of  white  tape ;  the  last  received  a 
mirror,  in  which  to  see  his  fallen  greatness.  Smoking  in  the 
saloon  was  allowed  this  evening,  so  now  pipes,  toddy,  and  an 
animated  game  of  whist  ended  a  bright  and  successful  holiday. 

"  Sitting  here  now  alone,  my  thoughts  involuntarily  turn  to 
the  year  that  has  gone  since  we  stood  up  there  on  the  platform, 
and  she  threw  the  champagne  against  the  bow,  saying,  '  Pram 
is  your  name  !'  and  the  strong,  heavy  hull  began  to  glide  so 
gently.  I  held  her  hand  tight ;  the  tears  came  into  eyes  and 
throat,  and  one  could  not  get  out  a  word.  The  sturdy  hull  dived 
into  the  glittering  water  ;  a  sunny  haze  lay  over  the  whole  pict- 
ure. Never  shall  I  forget  the  moment  we  stood  there  together, 
looking  out  over  the  scene.  And  to  think  of  all  that  has  hap- 
pened these  last  four  months  !  Separated  by  sea  and  land  and 
ice  ;  coming  years,  too,  lying  between  us — it  is  all  just  the  con- 
tinuation of  what  happened  that  day.  But  how  long  is  it  to  last  ? 
I  have  such  difficulty  in  feeling  that  I  am  not  to  see  home  again 
soon.  When  I  begin  to  reflect,  I  know  that  it  may  be  long,  but 
I  will  not  believe  it. 

"  To-day,  moreover,  we  took  solemn  farewell  of  the  sun.    Half 
of  its  disk  showed  at  noon  for  the  last  time  above  the  edge  of  the 


152  FARTHEST  NORTH 

ice  in  the  south,  a  flattened  body,  with  a  dull  red  glow,  but  no 
heat.  Now  we  are  entering  the  night  of  winter.  What  is  it 
bringing  us  ?  Where  shall  we  be  when  the  sun  returns  ?  No 
one  can  tell.  To  console  us  for  the  loss  of  the  sun,  we  have  the 
most  wonderful  moonlight ;  the  moon  goes  round  the  sky  night 
and  day.  There  is,  strange  to  say,  little  pressure  just  now  ;  only 
an  occasional  slight  squeeze.  But  the  ice  often  opens  consider- 
ably ;  there  are  large  pieces  of  water  in  several  directions  ;  to- 
day there  were  some  good-sized  ones  to  the  south. 

"  Friday,  October  27th.  The  soundings  this  morning  showed 
52  fathoms  (95  m.)  of  water.  According  to  observations  taken 
yesterday  afternoon,  we  are  about  3'  farther  north  and  a  little 
farther  west  than  on  the  19th.  It  is  disgusting  the  way  we  are 
muddling  about  here.  We  must  have  got  into  a  hole  where  the 
ice  grinds  round  and  round,  and  can't  get  farther.  And  the 
time  is  passing  all  to  no  purpose  ;  and  goodness  only  knows  how 
long  this  sort  of  thing  may  go  on.  If  only  a  good  south  wind 
would  come  and  drive  us  north  out  of  this  hobble  1  The  boys 
have  taken  up  the  rudder  again  to-day.  While  they  were  working 
at  this  in  the  afternoon,  it  suddenly  grew  as  bright  as  day.  A 
strange  fire-ball  crossed  the  sky  in  the  west  —  giving  a  bluish- 
white  light,  they  said.  Johansen  ran  down  to  the  saloon  to  tell 
Hansen  and  me  ;  he  said  they  could  still  see  the  bright  trails  it 
had  left  in  its  train.  When  we  got  on  deck  we  saw  a  bent  bow 
of  light  in  the  Triangle,  near  Deheb.  The  meteor  had  disap- 
peared in  the  neighborhood  of  Epsilon  Cygni  (constellation 
Swan),  but  its  light  remained  for  a  long  time  floating  in  the  air 
like  glowing  dust.  No  one  had  seen  the  actual  fire-ball,  as  they 
had  all  had  their  backs  turned  to  it,  and  they  could  not  say  if  it  had 
burst.  This  is  the  second  great  meteor  of  exceptional  splendor 
that  has  appeared  to  us  in  these  regions.  The  ice  has  a  curious 
inclination  to  slacken,  without  pressure  having  occurred,  and 
every  now  and  then  we  find  the  ship  floating  in  open  water 
This  is  the  case  to-day. 

"  Saturday,  October  28th.  Nothing  of  any  importance.  Moon- 
shine night  and  day.     A  glow  in  the  south  from  the  sun. 

.  "  Sunday,  October  29th.  Peter  shot  a  white  fox  this  morn- 
ing close  in  to  the  ship.  For  some  time  lately  we  have  been  see- 
ing fox-tracks  in  the  mornings,  and  one  Sunday  Mogstad  saw  the 
fox  itself.     It  has,  no  doubt,  been  coming  regularly  to  feed  on 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  153 

the  offal  of  the  bears.  Shortly  after  the  first  one  was  shot  an- 
other was  seen  ;  it  came  and  smelled  its  dead  comrade,  but  soon 
set  off  again  and  disappeared.  It  is  remarkable  that  there  should 
be  so  many  foxes  on  this  drift-ice  so  far  from  land.  But,  after 
all,  it  is  not  much  more  surprising  than  my  coming  upon  fox- 
tracks  out  on  the  ice  between  Jan  Mayen  and  Spitzbergen. 

"Monday,  October  30th.  To-day  the  temperature  has  gone 
down  to  18°  below  zero  (  — 27°  C).  I  took  up  the  dredge  I  had 
put  out  yesterday.  It  brought  up  two  pails  of  mud  from  the  bot- 
tom, and  I  have  been  busy  all  day  washing  this  out  in  the  saloon 
in  a  large  bath,  to  get  the  many  animals  contained  in  it.  They 
were  chiefly  starfish,  waving  starfish,  medusae  {Astrophyton)^ 
sea-slugs,  coral  insects  {Alcyonaria),  worms,  sponges,  shell-fish, 
and  crustaceans ;  and  were,  of  course,  all  carefully  preserved  in 
spirits. 

"  Tuesday,  October  31st.  Forty-nine  fathoms  (90  m.)  of  water 
to-day,  and  the  current  driving  us  hard  to  the  southwest.  We 
have  good  wind  for  the  mill  now,  and  the  electric  lamps  burn  all 
day.  The  arc  lamp  under  the  skylight  makes  us  quite  forget 
the  want  of  sun.  Oh  I  light  is  a  glorious  thing,  and  life  is  fair 
in  spite  of  all  privations.  This  is  Sverdrup's  birthday,  and  we 
had  revolver  practice  in  the  morning.  Of  course  a  magnificent 
dinner  of  five  courses — chicken  soup,  boiled  mackerel,  reindeer 
ribs  with  baked  cauliflower  and  potatoes,  macaroni  pudding,  and 
stewed  pears  with  milk — Ringnes's  ale  to  wash  it  down. 

"  Thursday,  November  2d.  The  temperature  keeps  at  about 
22°  below  zero  (  —  30°  C.)  now  ;  but  it  does  not  feel  very  cold, 
the  air  is  so  still.  We  can  see  the  aurora  borealis  in  the  day- 
time too.  I  saw  a  very  remarkable  display  of  it  about  3  this 
afternoon.  On  the  southwestern  horizon  lay  the  glow  of  the 
sun  ;  in  front  of  it  light  clouds  were  swept  together — like  a  cloud 
of  dust  rising  above  a  distant  troop  of  riders.  Then  dark  stream- 
ers of  gauze  seemed  to  stretch  from  the  dust-cloud  up  over  the 
sky,  as  if  it  came  from  the  sun,  or  perhaps  rather  as  if  the  sun 
were  sucking  it  in  to  itself  from  the  whole  sky.  It  was  only  in 
the  southwest  that  these  streamers  were  dark  ;  a  little  higher  up, 
farther  from  the  sun  -  glow,  they  grew  white  and  shining,  like 
fine,  glistening  silver  gauze.  They  spread  over  the  vault  of 
heaven  above  us,  and  right  away  towards  the  north.  They  cer- 
tainly resembled  aurora  borealis ;  but  perhaps  they  might  be 


154  FARTHEST  NORTH 

only  light  vapors  hovering  high  up  in  the  sky  and  catching  the 
sunlight !  I  stood  long  looking  at  them.  They  were  singularly 
still,  but  they  were  northern  lights,  changing  gradually  in  the 
southwest  into  dark  cloud  -  streamers,  and  ending  in  the  dust- 
cloud  over  the  sun.  Hansen  saw  them  too,  later,  when  it  was 
dark.  There  was  no  doubt  of  their  nature.  His  impression  was 
that  the  aurora  borealis  spread  from  the  sun  over  the  whole  vault 
of  heaven  like  the  stripes  on  the  inner  skin  of  an  orange. 

"  Sunday,  November  5th.  A  great  race  on  the  ice  was  adver- 
tised for  to-day.  The  course  was  measured,  marked  off,  and 
decorated  with  flags.  The  cook  had  prepared  the  prizes — cakes, 
numbered  and  properly  graduated  in  size.  The  expectation  was 
great ;  but  it  turned  out  that,  from  excessive  training  during  the 
few  last  days,  the  whole  crew  were  so  stiff  in  the  legs  that  they 
were  not  able  to  move.  We  got  our  prizes  all  the  same.  One 
man  was  blindfolded,  and  he  decided  who  was  to  have  each  cake 
as  it  was  pointed  at.  This  just  arrangement  met  with  general 
approbation,  and  we  all  thought  it  a  pleasanter  way  of  getting 
the  prizes  than  running  half  a  mile  for  them. 

"  So  it  is  Sunday  once  more.  How  the  days  drag  past !  I 
work,  read,  think,  and  dream  ;  strum  a  little  on  the  organ  ;  go 
for  a  walk  on  the  ice  in  the  dark.  Low  on  the  horizon  in  the 
southwest  there  is  the  flush  of  the  sun — a  dark,  fierce  red,  as  if  of 
blood  aglow  with  all  life's  smouldering  longings — low  and  far  off, 
like  the  dreamland  of  youth.  Higher  in  the  sky  it  melts  into 
orange,  and  that  into  green  and  pale  blue  ;  and  then  comes  deep 
blue,  star-sown,  and  then  infinite  space,  where  no  dawn  will  ever 
break.  In  the  north  are  quivering  arches  of  faint  aurora,  trem- 
bling now  like  awakening  longings,  but  presently,  as  if  at  the 
touch  of  a  magic  wand,  to  storm  as  streams  of  light  through  the 
dark  blue  of  heaven — never  at  peace,  restless  as  the  very  soul  of 
man.  I  can  sit  and  gaze  and  gaze,  my  eyes  entranced  by  the 
dream -glow  yonder  in  the  west,  where  the  moon's  thin,  pale, 
silver  sickle  is  dipping  its  point  into  the  blood  ;  and  my  soul  is 
borne  beyond  the  glow,  to  the  sun,  so  far  off  now — and  to  the 
home-coming !  Our  task  accomplished,  we  are  making  our  way 
up  the  fjord  as  fast  as  sail  and  steam  can  carry  us.  On  both 
sides  of  us  the  homeland  lies  smiling  in  the  sun  ;  and  then  .  .  . 
the  sufferings  of  a  thousand  days  and  hours  melt  into  a  moment's 
inexpressible  joy.     Ugh  !  that  was  a  bitter  gust — I  jump  up  and 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  155 

walk  on.  What  am  I  dreaming  about !  so  far  yet  from  the  goal — 
hundreds  and  hundreds  of  miles  between  us,  ice  and  land  and 
ice  again.  And  we  are  drifting  round  and  round  in  a  ring,  be- 
wildered, attaining  nothing,  only  waiting,  always  waiting,  for 
what? 

" '  I  dreamt  I  lay  on  a  grassy  bank, 

And  the  sun  shone  warm  and  clear ; 
1  wakened  on  a  desert  isle, 
And  the  sky  was  black  and  drear.' 

"  One  more  look  at  the  star  of  home,  the  one  that  stood  that 
evening  over  Cape  Chelyuskin,  and  I  creep  on  board,  where  the 
windmill  is  turning  in  the  cold  wind,  and  the  electric  light  is 
streaming  out  from  the  skylight  upon  the  icy  desolation  of  the 
Arctic  night. 

"Wednesday,  November  8th.  The  storm  (which  we  had  had 
the  two  previous  days)  is  quite  gone  down  ;  not  even  enough 
breeze  for  the  mill.  We  tried  letting  the  dogs  sleep  on  the  ice 
last  night,  instead  of  bringing  them  on  board  in  the  evening,  as 
we  have  been  doing  lately.  The  result  was  that  another  dog  was 
torn  to  pieces  during  the  night.  It  was  'Ulabrand,'  the  old 
brown,  toothless  fellow,  that  went  this  time.  '  Job '  and  '  Moses ' 
had  gone  the  same  way  before.  Yesterday  evening's  observa- 
tions place  us  in  77°  43'  north  latitude  and  138°  8'  east  longitude. 
This  is  farther  south  than  we  have  been  yet.  No  help  for  it ;  but 
it  is  a  sorry  state  of  matters  ;  and  that  we  are  farther  east  than 
ever  before  is  only  a  poor  consolation.  It  is  new  moon  again,  and 
we  may  therefore  expect  pressure  ;  the  ice  is,  in  fact,  already 
moving  ;  it  began  to  split  on  Saturday,  and  has  broken  up  more 
each  day.  The  channels  have  been  of  a  good  size,  and  the  move- 
ment becomes  more  a  id  more  perceptible.  Yesterday  there  was 
slight  pressure,  and  we  noticed  it  again  this  morning  about  5 
o'clock.  To-day  the  ice  by  the  ship  has  opened,  and  we  are 
almost  afloat. 

"  Here  I  sit  in  the  still  winter  night  on  the  drifting  ice-floe, 
and  see  only  stars  above  me.  Far  off  I  see  the  threads  of  life 
twisting  themselves  into  the  intricate  web  which  stretches  un- 
broken from  life's  sweet  morning  dawn  to  the  eternal  death- 
stillness  of  the  ice.  Thought  follows  thought  — you  pick  the 
whole  to  pieces,  and  it  seems  so  small— but  high  above  all  towers 


156  FARTHEST  NORTH 

one  form.  .  .  .  Why  did  you  take  this  voyage?  .  .  .  Could  I  do 
otherwise  ?  Can  the  river  arrest  its  course  and  run  up  hill  ?  My 
plan  has  come  to  nothing.  That  palace  of  theory  which  I  reared, 
in  pride  and  self-confidence,  high  above  all  silly  objections  has 
fallen  like  a  house  of  cards  at  the  first  breath  of  wind.  Build  up 
the  most  ingenious  theories  and  you  may  be  sure  of  one  thing — 
that  fact  will  defy  them  all.  Was  I  so  very  sure?  Yes,  at  times  ; 
but  that  was  self-deception,  intoxication.  A  secret  doubt  lurked 
behind  all  the  reasoning.  It  seemed  as  though  the  longer  I 
defended  my  theory,  the  nearer  I  came  to  doubting  it.  But 
no,  there  is  no  getting  over  the  evidence  of  that  Siberian  drift- 
wood. 

"  But  if,  after  all,  we  are  on  the  wrong  track,  what  then  ? 
Only  disappointed  human  hopes,  nothing  more.  And  even  if  we 
perish,  what  will  it  matter  in  the  endless  cycles  of  eternity  ? 

"  Thursday,  November  9th.  I  took  temperatures  and  sea- 
water  samples  to-day  every  10  yards  from  the  surface  to  the  bot- 
tom. The  depth  was  9J  fathoms.  An  extraordinarily  even  tem- 
perature of  30°  Fahr.  (  —  1.5°  C.)  through  all  the  layers.  I  have 
noticed  the  same  thing  before  as  far  south  as  this.  So  it  is  only 
polar  water  here  ?  There  is  not  much  pressure  ;  an  inclination  to  it 
this  morning,  and  a  little  at  8  o'clock  this  evening  ;  also  a  few 
squeezes  later,  when  we  were  playing  cards. 

"  Friday,  November  loth.  This  morning  made  despairing  ex- 
aminations of  yesterday's  water  samples  with  Thornoe's  electric 
apparatus.  There  must  be  absolute  stillness  on  board  when  this 
is  going  on.  The  men  are  all  terrified,  slip  about  on  tiptoe,  and 
talk  in  the  lowest  possible  whispers.  But  presently  one  begins 
to  hammer  at  something  on  deck,  and  another  to  file  in  the  en- 
gine-room, when  the  chief's  commanding  voice  is  at  once  heard 
ordering  silence.  These  examinations  are  made  by  means  of  a 
telephone,  through  which  a  very  faint  noise  is  heard,  which  dies 
slowly  away ;  the  moment  at  which  it  stops  must  be  exactly  as 
certained. 

"  I  find  remarkably  little  salt  all  the  way  to  the  bottom  in  the 
water  here ;  it  must  be  mixed  with  fresh  water  from  the  Siberian 
river. 

"  There  was  some  pressure  this  morning,  going  on  till  nearly 
noon,  and  we  heard  the  noise  of  it  in  several  directions.  In  the 
afternoon  the  ice  was  quite  slack,  with  a  large  opening  alongside 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  ^  I57 

the  port  side  of  the  ship.  At  half-past  seven  pretty  strong  press- 
ure began,  the  ice  crashing  and  grinding  along  the  ship's  side. 
About  midnight  the  roar  of  packing  was  heard  to  the  south. 

"  Saturday,  November  i  ith.  There  has  been  some  pressure  in 
the  course  of  the  day.  The  newly  formed  ice  is  about  15  inches 
thick.  It  is  hard  on  the  top,  but  looser  and  porous  below.  This 
particular  piece  of  ice  began  to  form  upon  a  large  opening  in  the 
night  between  the  27th  and  28th  October,  so  it  has  frozen  15 
inches  in  15  days.  I  observed  that  it  froze  3  inches  the  first  night, 
and  5  inches  altogether  during  the  three  first  nights  ;  so  that  it 
has  taken  12  days  to  the  last  10  inches." 

Even  this  small  observation  serves  to  show  that  the  formation 
of  ice  goes  on  most  easily  where  the  crust  is  thin,  becoming  more 
and  more  difficult  as  the  thickness  increases,  until  at  a  certain 
thickness,  as  we  observed  later,  it  stops  altogether.  "  It  is  curi- 
ous that  the  pressure  has  gone  on  almost  all  day — no  slackening 
such  as  we  have  usually  observed." 

"Sunday,  November  19th.  Our  life  has  gone  on  its  usual 
monotonous  routine  since  the  nth.  The  wind  has  been  steadily 
from  the  south  all  week,  but  to-day  there  is  a  little  from  N.N.W. 
We  have  had  pressure  several  times,  and  have  heard  sounds  of  it 
in  the  southeast.  Except  for  this,  the  ice  has  been  unusually 
quiet,  and  it  is  closed  in  tightly  round  the  ship.  Since  the  last 
strong  pressure  we  have  had  probably  10  to  20  feet  of  ice  packed  in 
below  us.*  Hansen  to-day  worked  out  an  observation  taken  the 
day  before  yesterday,  and  surprised  us  with  the  welcome  intelli- 
gence that  we  have  travelled  44'  north  and  a  little  east  since  the 
3th.  We  are  now  in  78°  27'  north  latitude,  139°  23'  east  longitude. 
This  is  farther  east  than  we  have  been  yet.  For  any  sake,  let 
us  only  keep  on  as  we  are  going ! 

"  The  Fram  is  a  warm,  cosey  abode.  Whether  the  thermometer 
stands  at  22°  above  zero  or  at  22°  below  it  we  have  no  fire  in  the 
stove.  The  ventilation  is  excellent,  especially  since  we  rigged  up 
the  air  sail,  which  sends  a  whole  winter's  cold  in  through  the 
ventilator  ;  yet  in  spite  of  this  we  sit  here  warm  and  comfortable, 
with  only  a  lamp  burning.  I  am  thinking  of  having  the  stove 
removed  altogether  ;  it  is  only  in  the  way.     At  least,  as  far  as 

*  On  a  later  occasion  they  bored  down  30  feet  without  reaching  the 
lower  surface  of  the  ice. 


158  FARTHEST  NORTH 

our  protection  from  the  winter  cold  is  concerned,  my  calculations 
have  turned  out  well.  Neither  do  we  suffer  much  from  damp. 
It  does  collect  and  drop  a  little  from  the  roof  in  one  or  two  places, 
especially  astern  in  the  four-man  cabins,  but  nothing  in  compari- 
son with  what  is  common  in  other  ships  ;  and  if  we  lighted  the 
stove  it  would  disappear  altogether.  When  I  have  burned  a  lamp 
for  quite  a  short  time  in  my  cabin  every  trace  of  damp  is  gone.* 
These  are  extraordinary  fellows  for  standing  the  cold.  With  the 
thermometer  at  22°  below  zero  Bentzen  goes  up  in  his  shirt  and 
trousers  to  read  the  thermometer  on  deck. 

"  Monday,  November  27th.  The  prevailing  wind  has  been 
southerly,  with  sometimes  a  little  east.  The  temperature  still 
keeps  between  13°  and  22°  below  zero  ;  in  the  hold  it  has  fallen 

to   I2°." 

It  has  several  times  struck  me  that  the  streamers  of  the 
aurora  borealis  followed  in  the  direction  of  the  wind,  from  the 
wind's  eye  on  the  horizon.  On  Thursday  morning,  when  we  had 
very  slight  northeasterly  wind,  I  even  ventured  to  prophesy, 
from  the  direction  of  the  streamers,  that  it  would  go  round  to  the 
southeast,  which  it  accordingly  did.  On  the  whole  there  has 
been  much  less  of  the  aurora  borealis  lately  than  at  the  begin- 
ning of  our  drift.  Still,  though  it  may  have  been  faint,  there  has 
been  a  little  every  day.  To-night  it  is  very  strong  again.  These 
last  days  the  moon  has  sometimes  had  rings  round  it,  with  mock- 
moons  and  axes,  accompanied  by  rather  strange  phenomena. 
When  the  moon  stands  so  low  that  the  ring  touches  the  horizon, 
a  bright  field  of  light  is  formed  where  the  horizon  cuts  the  ring. 
Similar  expanses  of  light  are  also  formed  where  the  perpendicu- 
lar axis  from  the  moon  intersects  the  horizon.  Faint  rainbows 
are  often  to  be  seen  in  these  shining  light-fields  ;  yellow  was  gen- 
erally the  strongest  tint  nearest  the  horizon,  passing  over  into 
red,  and  then  into  blue.  Similar  colors  could  also  be  distin- 
guished in  the  mock-moons.  Sometimes  there  are  two  large  rings, 
the  one  outside  the  other,  and  then  there  may  be  four  mock- 
moons.     I  have  also  seen  part  of  a  new  ring  above  the  usual  one, 

*  When  we  had  fire  in  the  stoves  later,  especially  during  the  following 
winter,  there  was  not  a  sign  of  damp  anywhere  —  neither  in  saloon  nor 
small  cabins.  It  was,  if  anything,  rather  too  dry,  for  the  panels  of  the 
walls  and  roof  dried  and  shrank  considerably. 


THE  WINTER  NIGHT  159 

meeting  it  at  a  tangent  directly  above  the  moon.  As  is  well 
known,  these  various  ring  formations  round  the  sun,  as  well  as 
round  the  moon,  are  produced  by  the  refraction  of  rays  of  light 
by  minute  ice  crystals  floating  in  the  air. 

"  We  looked  for  pressure  with  full  moon  and  spring-tide  on 
23d  of  November ;  but  then,  and  for  several  days  afterwards,  the 
ice  was  quite  quiet.  On  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  the  25th, 
however,  its  distant  roar  was  heard  from  the  south,  and  we  have 
heard  it  from  the  same  direction  every  day  since.  This  morn- 
ing it  was  very  loud,  and  came  gradually  nearer.  At  9  o'clock  it 
was  quite  close  to  us,  and  this  evening  we  hear  it  near  us  again. 
It  seems,  however,  as  if  we  had  now  got  out  of  the  groove  to 
which  the  pressure  principally  confines  itself.  We  were  regular- 
ly in  it  before.  The  ice  round  us  is  perfectly  quiet.  The  proba- 
bility is  that  the  last  severe  pressure  packed  it  very  tight  about  us, 
and  that  the  cold  since  has  frozen  it  into  such  a  thick,  strong 
mass  that  it  offers  great  resistance,  while  the  weaker  ice  in  other 
places  yields  to  the  pressure.  The  depth  of  the  sea  is  increasing 
steadily,  and  we  are  drifting  north.  This  evening  Hansen  has 
worked  out  the  observations  of  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  finds 
that  we  are  in  79°  11'  north  latitude.  That  is  good,  and  the  way 
we  ought  to  get  on.  It  is  the  most  northern  point  we  have  reached 
yet,  and  to-day  we  are  in  all  likelihood  still  farther  north.  We 
have  made  good  way  these  last  days,  and  the  increasing  depth 
seems  to  indicate  a  happy  change  in  the  direction  of  our  drift. 
Have  we,  perhaps,  really  found  the  right  road  at  last  ?  We  are 
drifting  about  5'  a  day.  The  most  satisfactory  thing  is  that  there 
has  not  been  much  wind  lately,  especially  not  the  last  two  days ; 
yesterday  it  was  only  i  metre  per  second ;  to  -  day  is  perfectly 
still,  and  yet  the  depth  has  increased  21  fathoms  (40  m.)  in  these 
two  days.  It  seems  as  if  there  were  a  northerly  current,  after  all. 
No  doubt  many  disappointments  await  us  yet ;  but  why  not  rejoice 
while  fortune  smiles? 

''  Tuesday,  November  28th.  The  disappointment  lost  no  time 
in  coming.  There  had  been  a  mistake  either  in  the  observation 
or  in  Hansen's  calculations.  An  altitude  of  Jupiter  taken  yester- 
day evening  shows  us  to  be  in  76°  36'  north  latitude.  The  sound- 
ings to-day  showed  74  fathoms  (142  m.)  of  water,  or  about  the 
same  as  yesterday,  and  the  sounding-line  indicated  a  southwest- 
erly drift.  However  anxious  one  is  to  take  things  philosophically, 


i6o  FARTHEST  NORTH 

one  can't  help  feeling  a  little  depressed.  I  try  to  find  solace  in  a 
book  ;  absorb  myself  in  the  learning  of  the  Indians — their  happy 
faith  in  transcendental  powers,  in  the  supernatural  faculties  of 
the  soul,  and  in  a  future  life.  Oh,  if  one  could  only  get  hold  of  a 
little  supernatural  power  now,  and  oblige  the  winds  always  to 
blow  from  the  south  ! 

"  I  went  on  deck  this  evening  in  rather  a  gloomy  frame  of 
mind,  but  was  nailed  to  the  spot  the  moment  I  got  outside.  There 
is  the  supernatural  for  you — the  northern  lights  flashing  in  match- 
less power  and  beauty  over  the  sky  in  all  the  colors  of  the  rain- 
bow !  Seldom  or  never  have  I  seen  the  colors  so  brilliant.  The 
prevailing  one  at  first  was  yellow,  but  that  gradually  flickered 
over  into  green,  and  then  a  sparkling  ruby-red  began  to  show  at 
the  bottom  of  the  rays  on  the  under  side  of  the  arch,  soon  spread- 
ing over  the  whole  arch.  And  now  from  the  far-away  western 
horizon  a  fiery  serpent  writhed  itself  up  over  the  sky,  shining 
brighter  and  brighter  as  it  came.  It  split  into  three,  all  brilliant- 
ly glittering.  Then  the  colors  changed.  The  serpent  to  the 
south  turned  almost  ruby-red,  with  spots  of  yellow ;  the  one  in 
the  middle,  yellow ;  and  the  one  to  the  north,  greenish  white. 
Sheaves  of  rays  swept  along  the  side  of  the  serpents,  driven 
through  the  ether-like  waves  before  a  storm-wind.  They  sway 
backward  and  forward,  now  strong,  now  fainter  again.  The 
serpents  reached  and  passed  the  zenith.  Though  I  was  thinly 
dressed  and  shivering  with  cold,  I  could  not  tear  myself  away 
till  the  spectacle  was  over,  and  only  a  faintly  glowing  fiery  ser- 
pent near  the  western  horizon  showed  where  it  had  begun.  When 
I  came  on  deck  later  the  masses  of  light  had  passed  northward 
and  spread  themselves  in  incomplete  arches  over  the  northern 
sky.  If  one  wants  to  read  mystic  meanings  into  the  phenomena 
of  nature,  here,  surely,  is  the  opportunity. 

"The  observation  this  afternoon  showed  us  to  be  in  78°  38' 42" 
north  latitude.     This  is  anything  but  rapid  progress. 

"Wednesday,  November  29th.  Another  dog  has  been  bitten 
to  death  to-day — '  Fox,'  a  handsome,  powerful  animal.  He  was 
found  lying  dead  and  stiff  on  the  ice  at  our  stern  this  evening 
when  they  went  to  bring  the  dogs  in,  '  Suggen '  performing  her 
usual  duty  of  watching  the  body.  They  are  wretches,  these  dogs. 
But  now  I  have  given  orders  that  some  one  must  always  watch 
them  when  they  are  out  on  the  ice. 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  i6i 

"  Thursday,  November  30th.  The  lead  showed  a  depth  of  ex- 
actly 83  fathoms  (170  m.)  to-day,  and  it  seemed  by  the  line  as  if 
we  were  drifting  northwest.  We  are  almost  certainly  farther 
north  now  ;  hopes  are  rising,  and  life  is  looking  brighter  again. 
My  spirits  are  like  a  pendulum,  if  one  could  imagine  such  an  in- 
strument giving  all  sorts  of  irregular  swings  backward  and  for- 
ward. It  is  no  good  trying  to  take  the  thing  philosophically ;  I 
cannot  deny  that  the  question  whether  we  are  to  return  success- 
ful or  unsuccessful  affects  me  very  deeply.  It  is  quite  easy  to 
convince  myself  with  the  most  incontrovertible  reasoning  that 
what  really  matters  is  to  carry  through  the  expedition,  whether 
successfully  or  not,  and  get  safe  home  again.  I  could  not  but 
undertake  it ;  for  my  plan  was  one  that  I  felt  must  succeed,  and 
therefore  it  was  my  duty  to  try  it.  Well,  if  it  does  not  succeed, 
is  that  my  affair  ?  I  have  done  my  duty,  done  all  that  could 
be  done,  and  can  return  home  with  an  easy  conscience  to  the 
quiet  happiness  I  have  left  behind.  What  can  it  matter  whether 
chance,  or  whatever  name  you  like  to  give  it,  does  or  does  not 
allow  the  plan  to  succeed  and  make  our  names  immortal  ?  The 
worth  of  the  plan  is  the  same  whether  chance  smiles  or  frowns 
upon  it.  And  as  to  immortality,  happiness  is  all  we  want,  and 
that  is  not  to  be  had  here. 

"  I  can  say  all  this  to  myself  a  thousand  times  ;  I  can  bring 
myself  to  believe  honestly  that  it  is  all  a  matter  of  indifference 
to  me ;  but  none  the  less  my  spirits  change  like  the  clouds  of 
heaven  according  as  the  wind  blows  from  this  direction  or  from 
that,  or  the  soundings  show  the  depth  to  be  increasing  or  not, 
or  the  observations  indicate  a  northerly  or  southerly  drift. 
When  I  think  of  the  many  that  trust  us,  think  of  Norway,  think 
of  all  the  friends  that  gave  us  their  time,  their  faith,  and  their 
money,  the  wish  comes  that  they  may  not  be  disappointed,  and 
I  grow  sombre  when  our  progress  is  not  what  we  expected  it 
would  be.  And  she  that  gave  most — does  she  deserve  that  her 
sacrifice  should  have  been  made  in  vain  ?  Ah,  yes,  we  must  and 
will  succeed ! 

"  Sunday,  December  3d.  Sunday  again,  with  its  feeling  of 
peace,  and  its  permission  to  indulge  in  the  narcotic  of  happy 
day-dreams,  and  let  the  hours  go  idly  by  without  any  prickings 
of  conscience. 

"  To-day  the  bottom  was  not  reached  with  over  133  fathoms 


i62  FARTHEST  NORTH 

(250  m.)  of  line.  There  was  a  northeasterly  drift.  Yesterday's 
observation  showed  us  to  be  in  78°  44'  north  latitude,  that  is  5' 
farther  north  than  on  Tuesday.  It  is  horribly  slow ;  but  it  is 
forward,  and  forward  we  must  go  ;  there  can  be  no  question  of 
that. 

"Tuesday,  December  5th.  This  is  the  coldest  day  we  have 
had  yet,  with  the  thermometer  31°  below  zero  (—35.7°  C.)  and 
a  biting  wind  from  the  E.S.E.  Observation  in  the  afternoon 
shows  78°  50'  north  latitude  ;  that  is  6'  farther  north  than  on 
Saturday,  or  2'  per  day.  In  the  afternoon  we  had  magnificent 
aurora  borealis — glittering  arches  across  the  whole  vault  of  the 
sky  from  the  east  towards  the  west ;  but  when  I  was  on  deck 
this  evening  the  sky  was  overcast :  only  one  star  shone  through 
the  cloudy  veil — the  home  star.  How  I  love  it !  It  is  the  first 
thing  my  eye  seeks,  and  it  is  always  there,  shining  on  our  path. 
I  feel  as  if  no  ill  could  befall  us  as  long  as  I  see  it  there.  .  .  . 

"  Wednesday,  December  6th.  This  afternoon  the  ice  cracked 
abaft  the  starboard  quarter ;  this  evening  I  see  that  the  crack 
has  opened.  We  may  expect  pressure  now,  as  it  is  new  moon 
either  to-day  or  to-morrow. 

"  Thursday,  December  7th.  The  ice  pressed  at  the  stern  at 
5  o'clock  this  morning  for  about  an  hour.  I  lay  in  my  berth  and 
listened  to  it  creaking  and  grinding  and  roaring.  There  was 
slight  pressure  again  in  the  afternoon  ;  nothing  to  speak  of.  No 
slackening  in  the  forenoon, 

"  Friday,  December  8th.  Pressure  from  seven  till  eight  this 
morning.  As  I  was  sitting  drawing  in  the  afternoon  I  was 
startled  by  a  sudden  report  or  crash.  It  seemed  to  be  straight 
overhead,  as  if  great  masses  of  ice  had  fallen  from  the  rigging 
onto  the  deck  above  my  cabin.  Every  one  starts  up  and  throws 
on  some  extra  garment ;  those  that  are  taking  an  afternoon 
nap  jump  out  of  their  berths  right  into  the  middle  of  the  saloon, 
calling  out  to  know  what  has  happened.  Pettersen  rushes  up 
the  companion-ladder  in  such  wild  haste  that  he  bursts  open  the 
door  in  the  face  of  the  mate,  who  is  standing  in  the  passage 
holding  back  'Kvik,'  that  has  also  started  in  fright  from  the 
bed  in  the  chart-room,  where  she  is  expecting  her  confinement. 
On  deck  we  could  discover  nothing,  except  that  the  ice  was  in 
motion,  and  seemed  to  be  sinking  slowly  away  from  the  ship. 
Great  piles  had  been  packed  up  under  the  stern  this  morning 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  163 

and  yesterday.  The  explosion  was  probably  caused  by  a  violent 
pressure  suddenly  loosening  all  the  ice  along  the  ship's  side,  the 
ship  at  the  same  time  taking  a  strong  list  to  port.  There  was 
no  cracking  of  wood  to  be  heard,  so  that,  whatever  it  was,  the 
Fram  cannot  have  been  injured.  But  it  was  cold,  and  we  crept 
down  again. 

"  As  we  were  sitting  at  supper  about  6  o'clock,  pressure  sud- 
denly began.  The  ice  creaked  and  roared  so  along  the  ship's 
sides  close  by  us  that  it  was  not  possible  to  carry  on  any  con- 
nected conversation ;  we  had  to  scream,  and  all  agreed  with 
Nordahl  when  he  remarked  that  it  would  be  much  pleasanter 
if  the  pressure  would  confine  its  operations  to  the  bow  instead 
of  coming  bothering  us  here  aft.  Amidst  the  noise  we  caught 
every  now  and  again  from  the  organ  a  note  or  two  of  Kjerulf's 
melody — *  I  could  not  sleep  for  the  nightingale's  voice.'  The 
hurly-burly  outside  lasted  for  about  twenty  minutes,  and  then 
all  was  still.  ' 

"Later  in  the  evening  Hansen  came  down  to  give  notice  of 
what  really  was  a  remarkable  appearance  of  aurora  borealis. 
The  deck  was  brightly  illuminated  by  it,  and  reflections  of  its 
light  played  all  over  the  ice.  The  whole  sky  was  ablaze  with 
it,  but  it  was  brightest  in  the  south ;  high  up  in  that  direction 
glowed  waving  masses  of  fire.  Later  still  Hansen  came  again 
to  say  that  now  it  was  quite  extraordinary.  No  words  can  de- 
pict the  glory  that  met  our  eyes.  The  glowing  fire-masses  had 
divided  into  glistening,  many-colored  bands,  which  were  writh- 
ing and  twisting  across  the  sky  both  in  the  south  and  north. 
The  rays  sparkled  with  the  purest,  most  crystalline  rainbow 
colors,  chiefly  violet -red  or  carmine  and  the  clearest  green. 
Most  frequently  the  rays  of  the  arch  were  red  at  the  ends,  and 
changed  higher  up  into  sparkling  green,  which  quite  at  the  top 
turned  darker  and  went  over  into  blue  or  violet  before  disap- 
pearing in  the  blue  of  the  sky  ;  or  the  rays  in  one  and  the  same 
arch  might  change  from  clear  red  to  clear  green,  coming  and 
going  as  if  driven  by  a  storm.  It  was  an  endless  phantasma- 
goria of  sparkling  color,  surpassing  anything  that  one  can  dream. 
Sometimes  the  spectacle  reached  such  a  climax  that  one's  breath 
was  taken  away  ;  one  felt  that  now  something  extraordinary 
must  happen — at  the  very  least  the  sky  must  fall.  But  as  one 
stands  in  breathless  expectation,  down  the  whole  thing  trips,  as 


l64  FARTHEST  NORTH 

if  in  a  few  quick,  light  scale-runs,  into  bare  nothingness.  There 
is  something  most  undramatic  about  such  a  denouement^  but  it 
is  all  done  with  such  confident  assurance  that  one  cannot  take 
it  amiss ;  one  feels  one's  self  in  the  presence  of  a  master  who  has 
the  complete  command  of  his  instrument.  With  a  single  stroke 
of  the  bow  he  descends  lightly  and  elegantly  from  the  height  of 
passion  into  quiet,  every-day  strains,  only  with  a  few  more  strokes 
to  work  himself  up  into  passion  again.  It  seems  as  if  he  were 
trying  to  mock,  to  tease  us.  When  we  are  on  the  point  of  going 
below,  driven  by  6i  degrees  of  frost  (—34.7  C),  such  magnificent 
tones  again  vibrate  over  the  strings  that  we  stay  until  noses 
and  ears  are  frozen.  For  a  finale,  there  is  a  wild  display  of  fire- 
works in  every  tint  of  flame — such  a  conflagration  that  one  ex- 
pects every  minute  to  have  it  down  on  the  ice,  because  there 
is  not  room  for  it  in  the  sky.  But  I  can  hold  out  no  longer. 
Thinly  dressed,  without  a  proper  cap  and  without  gloves,  I  have 
no  feeling  left  in  body  or  limbs,  and  I  crawl  away  below. 

"Sunday,  December  loth.  Another  peaceful  Sunday.  The 
motto  for  the  day  in  the  English  almanac  is :  'He  is  happy 
whose  circumstances  suit  his  temper :  but  he  is  more  excellent 
who  can  suit  his  temper  to  any  circumstances'  (Hume).  Very 
true,  and  exactly  the  philosophy  I  am  practising  at  this  moment. 
I  am  lying  on  my  berth  in  the  light  of  the  electric  lamp,  eating 
cake  and  drinking  beer  while  I  am  writing  my  journal ;  present- 
ly I  shall  take  a  book  and  settle  down  to  read  and  sleep.  The 
arc  lamp  has  shone  like  a  sun  to-day  over  a  happy  company.  We 
have  no  difficulty  now  in  distinguishing  hearts  from  diamonds 
on  our  dirty  cards.  It  is  wonderful  what  an  effect  light  has.  I 
believe  I  am  becoming  a  fire- worshipper.  It  is  strange  enough 
that  fire-worship  should  not  exist  in  the  Arctic  countries. 

" '  For  the  sons  of  men 
Fire  is  the  best, 
And  the  sight  of  the  sun.' 

"  A  newspaper  appears  on  board  now.  Framsjaa  *  (news  of, 
or  outlook  from,  the  Frani)  is  its  name,  and  our  doctor  is  its 

*  Apparently  modelled  on  the  title  of  the  well  -  known  magazine, 
Kringsjaa,  which  means  "  A  Look  Around  "  or  "  Survey."  Framsjaa 
might  be  translated  "  The  Fram's  Lookout." 


^  < 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  l6s 

irresponsible  editor.  The  first  number  was  read  aloud  this  even- 
ing and  gave  occasion  for  much  merriment.  Among  its  con- 
tents are : 

"•WINTER  IN  THE  ICE 


(Contribution  to  the  Infant  Framsjad) 

Far  in  the  ice  there  lies  a  ship,  boys, 

Mast  and  sail  ice  to  the  very  tip,  boys; 

But,  perfectly  clear, 

If  you  listen  you  can  hear. 

There  are  life  and  fun  on  board  that  ship,  boys. 

What  can  it  be.? 

Come  along  and  see — 

It  is  Nansen  and  his  men  that  laugh,  boys. 

Nothing  to  be  heard  at  night  but  glasses'  clink,  boys ; 

Fall  of  greasy  cards  and  counters'  chink,  boys ; 

If  he  won't  "  declare," 

Nordahl  he  will  swear. 

Bentzen  is  stupid  as  an  owl,  boys. 

Bentzen  cool,  boys. 

Is  not  a  fool,  boys ; 

•'  You're  another !"  quickly  he  replies,  boys. 

Among  those  sitting  at  table,  boys. 

Is  "  Heika,"*  with  his  body  big  and  stable,  boys ; 

He  and  Lars,  so  keen, 

It  would  almost  seem 

They  would  stake  their  lives  if  they  were  able,  boys. 

Amundsen,  again. 

Looks  at  these  two  men. 

Shakes  his  head  and  sadly  goes  to  bed,  boys.t 

Sverdrup,  Blessing,  Hansen,  and  our  Mohn.J  boys. 
Say  of  " marriage,"  "This  game  is  our  own,"  boys; 

*  The  name  Peter  Henriksen  generally  went  by  on  board. 

t  Refers  to  the  fact  that  Amundsen  hated  card-playing  more  than  any- 
thing else  in  the  world.     He  called  cards  "  the  devil's  playbooks." 

X  Nickname  of  our  meteorologist,  Johansen,  Professor  Mohn  being  a 
distinguished  Norwegian  meteorologist. 


i66  FARTHEST  NORTH 

Soon  for  them,  alas ! 

The  happy  hour  is  past; 

And  Hansen  he  says,  "  Come  away,  old  Mohn !"  boys. 

"  It  is  getting  late, 

And  the  stars  won't  wait, 

You  and  I  must  up  and  out  alone,"  boys. 

The  doctor  here  on  board  has  naught  to  do,  boys ; 

Not  a  man  to  test  his  skill  among  the  crew,  boys; 

Well  may  he  look  blue. 

There's  nought  for  him  to  do, 

When  every  man  is  strong  and  hearty,  too,  boys. 

"  Now  on  the  Fram"  boys. 

He  says  "  I  am,"  boys, 

"Chief  editor  of  newspaper  for  you!"  boys. 

"'Warning!!! 

" '  I  think  it  is  my  duty  to  warn  the  public  that  a  travelling 
watchmaker  has  been  making  the  round  of  this  neighborhood 
lately,  getting  watches  to  repair,  and  not  returning  them  to 
their  owners.  How  long  is  this  to  be  allowed  to  go  on  under 
the  eyes  of  the  authorities  ? 

" '  The  watchmaker's  appearance  is  as  follows  :  Middle  height, 
fair,  gray  eyes,  brown  full  beard,  round  shoulders,  and  generally 
delicate-looking. 

"'A.   JUELL.* 

"'The  person  above  notified  was  in  our  office  yesterday,  ask- 
ing for  work,  and  we  consider  it  right  to  add  the  following  par- 
ticulars as  completing  the  description.  He  generally  goes  about 
with  a  pack  of  mongrel  curs  at  his  heels  ;  he  chews  tobacco,  and 
of  this  his  beard  shows  traces.  This  is  all  we  have  to  say,  as  we 
did  not  consider  ourselves  either  entitled  or  called  upon  to  put 
him  under  the  microscope. 

" '  Ed.  Framsjaa' 

"Yesterday's  observation  placed  us  in  79°©'  north  latitude, 
139°  14'  east  longitude.     At  last,  then,  we  have  got  as  far  north 

♦This  signature  proved  to  be  forged,  and  gave  rise  to  a  lawsuit  so 
long  and  intricate  that  space  does  not  permit  an  account  of  it  to  be  given. 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT     ,  167 

again  as  we  were  in  the  end  of  September,  and  now  the  norther- 
ly drift  seems  to  be  steady  :  10  minutes  in  4  days. 

"  Monday,  December  i  ith.  This  morning  I  took  a  long  ex- 
cursion to  westward.  It  is  hard  work  struggling  over  the  packed 
ice  in  the  dark,  something  like  scrambling  about  a  moraine  of 
big  bowlders  at  night.  Once  I  took  a  step  in  the  air,  fell  for- 
ward, and  bruised  my  right  knee.  It  is  mild  to  -  day,  only  9^^° 
below  zero  (—23°  C).  This  evening  there  was  a  strange  appear- 
ance of  aurora  borealis — white,  shining  clouds,  which  I  thought 
at  first  must  be  lit  up  by  the  moon,  but  there  is  no  moon  yet. 
They  were  light  cumuli,  or  cirro-cumuli,  shifting  into  a  brightly 
shining  mackerel  sky.  I  stood  and  watched  them  as  long  as  my 
thin  clothing  permitted,  but  there  was  no  perceptible  pulsation, 
no  play  of  flame  ;  they  sailed  quietly  on.  The  light  seemed  to  be 
strongest  in  the  southeast,  where  there  were  also  dark  clouds  to 
be  seen.  Hansen  said  that  it  moved  over  later  into  the  northern 
sky  ;  clouds  came  and  went,  and  for  a  time  there  were  many 
white  shining  ones — *  white  as  lambs,'  he  called  them — but  no 
aurora  played  behind  them. 

"In  this  day's  meteorological  journal  I  find  noted  for  4  p.m.: 
'  Faint  aurora  borealis  in  the  north.  Some  distinct  branchings 
or  antlers  (they  are  of  ribbon  crimped  like  blond)  in  some  dif- 
fused patches  on  the  horizon  in  the  N.N.E.'  In  his  aurora  bo- 
realis journal  Hansen  describes  that  of  this  evening  as  follows : 
'About  8  P.M.  an  aurora  borealis  arch  of  light  was  observed, 
stretching  from  E.S.E.  to  N.W.,  through  the  zenith  ;  diffused 
quiet  intensity  3-4  most  intense  in  N.W.  The  arch  spread  at 
the  zenith  by  a  wave  to  the  south.  At  10  o'clock  there  was  a 
fainter  aurora  borealis  in  the  southern  sky  ;  eight  minutes  later 
it  extended  to  the  zenith,  and  two  minutes  after  this  there  was  a 
shining  broad  arch  across  the  zenith  with  intensity  6.  Twelve 
seconds  later  flaming  rays  shot  from  the  zenith  in  an  easterly 
direction.  During  the  next  half-hour  there  was  constant  aurora, 
chiefly  in  bands  across  or  near  the  zenith,  or  lower  in  the  south- 
ern sky.  The  observation  ended  about  10.38.  The  intensity  was 
then  2,  the  aurora  diffused  over  the  southern  sky.  There  were 
cumulus  clouds  of  varying  closeness  all  the  time.  They  came 
up  in  the  southeast  at  the  beginning  of  the  observation,  and 
disappeared  towards  the  end  of  it  ;  they  were  closest  about 
10  minutes  past  10.     At  the  time  that  the  broad  shining  arch 


i68  FARTHEST  NORTH 

through  the  zenith  was  at  its  highest  intensity  the  cumulus 
clouds  in  the  northwest  shone  quite  white,  though  we  were  un- 
able to  detect  any  aurora  borealis  phenomena  in  this  quarter. 
The  reflection  of  light  on  the  ice-field  was  pretty  strong  at  the 
same  time.  In  the  aurora  borealis  the  cumulus  clouds  appeared 
of  a  darker  color,  almost  the  gray  of  wool.  The  colors  of  the 
aurora  were  yellowish,  bluish  white,  milky  blue — cold  coloring.* 
According  to  the  meteorological  journal  there  was  still  aurora 
borealis  in  the  southern  sky  at  midnight. 

"Tuesday,  December  12th.  Had  a  long  walk  southeast  this 
morning.  The  ice  is  in  much  the  same  condition  there  as  it  is  to 
the  west,  packed  or  pressed  up  into  mounds,  with  flat  floes  between. 
This  evening  the  dogs  suddenly  began  to  make  a  great  commo- 
tion on  deck.  We  were  all  deep  in  cards,  some  playing  whist, 
others  *  marriage.'  I  had  no  shoes  on,  so  said  that  some  one  else 
must  go  up  and  see  what  was  the  matter.  Mogstad  went.  The 
noise  grew  worse  and  worse.  Presently  Mogstad  came  down 
and  said  that  all  the  dogs  that  could  get  at  the  rail  were  up  on 
it,  barking  out  into  the  dark  towards  the  north.  He  was  sure 
there  must  be  an  animal  of  some  sort  there,  but  perhaps  it  was 
only  a  fox,  for  he  thought  he  had  heard  the  bark  of  a  fox  far  in 
the  north  ;  but  he  was  not  sure.  Well — it  must  be  a  devil  of  a 
fox  to  excite  the  dogs  like  that.  As  the  disturbance  continued, 
I  at  last  went  up  myself,  followed  by  Johansen.  From  diff'erent 
positions  we  looked  long  and  hard  into  the  darkness  in  the  di- 
rection in  which  the  dogs  were  barking,  but  we  could  see  noth- 
ing moving.  That  something  must  be  there  was  quite  certain  ; 
and  I  had  no  doubt  that  it  was  a  bear,  for  the  dogs  were  almost 
beside  themselves.  *  Pan  '  looked  up  into  my  face  with  an  odd  ex- 
pression, as  if  he  had  something  important  to  tell  me,  and  then 
jumped  up  on  the  rail  and  barked  away  to  the  north.  The  dogs' 
excitement  was  quite  remarkable ;  they  had  not  been  so  keen 
when  the  bear  was  close  in  to  the  side  of  the  ship.  However,  I 
contented  myself  with  remarking  that  the  thing  to  do  would  be 
to  loose  some  dogs  and  go  north  with  them  over  the  ice.  But 
these  wretched  dogs  won't  tackle  a  bear,  and  besides  it  is  so 
dark  that  there  is  hardly  a  chance  of  finding  anything.  If  it  is  a 
bear  he  will  come  again.  At  this  season,  when  he  is  so  hungry, 
he  will  hardly  go  right  away  from  all  the  good  food  for  him 
here  on  board.     I  struck  about  with  my  arms  to  get  a  little  heat 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  169 

into  me,  then  went  below  and  to  bed.  The  dogs  went  on  bark- 
ing, sometimes  louder  than  before.  Nordahl,  whose  watch  it 
was,  went  up  several  times,  but  could  discover  no  reason  for  it. 
As  I  was  lying  reading  in  my  berth  I  heard  a  peculiar  sound ;  it 
was  like  boxes  being  dragged  about  on  deck,  and  there  was  also 
scraping,  like  a  dog  that  wanted  to  get  out  scratching  violently 
at  a  door.  I  thought  of  '  Kvik,'  that  was  shut  up  in  the  chart- 
room.  I  called  into  the  saloon  to  Nordahl  that  he  had  better  go 
up  again  and  see  what  this  new  noise  was.  He  did  so,  but  came 
back  saying  that  there  was  still  nothing  to  be  seen.  It  was  dif- 
ficult to  sleep,  and  I  lay  long  tossing  about.  Peter  came  on 
watch.  I  told  him  to  go  up  and  turn  the  air  sail  to  the  wind, 
to  make  the  ventilation  better.  He  was  a  good  time  on  deck 
doing  this  and  other  things,  but  he  also  could  see  no  reason  for 
the  to-do  the  dogs  were  still  making.  He  had  to  go  forward, 
and  then  noticed  that  the  three  dogs  nearest  the  starboard 
gangway  were  missing.  He  came  down  and  told  me,  and  we 
agreed  that  possibly  this  might  be  what  all  the  excitement  was 
about ;  but  never  before  had  they  taken  it  so  to  heart  when 
some  of  their  number  had  run  away.  At  last  I  fell  asleep,  but 
heard  them  in  my  sleep  for  a  long  time. 

"  Wednesday,  December  13th.  Before  I  was  rightly  awake 
this  morning  I  heard  the  dogs  '  at  it '  still,  and  the  noise  went 
on  all  the  time  of  breakfast,  and  had,  I  believe,  gone  on  all  night. 
After  breakfast  Mogstad  and  Peter  went  up  to  feed  the  wretched 
creatures  and  let  them  loose  on  the  ice.  Three  were  still  miss- 
ing. Peter  came  down  to  get  a  lantern  ;  he  thought  he  might 
as  well  look  if  there  were  any  tracks  of  animals.  Jacobsen 
called  after  him  that  he  had  better  take  a  gun.  No,  he  did  not 
need  one,  he  said.  A  little  later,  as  I  was  sitting  sorrowfully  ab- 
sorbed in  the  calculation  of  how  much  petroleum  we  had  used, 
and  how  short  a  time  our  supply  would  last  if  we  went  on  burn- 
ing it  at  the  same  rate,  I  heard  a  scream  at  the  top  of  the  com- 
panion. '  Come  with  a  gun  !'  In  a  moment  I  was  in  the  saloon, 
and  there  was  Peter  tumbling  in  at  the  door,  breathlessly  shout- 
ing, '  A  gun  !  a  gun  !'  The  bear  had  bitten  him  in  the  side. 
I  was  thankful  that  it  was  no  worse.  Hearing  him  put  on  so 
much  dialect,*  I  had  thought  it  was  a  matter  of  life  or  death.     I 

*  He  says  "  ei  borsja  "  for  "  a  gun,"  instead  of  "  en  bosse." 


lyo  FARTHEST  NORTH 

seized  one  gun,  he  another,  and  up  we  rushed,  the  mate  with 
his  gun  after  us.  There  was  not  much  difficulty  in  knowing  in 
what  direction  to  turn,  for  from  the  rail  on  the  starboard  side 
came  confused  shouts  of  human  voices,  and  from  the  ice  below 
the  gangway  the  sound  of  a  frightful  uproar  of  dogs.  I  tore  out 
the  tow-plug  at  the  muzzle  of  my  rifle,  then  up  with  the  lever 
and  in  with  a  cartridge  ;  it  was  a  case  of  hurry.  But,  hang 
it !  there  is  a  plug  in  at  this  end  too  I  poked  and  poked,  but 
could  not  get  a  grip  of  it.  Peter  screamed  :  '  Shoot,  shoot ! 
Mine  won't  go  off !'  He  stood  clicking  and  clicking,  his  lock  full 
of  frozen  vaseline  again,  while  the  bear  lay  chewing  at  a  dog  just 
below  us  at  the  ship's  side.  Beside  me  stood  the  mate,  groping 
after  a  tow  -  plug  which  he  also  had  shoved  down  into  his  gun, 
but  now  he  flung  the  gun  angrily  away  and  began  to  look  round 
the  deck  for  a  walrus  spear  to  stick  the  bear  with.  Our  fourth 
man,  Mogstad,  was  waving  an  empty  rifle  (he  had  shot  away  his 
cartridges),  and  shouting  to  some  one  to  shoot  the  bear.  Four 
men,  and  not  one  that  could  shoot,  although  we  could  have 
prodded  the  bear's  back  with  our  gun-barrels.  Hansen,  making 
a  fifth,  was  lying  in  the  passage  to  the  chart-room,  groping  with 
his  arm  through  a  chink  in  the  door  for  cartridges ;  he  could  not 
get  the  door  open  because  of  *  Kvik's '  kennel.  At  last  Johansen 
appeared  and  sent  a  ball  straight  down  into  the  bear's  hide. 
That  did  some  good.  The  monster  let  go  the  dog  and  gave  a 
growl.  Another  shot  flashed  and  hissed  down  on  the  same  spot. 
One  more,  and  we  saw  the  white  dog  the  bear  had  under  him 
jump  up  and  run  off,  while  the  other  dogs  stood  round,  barking. 
Another  shot  still,  for  the  animal  began  to  stir  a  little.  At  this 
moment  my  plug  came  out,  and  I  gave  him  a  last  ball  through 
the  head  to  make  sure.  The  dogs  had  crowded  round  barking 
as  long  as  he  moved,  but  now  that  he  lay  still  in  death  they 
drew  back  terrified.  They  probably  thought  it  was  some  new 
ruse  of  the  enemy.  It  was  a  little  thin  one-year-old  bear  that 
had  caused  all  this  terrible  commotion. 

"  While  it  was  being  flayed  I  went  off  in  a  northwesterly  di- 
rection to  look  for  the  dogs  that  were  still  missing.  I  had  not 
gone  far  when  I  noticed  that  the  dogs  that  were  following  me 
had  caught  scent  of  something  to  the  north  and  wanted  to  go 
that  way.  Soon  they  got  frightened,  and  I  could  not  get  them  to 
go  on  ;  they  kept  close  in  to  my  side  or  slunk  behind  me.     I  held 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  171 

my  gun  ready,  while  I  crawled  on  all  -  fours  over  the  pack-ice, 
which  was  anything  but  level.  I  kept  a  steady  lookout  ahead, 
but  it  was  not  far  my  eyes  could  pierce  in  that  darkness.  I 
could  only  just  see  the  dogs  like  black  shadows,  when  they  were 
a  few  steps  away  from  me.  I  expected  every  moment  to  see  a 
huge  form  rise  among  the  hummocks  ahead,  or  come  rushing 
towards  me.  The  dogs  got  more  and  more  cautious  ;  one  or  two 
of  them  sat  down,  but  they  probably  felt  that  it  would  be  a 
shame  to  let  me  go  on  alone,  so  followed  slowly  after.  Terrible 
ice  to  force  one's  way  over.  Crawling  along  on  hands  and  knees 
does  not  put  one  in  a  very  convenient  position  to  shoot  from  if 
the  bear  should  make  a  sudden  rush.  But  unless  he  did  this,  or 
attacked  the  dogs,  I  had  no  hope  of  getting  him.  We  now  came 
out  on  some  flat  ice.  It  was  only  too  evident  that  there  must 
be  something  quite  near  now.  I  went  on,  and  presently  saw  a 
dark  object  on  the  ice  in  front  of  me.  It  was  not  unlike  an  ani- 
mal. I  bent  down — it  was  poor  '  Johansen's  Friend,'  the  black 
dog  with  the  white  tip  to  his  tail,  in  a  sad  state  and  frozen  stiff. 
Beside  him  was  something  else  dark.  I  bent  down  again  and 
found  the  second  of  the  missing  dogs,  brother  of  the  corpse- 
watcher  *  Suggen.'  This  one  was  almost  whole,  only  eaten  a  lit- 
tle about  the  head,  and  it  was  not  frozen  quite  stiff.  There 
seemed  to  be  blood  all  round  on  the  ice.  I  looked  about  in  every 
direction,  but  there  was  nothing  more  to  be  seen.  The  dogs 
stood  at  a  respectful  distance,  staring  and  sniffing  in  the  direc- 
tion of  their  dead  comrades.  Some  of  us  went,  not  long  after 
this,  to  fetch  the  dogs'  carcasses,  taking  a  lantern  to  look  for 
bear  tracks,  in  case  there  had  been  some  big  fellows  along  with 
the  little  one.  We  scrambled  on  among  the  pack-ice.  'Come 
this  way  with  the  lantern,  Bentzen  ;  I  think  I  see  tracks  here.' 
Bentzen  came,  and  we  turned  the  light  on  some  indentations  in 
the  snow  ;  they  were  bear-paw  marks,  sure  enough,  but  only  the 
same  little  fellow's.  '  Look  !  the  brute  has  been  dragging  a  dog 
after  him  here.'  By  the  light  of  the  lantern  we  traced  the  blood- 
marked  path  on  among  the  hummocks.  We  found  the  dead  dogs, 
but  no  footprints  except  small  ones,  which  we  all  thought  must 
be  those  of  our  little  bear.  *  Svarten,'  alias  '  Johansen's  Friend,' 
looked  bad  in  the  lantern -light.  Flesh  and  skin  and  entrails 
were  gone  ;  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  but  a  bare  breast  and 
backbone,  with  some  stumps  of  ribs.     It  was  a  pity  that  the  fine 


1/2  FARTHEST  NORTH 

strong  dog  should  come  to  such  an  end.  He  had  just  one  fault : 
he  was  rather  bad-tempered.  He  had  a  special  dislike  to  Johan- 
sen  ;  barked  and  showed  his  teeth  whenever  he  came  on  deck  or 
even  opened  a  door,  and  when  he  sat  whistling  in  the  top  or  in 
the  crow's-nest  these  dark  winter  days  the  '  Friend '  would  an- 
swer with  a  howl  of  rage  from  far  out  on  the  ice.  Johansen  bent 
down  with  the  lantern  to  look  at  the  remains. 

"  *  Are  you  glad,  Johansen,  that  your  enemy  is  done  for  ?' 

"  '  No,  I  am  sorry.' 

"'Why?' 

" '  Because  we  did  not  make  it  up  before  he  died.* 

"And  we  went  on  to  look  for  more  bear -tracks,  but  found 
none  ;  so  we  took  the  dead  dogs  on  our  backs  and  turned  home- 
ward. 

"On  the  way  I  asked  Peter  what  had  really  happened  with 
him  and  the  bear.  '  Well,  you  see,'  said  he,  '  when  I  came  along 
with  the  lantern  we  saw  a  few  drops  of  blood  by  the  gangway ; 
but  that  might  quite  well  have  been  a  dog  that  had  cut  itself. 
On  the  ice  below  the  gangway  we  saw  some  bear-tracks,  and  we 
started  away  west,  the  whole  pack  of  dogs  with  us,  running  on 
far  ahead.  When  we  had  got  away  a  bit  from  the  ship,  there  was 
suddenly  an  awful  row  in  front,  and  it  wasn't  long  before  a  great 
beast  came  rushing  at  us,  with  the  whole  troop  of  dogs  around  it. 
As  soon  as  we  saw  what  it  was,  we  turned  and  ran  our, best  for 
the  ship.  Mogstad,  you  see,  had  moccasins  (komager)  on,  and 
knew  his  way  better  and  got  there  before  me.  I  couldn't  get 
along  so  fast  with  my  great  wooden  shoes,  and  in  my  confusion 
I  got  right  onto  the  big  hummock  to  the  west  of  the  ship's  bow, 
you  know.  I  turned  here  and  lighted  back  to  see  if  the  bear 
was  behind  me,  but  I  saw  nothing  and  pushed  on  again,  and  in 
a  minute  these  slippery  wooden  shoes  had  me  flat  on  my  back 
among  the  hummocks.  I  was  up  again  quick  enough  ;  but  when 
I  got  down  onto  the  flat  ice  close  to  the  ship  I  saw  something 
coming  straight  for  me  on  the  right-hand  side.  First  I  thought 
it  was  a  dog — it's  not  so  easy  to  see  in  the  dark,  you  know.  I 
had  no  time  for  a  second  thought,  for  the  beast  jumped  on  me 
and  bit  me  in  the  side.  I  had  lifted  my  arm  like  this,  you  see, 
and  so  he  caught  me  here,  right  on  the  hip.  He  growled  and 
hissed  as  he  bit.' 

"  *  What  did  you  think  then,  Peter  ?' 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  i73 

*' '  What  did  I  think  ?  I  thought  it  was  all  up  with  me.  What 
was  I  to  do?  I  had  neither  gun  nor  knife.  But  I  took  the 
lantern  and  gave  him  such  a  whack  on  the  head  with  it  that  the 
thing  broke,  and  went  flying  away  over  the  ice.  The  moment  he 
felt  the  blow  he  sat  down  and  looked  at  me.  I  was  just  taking 
to  my  heels  when  he  got  up  ;  I  don't  know  whether  it  was  to 
grip  me  again  or  what  it  was  for,  but  anyhow  at  that  minute  he 
caught  sight  of  a  dog  coming  and  set  off  after  it,  and  I  got  on 
board.' 

"  *  Did  you  scream,  Peter  ?' 

"  *  Scream  !     I  screamed  with  all  my  might.' 

"  And  apparently  this  was  true,  for  he  was  quite  hoarse. 

"  *  But  where  was  Mogstad  all  this  time  ?' 

"  *  Well,  you  see,  he  had  reached  the  ship  long  before  me,  but 
he  never  thought  of  running  down  and  giving  the  alarm,  but 
takes  his  gun  from  the  round-house  wall  and  thinks  he'll  manage 
all  right  alone  ;  but  his  gun  wouldn't  go  off,  and  the  bear  would 
have  had  time  to  eat  me  up  before  his  nose.' 

"We  were  now  near  the  ship,  and  Mogstad,  who  had  heard 
the  last  part  of  the  story  from  the  deck,  corrected  it  in  so  far 
that  he  had  just  reached  the  gangway  when  Peter  began  to  roar. 
He  jumped  up  and  fell  back  three  times  before  he  got  on  board, 
and  had  no  time  to  do  anything  then  but  seize  his  gun  and  go 
to  Peter's  assistance. 

"  When  the  bear  left  Peter  and  rushed  after  the  dogs  he  soon 
had  the  whole  pack  about  him  again.  Now  he  would  make  a 
spring  and  get  one  below  him ;  but  then  all  the  rest  would  set 
upon  him  and  jump  on  his  back,  so  that  he  had  to  turn  to  defend 
himself.  Then  he  would  spring  upon  another  dog,  and  the  whole 
pack  would  be  on  him  again.  And  so  the  dance  went  on,  back- 
ward and  forward  over  the  ice,  until  they  were  once  more  close 
to  the  ship.  A  dog  stood  there,  below  the  gangway,  wanting  to 
get  on  board  ;  the  bear  made  a  spring  on  it,  and  it  was  there,  by 
the  ship's  side,  that  the  villain  met  his  fate. 

"  An  examination  on  board  showed  that  the  hook  of  '  Svar- 
ten's '  leash  was  pulled  out  quite  straight ;  *  Gammelen's '  was 
broken  through  ;  but  the  third  dog's  was  only  wrenched  a  little  ; 
it  hardly  looked  as  if  the  bear  had  done  it.  I  had  a  slight  hope 
that  this  dog  might  still  be  in  life,  but,  though  we  searched  well, 
we  could  not  find  it. 


174  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"It  was  altogether  a  deplorable  story.  To  think  that  we 
should  have  let  a  bear  scramble  on  board  like  this,  and  should 
have  lost  three  dogs  at  once  !  Our  dogs  are  dwindling  down  ; 
we  have  only  26  now.  That  was  a  wily  demon  of  a  bear,  to  be 
such  a  little  one.  He  had  crawled  on  board  by  the  gangway, 
shoved  away  a  box  that  was  standing  in  front  of  it,  taken  the 
dog  that  stood  nearest,  and  gone  off  with  it.  When  he  had  sat- 
isfied the  first  pangs  of  his  hunger,  he  had  come  back  and  fetched 
No.  2,  and,  if  he  had  been  allowed,  he  would  have  continued  the 
performance  until  the  deck  was  cleared  of  dogs.  Then  he  would 
probably  have  come  bumping  down-stairs  'and  beckoned  with 
cold  hand '  in  at  the  galley  door  to  Juell.  It  must  have  been  a 
pleasant  feeling  for  '  Svarten  '  to  stand  there  in  the  dark  and  see 
the  bear  come  creeping  in  upon  him. 

"When  I  went  below  after  this  bear  affair,  Juell  said  as  I 
passed  the  galley  door,  '  You'll  see  that  "  Kvik  "  will  have  her 
pups  to-day  ;  for  it's  always  the  way  here  on  board,  that  things 
happen  together.'  And,  sure  enough,  when  we  were  sitting  in  the 
saloon  in  the  evening,  Mogstad,  who  generally  plays  *  master  of 
the  hounds,'  came  and  announced  the  arrival  of  .the  first.  Soon 
there  was  another,  and  then  one  more.  This  news  was  a  little 
balsam  to  our  wounds.  '  Kvik '  has  got  a  good  warm  box,  lined 
with  fur,  up  in  the  passage  on  the  starboard  ;  it  is  so  warm  there 
that  she  is  lying  sweating,  and  we  hope  that  the  young  ones  will 
live,  in  spite  of  54  degrees  of  frost.  It  seems  this  evening  as  if 
every  one  had  some  hesitation  in  going  out  on  the  ice  unarmed. 
Our  bayonet-knives  have  been  brought  out,  and  I  am  providing 
myself  with  one.  I  must  say  that  I  felt  quite  certain  that  we 
should  find  no  bears  as  far  north  as  this  in  the  middle  of  winter  ; 
and  it  never  occurred  to  me,  in  making  long  excursions  on  the 
ice  without  so  much  as  a  penknife  in  my  pocket,  that  I  was  liable 
to  encounters  with  them.  But,  after  Peter's  experience,  it  seems 
as  if  it  might  be  as  well  to  have,  at  any  rate,  a  lantern  to  hit  them 
with.     The  long  bayonet-knife  shall  accompany  me  henceforth. 

"  They  often  chaffed  Peter  afterwards  about  having  screamed 
so  horribly  when  the  bear  sei'zed  him.  '  H'm  !  I  wonder,'  said 
he,  *if  there  aren't  others  that  would  have  screeched  just  as  loud. 
I  had  to  yell  after  the  fellows  that  were  so  afraid  of  frightening 
the  bear  that  when  they  ran  they  covered  seven  yards  at  each 
stride.' 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  i75 

"Thursday,  December  14th.  'Well,  Mogstad, how  many  pups 
have  you  now?'  I  asked  at  breakfast.  'There  are  five  now.' 
But  soon  after  he  came  down  to  tell  me  that  there  were  at  least 
twelve.  Gracious !  that  is  good  value  for  what  we  have  lost. 
But  we  were  almost  as  pleased  when  Johansen  came  down  and 
said  that  he  heard  the  missing  dog  howling  on  the  ice  far  away 
to  the  northwest.  Several  of  us  went  up  to  listen,  and  we  could 
all  hear  him  quite  well ;  but  it  sounded  as  if  he  were  sitting  still, 
howling  in  despair.  Perhaps  he  was  at  an  opening  in  the  ice 
that  he  could  not  get  across.  Blessing  had  also  heard  him  dur- 
ing his  night-watch,  but  then  the  sound  had  come  more  from  a 
southwesterly  direction.  When  Peter  went  after  breakfast  to 
feed  the  dogs,  there  was  the  lost  one,  standing  below  the  gang- 
way wanting  to  get  on  board.  Hungry  he  was  —  he  dashed 
straight  into  the  food-dish — but  otherwise  hale  and  hearty. 

"  This  evening  Peter  came  and  said  that  he  was  certain  he  had 
heard  a  bear  moving  about  and  pawing  the  ice  ;  he  and  Pettersen 
had  stood  and  listened  to  him  scraping  at  the  snow  crust.  I  put 
on  my  '  pesk '  (a  fur  blouse),  got  hold  of  my  double-barrelled  rifle, 
and  went  on  deck.  The  whole  crew  were  collected  aft,  gazing 
out  into  the  night.  We  let  loose  '  Ulenka '  and  *  Pan,'  and  went 
in  the  direction  where  the  bear  was  said  to  be.  It  was  pitch-dark, 
but  the  dogs  would  find  the  tracks  if  there  was  anything  there. 
Hansen  thought  he  had  seen  something  moving  about  the  hum- 
mock near  the  ship,  but  we  found  and  heard  nothing,  and,  as 
several  of  the  others  had  by  this  time  come  out  on  the  ice  and 
could  also  discover  nothing,  we  scrambled  on  board  again.  It  is 
extraordinary  all  the  sounds  that  one  can  fancy  one  hears  out 
on  that  great,  still  space,  mysteriously  lighted  by  the  twinkling 
stars. 

"Friday,  December  15th.  This  morning  Peter  saw  a  fox  on 
the  ice  astern,  and  he  saw  it  again  later,  when  he  was  out  with 
the  dogs.  There  is  something  remarkable  about  this  appearance 
of  bears  and  foxes  now,  after  our  seeing  no  life  for  so  long.  The 
last  time  we  saw  a  fox  we  were  far  south  of  this,  possibly  near 
Sannikoff  Land.  Can  we  have  come  into  the  neighborhood  of 
land  again. 

"  I  inspected  '  Kvik's '  pups  in  the  afternoon.  There  were  thir- 
teen, a  curious  coincidence — thirteen  pups  on  December  13th,  for 
thirteen  men.     Five  were  killed  ;  '  Kvik '  can  manage  eight,  but 


176  FARTHEST  NORTH 

more  would  be  bad  for  her.  Poor  mother  !  she  was  very  anxious 
about  her  young  ones  —  wanted  to  jump  up  into  the  box  beside 
them  and  take  them  from  us.  And  you  can  see  that  she  is  very 
proud  of  them. 

"  Peter  came  this  evening  and  said  that  there  must  be  a  ghost 
on  the  ice,  for  he  heard  exactly  the  same  sounds  of  walking  and 
pawing  as  yesterday  evening.  This  seems  to  be  a  populous  region, 
after  all. 

"  According  to  an  observation  taken  on  Tuesday  we  must  be 
pretty  nearly  in  79°  8'  north  latitude.  That  was  8  minutes'  drift 
in  the  three  days  from  Saturday ;  we  are  getting  on  better  and 
better. 

"  Why  will  it  not  snow  ?  Christmas  is  near,  and  what  is  Christ- 
mas without  snow,  thickly  falling  snow  ?  We  have  not  had  one 
snowfall  all  the  time  we  have  been  drifting.  The  hard  grains 
that  come  down  now  and  again  are  nothing.  Oh,  the  beautiful 
white  snow,  falling  so  gently  and  silently,  softening  every  hard 
outline  with  its  sheltering  purity  !  There  is  nothing  more  deli- 
ciously  restful,  soft,  and  white.  This  snowless  ice-plain  is  like  a 
life  without  love  —  nothing  to  soften  it.  The  marks  of  all  the 
battles  and  pressures  of  the  ice  stand  forth  just  as  when  they  were 
made,  rugged  and  difficult  to  move  among.  Love  is  life's  snow. 
It  falls  deepest  and  softest  into  the  gashes  left  by  the  fight — whiter 
and  purer  than  snow  itself.  What  is  life  without  love?  It  is  like 
this  ice — a  cold,  bare,  rugged  mass,  the  wind  driving  it  and  rend- 
ing it  and  then  forcing  it  together  again,  nothing  to  cover  over 
the  open  rifts,  nothing  to  break  the  violence  of  the  collisions, 
nothing  to  round  away  the  sharp  corners  of  the  broken  floes — 
nothing,  nothing  but  bare,  rugged  drift-ice. 

"  Saturday,  December  i6th.  In  the  afternoon  Peter  came 
quietly  into  the  saloon,  and  said  that  he  heard  all  sorts  of  noises 
on  the  ice.  There  was  a  sound  to  the  north  exactly  like  that  of 
ice^  packing  against  land,  and  then  suddenly  there  was  such  a  roar 
through  the  air  that  the  dogs  started  up  and  barked.  Poor  Peter  ! 
They  laugh  at  him  when  he  comes  down  to  give  an  account  of 
his  many  observations ;  but  there  is  not  one  among  us  as  sharp 
as  he  is. 

"  Wednesday,  December  20th.  As  I  was  sitting  at  breakfast, 
Peter  came  roaring  that  he  believed  he  had  seen  a  bear  on  the 
ice,  *  and  that  "  Pan  "  set  off  the  moment  he  was  loosed.'  I  rushed 


THE  WINTER  NIGHT  17 7 

on  to  the  ice  with  my  gun.  Several  men  were  to  be  seen  in  the 
moonlight,  but  no  bear.  It  was  long  before  '  Pan '  came  back  ;  he 
had  followed  him  far  to  the  northwest. 

"  Sverdrup  and  '  Smith  Lars'  in  partnership  have  made  a  great 
bear-trap,  which  was  put  out  on  the  ice  to-day.  As  I  was  afraid 
of  more  dogs  than  bears  being  caught  in  it,  it  was  hung  from 
a  gallows,  too  high  for  the  dogs  to  jump  up  to  the  piece  of  blubber 
which  hangs  as  bait  right  in  the  mouth  of  the  trap.  All  the  dogs 
spend  the  evening  now  sitting  on  the  rail  barking  at  this  new 
man  they  see  out  there  on  <he  ice  in  the  moonlight. 

"Thursday,  December  21st.  It  is  extraordinary,  after  all,  how 
the  time  passes.  Here  we  are  at  the  shortest  day,  though  we 
have  no  day.  But  now  we  are  moving  on  to  light  and  summer 
again.  We  tried  to  sound  to-day  ;  had  out  2100  metres  (over  iioo 
fathoms)  of  line  without  reaching  the  bottom.  We  have  no  more 
line ;  what  is  to  be  done  ?  Who  could  have  guessed  that  we  should 
find  such  deep  water?  There  has  been  an  arch  of  light  in  the  sky 
all  day,  opposite  the  moon ;  so  it  is  a  lunar  rainbow,  but  without 
color,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  see. 

*'  Friday,  December  2  2d.  A  bear  was  shot  last  night.  Jacob- 
sen  saw  it  first,  during  his  watch.  He  shot  at  it.  It  made  off ; 
and  he  then  went  down  and  told  about  it  in  the  cabin.  Mogstad 
and  Peter  came  on  deck ;  Sverdrup  was  called,  too,  and  came  up 
a  little  later.  They  saw  the  bear  on  his  way  towards  the  ship 
again  ;  but  he  suddenly  caught  sight  of  the  gallows  with  the  trap 
on  the  ice  to  the  west,  and  went  off  there.  He  looked  well  at  the 
apparatus,  then  raised  himself  cautiously  on  his  hind-legs,  and 
laid  his  right  paw  on  the  cross-beam  just  beside  the  trap,  stared 
for  a  little,  hesitating,  at  the  delicious  morsel,  but  did  not  at  all 
like  the  ugly  jaws  round  it.  Sverdrup  was  by  this  time  out  at  the 
deck-house,  watching  in  the  sparkling  moonshine.  His  heart  was 
jumping — he  expected  every  moment  to  hear  the  snap  of  his  trap. 
But  the  bear  shook  his  head  suspiciously,  lowered  himself  cau- 
tiously on  to  all-fours  again,  and  sniffed  carefully  at  the  wire  that 
the  trap  was  fastened  by,  following  it  along  to  where  it  was  made 
fast  to  a  great  block  of  ice.  He  went  round  this,  and  saw  how 
cleverly  it  was  all  arranged,  then  slowly  followed  the  wire  back, 
raised  himself  up  as  before,  with  his  paw  on  the  beam  of  the  gal- 
lows, had  a  long  look  at  the  trap,  and  shook  his  head  again,  proba- 
bly saying  to  himself, '  These  wily  fellows  have  planned  this  very 


178  FARTHEST  NORTH 

cleverly  for  me.'  Now  he  resumed  his  march  to  the  ship.  When 
he  was  within  60  paces  of  the  bow  Peter  fired.  The  bear  fell,  but 
jumped  up  and  again  made  off.  Jacobsen,  Sverdrup,  and  Mog- 
stad  all  fired  now,  and  he  fell  among  some  hummocks.  He  was 
flayed  at  once,  and  in  the  skin  there  was  only  the  hole  of  one 
ball,  which  had  gone  through  him  from  behind  the  shoulder-blade. 
Peter,  Jacobsen,  and  Mogstad  all  claimed  this  ball.  Sverdrup 
gave  up  his  claim,  as  he  had  stood  so  far  astern.  Mogstad,  seeing 
the  bear  fall  directly  after  his  shot,  called  out,  '  I  gave  him  that 
one';  Jacobsen  swears  that  it  was  he  fehat  hit ;  and  Bentzen,  who 
was  standing  looking  on,  is  prepared  to  take  his  oath  anywhere 
that  it  was  Peter's  ball  that  did  the  deed.  The  dispute  upon 
this  weighty  point  remained  unsettled  during  the  whole  course 
of  the  expedition. 

"  Beautiful  moonlight.  Pressure  in  several  directions.  To- 
day we  carried  our  supply  of  gun  -  cotton  and  cannon  and  rifle 
powder  on  deck.  It  is  safer  there  than  in  the  hold.  In  case  of 
fire  or  other  accident,  an  explosion  in  the  hold  might  blow  the 
ship's  sides  out  and  send  us  to  the  bottom  before  we  had  time  to 
turn  round.  Some  we  put  on  the  forecastle,  some  on  the  bridge. 
From  these  places  it  would  be  quickly  thrown  onto  the  ice. 

"  Saturday,  December  23d.  What  we  call  in  Norway  '  Little 
Christmas-eve.'  I  went  a  long  way  west  this  morning,  coming 
home  late.  There  was  packed-up  ice  everywhere,  with  flat  floes 
between.  I  was  turned  by  a  newly  formed  opening  in  the  ice, 
which  I  dared  not  cross  on  the  thin  layer  of  fresh  ice.  In  the 
afternoon,  as  a  first  Christmas  entertainment,  we  tried  an  ice- 
blasting  with  four  prisms  of  gun-cotton,  A  hole  was  made  with 
one  of  the  large  iron  drills  we  had  brought  with  us  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  the  charge,  with  the  end  of  the  electric  connecting 
wire,  was  sunk  about  a  foot  below  the  surface  of  the  ice.  Then 
all  retired,  the  knob  was  touched,  there  was  a  dull  crash,  and 
water  and  pieces  of  ice  were  shot  up  into  the  air.  Although  it 
was  60  yards  off,  it  gave  the  ship  a  good  jerk  that  shook  every- 
thing on  board,  and  brought  the  hoar-frost  down  from  the  rig- 
ging. The  explosion  blew  a  hole  through  the  four -feet -thick 
ice,  but  its  only  other  effect  was  to  make  small  cracks  around 
this  hole. 

"  Sunday,  December  24th  (Christmas-eve),  67  degrees  of  cold 
(-37°  C).     Glittering   moonlight  and  the  endless  stillness  of 


THE  WINTER  NIGHT  i79 

the  Arctic  night.  I  took  a  solitary  stroll  over  the  ice.  The 
first  Christmas-eve,  and  how  far  away  !  The  observation  shows 
us  to  be  in  79°  11'  north  latitude.  There  is  no  drift.  Two  min- 
utes farther  south  than  six  days  ago." 

There  are  no  further  particulars  given  of  this  day  in  the 
diary ;  but  when  I  think  of  it,  how  clearly  it  all  comes  back  to 
me  !  There  was  a  peculiar  elevation  of  mood  on  board  that  was 
not  at  all  common  among  us.  Every  man's  inmost  thoughts 
were  with  those  at  home ;  but  his  comrades  were  not  to  know 
that,  and  so  there  was  more  joking  and  laughing  than  usual. 
All  the  lamps  and  lights  we  had  on  board  were  lit,  and  every 
corner  of  the  saloon  and  cabins  was  brilliantly  illuminated.  The 
bill  of  fare  for  the  day,  of  course,  surpassed  any  previous  one — 
food  was  the  chief  thing  we  had  to  hold  festival  with.  The  din- 
ner was  a  very  fine  one  indeed  ;  so  was  the  supper,  and  after  it 
piles  of  Christmas  cakes  came  on  the  table  ;  Juell  had  been  busy 
making  them  for  several  weeks.  After  that  we  enjoyed  a  glass 
of  toddy  and  a  cigar,  smoking  in  the  saloon  being,  of  course, 
allowed.  The  culminating-point  of  the  festival  came  when  two 
boxes  with  Christmas  presents  were  produced.  The  one  was 
from  Hansen's  mother,  the  other  from  his  fiancee — Miss  Fougner. 
It  was  touching  to  see  the  childlike  pleasure  with  which  each 
man  received  his  gift — it  might  be  a  pipe  or  a  knife  or  some  little 
knick-knack— he  felt  that  it  was  like  a  message  from  home.  After 
this  there  were  speeches  ;  and  then  the  Framsjaa  appeared,  with 
an  illustrated  supplement,  selections  from  which  are  given.  The 
drawings  are  the  work  of  the  famous  Arctic  draughtsman,  Hut- 
tetu.     Here  are  two  verses  from  the  poem  for  the  day  : 

"  When  the  ship's  path  is  stopped  by  fathom-thick  ice, 
And  winter's  white  covering  is  spread, 
When  we're  quite  given  up  to  the  power  of  the  stream, 
Oh!  'tis  then  that  so  often  of  home  we  must  dream. 

"We  wish  them  all  joy  at  this  sweet  Christmas-tide, 
Health  and  happiness  for  the  next  year, 
Ourselves  patience  to  wait ;  'twill  bring  us  to  the  Pole, 
And  home  the  next  spring,  never  fear!" 

There   were  many   more  poems,  among   others  one   giving 


f8o 


FARTHEST  NORTH 


some  account  of  the  principal  events  of  the  last  weeks,  in  this 
style : 

"Bears  are  seen,  and  dogs  are  born, 

Cakes  are  baked,  both  small  and  large ; 
Henriksen,  he  does  not  fall, 

Spite  of  bear's  most  violent  charge; 
Mogstad  with  his  rifle  clicks, 
Jacobsen  with  long  lance  sticks," 


I. — PROMENADE   IN  TIMES   OP   PEACE   WITH   SVERDRUP  S   PATENT 

FOOT-GEAR 
(From  the  " Framsjaa'') 

and  SO  on.     There  was  a  long  ditty  on  the  subject  of  the  "  Dog 
Rape  on  board  the  Fram  "  .• 


"Up  and  down  on  a  night  so  cold, 

Kvirre  virre  vip,  bom,  bom. 
Walk  harpooner  and  kennelman  bold, 

Kvirre  virre  vip,  bom,  bom ; 
Our  kennelman  swings,  I  need  hardly  tell, 

Kvirre  virre  vip,  bom,  bom. 
The  long,  long  lash  you  know  so  well, 

Kvirre  virre  vip,  bom,  bom ; 
Our  harpooner,  he  is  a  man  of  light, 

Kvirre  virre  vip,  bom,  bom, 
A  burning  lantern  he  grasps  tight, 

Kvirre  virre  vip,  bom,  bom, 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT 

They  as  they  walk  the  time  beguile, 
Kvirre  virre  vip,  bom,  bom. 

With  tales  of  bears  and  all  their  wile, 
Kvirre  virre  vip,  bom,  bom. 

'Now  suddenly  a  bear  they  see, 

Kvirre  virre  vip,  bom,  bom, 
Before  whom  all  the  dogs  do  flee, 

Kvirre  virre  vip,  bom,  bom ; 
Kennelman,  like  a  deer,  runs  fast, 

Kvirre  virre  vip,  bom,  bom, 
Harpooner  slow  comes  in  the  last, 

Kvirre  virre  vip,  bom,  bom," 


l8l 


and  so  on. 


II. —    PRAM       FELLOWS   ON   THE   WAR-PATH  :    DIFFERENCE    BETWEEN 

THE  SVERDRUP    AND    THE    LAPP    FOOT-GEAR 

{From  the  ''  Fratnsjaa^') 


Among  the  announcements  are — 


"  Instruction  in  Fencing. 

"  In  consequence  of  the  indefinite  postponement  of  our  departure,  a 
limited  number  of  pupils  can  be  received  for  instruction  in  both  fencing 
and  boxing. 

"  Majakoft, 

"  Teacher  of  Boxing, 

"  Next  door  to  the  Doctor's." 


l82 


FARTHEST  NORTH 


III. —    PRAM 


FELLOWS   STILL   ON   THE   WAR-PATH 
(From  the  " Framsjaa'''') 


Again — 


"  On  account  of  want  of  storage  room,  a  quantity  of  old  clothes  are  at 
present  for  sale,  by  private  arrangement,  at  No.  2  Pump  Lane.*  Repeated 
requests  to  remove  them  having  been  of  no  effect,  I  am  obliged  to  dis- 
pose of  them  in  this  way.  The  clothes  are  quite  fresh,  having  been  in  salt 
for  a  long  time/' 

After  the  reading  of  the  newspaper  came  instrumental  music 
and  singing,  and  it  was  far  on  in  the  night  before  we  sought  our 
berths. 

"  Monday,  December  25th  (Christmas-day).  Thermometer  at 
36°  Fahr.  below  zero  (  —  38°  C).  I  took  a  walk  south  in  the  beau- 
tiful light  of  the  full  moon.  At  a  newly  made  crack  I  went 
through  the  fresh  ice  with  one  leg  and  got  soaked  ;  but  such  an 
accident  matters  very  little  in  this  frost.  The  water  immediately 
stiffens  into  ice ;  it  does  not  make  one  very  cold,  and  one  feels 
dry  again  soon. 

"  They  will  be  thinking  much  of  us  just  now  at  home  and  giv- 


*  This  was  the  nickname  of  the  starboard  four-berth  cabin. 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  183 

ing  many  a  pitying  sigh  over  all  the  hardships  we  are  enduring 
in  this  cold,  cheerless,  icy  region.  But  I  am  afraid  their  compas- 
sion would  cool  if  they  could  look  in  upon  us,  hear  the  merriment 
that  goes  on,  and  see  all  our  comforts  and  good  cheer.  They 
can  hardly  be  better  off  at  home.  I  myself  have  certainly  never 
lived  a  more  sybaritic  life,  and  never  had  more  reason  to  fear  the 
consequences  it  brings  in  its  train.  Just  listen  to  to-day's  dinner 
menu : 

1.  Ox- tail  soup; 

2.  Fish-pudding,  with  potatoes  and  melted  butter ; 

3.  Roast  of  reindeer,  with  pease,  French  beans,  potatoes,  and 

cranberry  jam ; 

4.  Cloudberries  with  cream; 

5.  Cake  and  marchpane  (a  welcome  present  from  the  baker 

to  the  expedition  ;  we  blessed  that  man). 

And  along  with  all  this  that  Ringnes's  bock-beer  which  is  so 
famous  in  our  part  of  the  world.  Was  this  the  sort  of  dinner 
for  men  who  are  to  be  hardened  against  the  horrors  of  the  Arctic 
night  ? 

"  Every  one  had  eaten  so  much  that  supper  had  to  be  skipped 
altogether.  Later  in  the  evening  coffee  was  served,  with  pine- 
apple preserve,  gingerbread,  vanilla-cakes,  cocoanut  macaroons, 
and  various  other  cakes,  all  the  work  of  our  excellent  cook,  Juell ; 
and  we  ended  up  with  figs,  almonds,  and  raisins. 

"  Now  let  us  have  the  breakfast,  just  to  complete  the  day  : 
Acoffee,  freshly  baked  bread,  beautiful  Danish  butter,  Christmas 
cake,  Cheddar  cheese,  clove  -  cheese,  tongue,  corned  -  beef,  and 
marmalade.  And  if  any  one  thinks  that  this  is  a  specially  good 
breakfast  because  it  is  Christmas-day,  he  is  wrong.  It  is  just 
what  we  have  always,  with  the  addition  of  the  cake,  which  is  not 
part  of  the  every-day  diet. 

*'  Add  now  to  this  good  cheer  our  strongly  built,  safe  house, 
our  comfortable  saloon,  lighted  up  with  the  large  petroleum 
lamp  and  several  smaller  ones  (when  we  have  no  electric  light), 
constant  gayety,  card-playing,  and  books  in  any  quantity,  with 
or  without  illustrations,  good  and  entertaining  reading,  and  then 
a  good,  sound  sleep — what  more  could  one  wish  ? 

"...  But,  O  Arctic  night,  thou  art  like  a  woman,  a  marvel- 
lously lovely  woman.  Thine  are  the  noble,  pure  outlines  of 
antique  beauty,  with  its  marble  coldness.     On  thy  high,  smooth 


i84  FARTHEST  NORTH 

brow,  clear  with  the  clearness  of  ether,  is  no  trace  of  compassion 
for  the  little  sufferings  of  despised  humanity  ;  on  thy  pale,  beau- 
tiful cheek  no  blush  of  feeling.  Among  thy  raven  locks,  waving 
out  into  space,  the  hoar-frost  has  sprinkled  its  glittering  crystals. 
The  proud  lines  of  thy  throat,  thy  shoulders'  curves,  are  so  noble, 
but,  oh  !  unbendingly  cold  ;  thy  bosom's  white  chastity  is  feel- 
ingless  as  the  snowy  ice.  Chaste,  beautiful,  and  proud,  thou 
floatest  through  ether  over  the  frozen  sea,  thy  glittering  gar- 
ment, woven  of  aurora  beams,  covering  the  vault  of  heaven. 
But  sometimes  I  divine  a  twitch  of  pain  on  thy  lips,  and  endless 
sadness  dreams  in  thy  dark  eye. 

"  Oh,  how  tired  I  am  of  thy  cold  beauty  !  I  long  to  return  to 
life.  Let  me  get  home  again,  as  conqueror  or  as  beggar  ;  what 
does  that  matter  ?  But  let  me  get  home  to  begin  life  anew. 
The  years  are  passing  here,  and  what  do  they  bring  ?  Nothing 
but  dust,  dry  dust,  which  the  first  wind  blows  away ;  new  dust 
comes  in  its  place,  and  the  next  wind  takes  it  too.  Truth  ?  Why 
should  we  always  make  so  much  of  truth  ?  Life  is  more  than 
cold  truth,  and  we  live  but  once. 

"Tuesday,  December  26th.  36°  Fahr.  below  zero  (— 38°  C). 
This  (the  same  as  yesterday's)  is  the  greatest  cold  we  have  had 
yet.  I  went  a  long  way  north  to-day  ;  found  a  big  lane  covered 
with  newly  frozen  ice,  with  a  quite  open  piece  of  water  in  the 
middle.  The  ice  rocked  up  and  down  under  my  steps,  sending 
waves  out  into  the  open  pool.  It  was  strange  once  piore  to  see 
the  moonlight  playing  on  the  coal-black  waves,  and  awakened  a 
remembrance  of  well-known  scenes.  I  followed  this  lane  far  to 
the  north,  seemed  to  see  the  outlines  of  high  land  in  the  hazy 
light  below  the  moon,  and  went  on  and  on ;  but  in  the  end  it 
turned  out  to  be  a  bank  of  clouds  behind  the  moonlit  vapor 
rising  from  the  open  water.  I  saw  from  a  high  hummock  that 
this  opening  stretched  north  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 

"  The  same  luxurious  living  as  yesterday ;  a  dinner  of  four 
courses.  Shooting  with  darts  at  a  target  for  cigarettes  has  been 
the  great  excitement  of  the  day.  Darts  and  target  are  Johan- 
sen's  Christmas  present  from  Miss  Fougner. 

"Wednesday,  December  27th.  Wind  began  to  blow  this  after- 
noon, 19^  to  26  feet  per  second ;  the  windmill  is  going  again, 
and  the  arc  lamp  once  more  brightens  our  lives.  Johansen  gave 
notice  of  '  a  shooting-match  by  electric  light,  with  free  concert,' 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  185 

for  the  evening.  It  was  a  pity  for  himself  that  he  did,  for  he 
and  several  others  were  shot  into  bankruptcy  and  beggary,  and 
had  to  retire  one  after  the  other,  leaving  their  cigarettes  behind 
them. 

"Thursday,  December  28th.  A  little  forward  of  the  Fram 
there  is  a  broad,  newly  formed  open  lane,  in  which  she  could  lie 
crossways.  It  was  covered  with  last  night's  ice,  in  which  slight 
pressure  began  to-day.  It  is  strange  how  indifferent  we  are  to 
this  pressure,  which  was  the  cause  of  such  great  trouble  to  many 
earlier  Arctic  navigators.  We  have  not  so  much  as  made  the 
smallest  preparation  for  possible  accident,  no  provisions  on  deck, 
no  tent,  no  clothing  in  readiness.  This  may  seem  like  reckless- 
ness, but  in  reality  there  is  not  the  slightest  prospect  of  the 
pressure  harming  us  ;  we  know  now  what  the  Fram  can  bear. 
Proud  of  our  splendid,  strong  ship,  we  stand  on  her  deck  watch- 
ing the  ice  come  hurtling  against  her  sides,  being  crushed  and 
broken  there  and  having  to  go  down  below  her,  while  new  ice- 
masses  tumble  upon  her  out  of  the  dark,  to  meet  the  same  fate. 
Here  and  there,  amid  deafening  noise,  some  great  mass  rises  up 
and  launches  itself  threateningly  upon  the  bulwarks,  only  to 
sink  down  suddenly,  dragged  the  same  way  as  the  others.  But 
at  times  when  one  hears  the  roaring  of  tremendous  pressure  in 
the  night,  as  a  rule  so  deathly  still,  one  cannot  but  call  to  mind 
the  disasters  that  this  uncontrollable  power  has  wrought. 

"I  am  reading  the  story  of  Kane's  expedition  just  now. 
Unfortunate  man,  his  preparations  were  miserably  inadequate ; 
it  seems  to  me  to  have  been  a  reckless,  unjustifiable  proceeding 
to  set  out  with  such  equipments.  Almost  all  the  dogs  died  of 
bad  food  ;  all  the  men  had  scurvy  from  the  same  cause,  with 
snow-blindness,  frost-bites,  and  all  kinds  of  miseries.  He  learned 
a  wholesome  awe  of  the  Arctic  night,  and  one  can  hardly  wonder 
at  it.  He  writes  on  page  173  :  *I  feel  that  we  are  fighting  the 
battle  of  life  at  disadvantage,  and  that  an  Arctic  day  and  an 
Arctic  night  age  a  man  more  rapidly  and  harshly  than  a  year 
anywhere  else  in  this  weary  world.*  In  another  place  he  writes 
that  it  is  impossible  for  civilized  men  not  to  suffer  in  such  cir- 
cumstances. These  were  sad  but  by  no  means  unique  expe- 
riences. An  English  Arctic  explorer  with  whom  I  had  some 
conversation  also  expressed  himself  very  discouragingly  on  the 
subject  of  life  in  the  polar  regions,  and  combated  my  cheerful 


1 86  FARTHEST  NORTH 

faith  in  the  possibility  of  preventing  sc.urvy.  He  was  of  opinion 
that  it  was  inevitable,  and  that  no  expedition  yet  had  escaped  it, 
though  some  might  have  given  it  another  name  :  rather  a  humili- 
ating view  to  take  of  the  matter,  I  think.  But  I  am  fortunately 
in  a  position  to  maintain  that  it  is  not  justified  ;  and  I  wonder 
if  they  would  not  both  change  their  opinions  if  they  were  here. 
For  my  own  part,  I  can  say  that  the  Arctic  night  has  had  no 
aging,  no  weakening,  influence  of  any  kind  upon  me  ;  I  seem,  on 
the  contrary,  to  grow  younger.  This  quiet,  regular  life  suits  me 
remarkably  well,  and  I  cannot  remember  a  time  when  I  was  in 
better  bodily  health  balance  than  I  am  at  present.  I  differ  from 
these  other  authorities  to  the  extent  of  feeling  inclined  to  recom- 
mend this  region  as  an  excellent  sanatorium  in  cases  of  nervous- 
ness and  general  breakdown.     This  is  in  all  sincerity. 

"  I  am  almost  ashamed  of  the  life  we  lead,  with  none  of  those 
darkly  painted  sufferings  of  the  long  winter  night  which  are 
indispensable  to  a  properly  exciting  Arctic  expedition.  We  shall 
have  nothing  to  write  about  when  we  get  home.  I  may  say  the 
same  of  my  comrades  as  I  have  said  of  myself ;  they  all  look 
healthy,  fat,  in  good  condition  ;  none  of  the  traditional  pale, 
hollow  faces  ;  no  low  spirits — any  one  hearing  the  laughter  that 
goes  on  in  the  saloon,  '  the  fall  of  greasy  cards,'  etc.  (see  Juell's 
poem),  would  be  in  no  doubt  about  this.  But  how,  indeed, 
should  there  be  any  illness?  With  the  best  of  food  of  every 
kind,  as  much  of  it  as  we  want,  and  constant  variety,  so  that 
even  the  most  fastidious  cannot  tire  of  it,  good  shelter,  good 
clothing,  good  ventilation,  exercise  in  the  open  air  ad  libitum^  no 
over-exertion  in  the  way  of  work,  instructive  and  amusing  books 
of  every  kind,  relaxation  in  the  shape  of  cards,  chess,  dominoes, 
halma,  music,  and  story  -  telling  —  how  should  any  one  be  ill? 
Every  now  and  then  I  hear  remarks  expressive  of  perfect  satis- 
faction with  the  life.  Truly  the  whole  secret  lies  in  arranging 
things  sensibly,  and  especially  in  being  careful  about  the  food. 
A  thing  that  I  believe  has  a  good  effect  upon  us  is  this  living 
together  in  the  one  saloon,  with  everything  in  common.  So  far 
as  I  know,  it  is  the  first  time  that  such  a  thing  has  been  tried ; 
but  it  is  quite  to  be  recommended.  I  have  heard  some  of  the 
men  complain  of  sleeplessness.  This  is  generally  considered  to 
be  one  inevitable  consequence  of  the  Arctic  darkness.  As  far  as 
I  am  personally  concerned,  I  can  say  that  I  have  felt  nothing  of 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  187 

it ;  I  sleep  soundly  at  night.  I  have  no  great  belief  in  this  sleep- 
lessness ;  but  then  I  do  not  take  an  after-dinner  nap,  which  most 
of  the  others  are  addicted  to  ;  and  if  they  sleep  for  several  hours 
during  the  day  they  can  hardly  expect  to  sleep  all  night  as  well. 
'  One  must  be  awake  part  of  one's  time,'  as  Sverdrup  said. 

"Sunday,  December  31st.  And  now  the  last  day  of  the  year 
has  come ;  it  has  been  a  long  year,  and  has  brought  much  both 
of  good  and  bad.  It  began  with  good  by  bringing  little  Liv — 
such  a  new,  strange  happiness  that  at  first  I  could  hardly  believe 
in  it.  But  hard,  unspeakably  hard,  was  the  parting  that  came 
later  ;  no  year  has  brought  worse  pain  than  that.  And  the  time 
since  has  been  one  great  longing. 

" '  Would'st  thou  be  free  from  care  and  pain, 
Thou  must  love  nothing  here  on  earth.* 

"  But  longing  —  oh,  there  are  worse  things  than  that !  All 
that  is  good  and  beautiful  may  flourish  in  its  shelter.  Every- 
thing would  be  over  if  we  ceased  to  long. 

"  But  you  fell  off  at  the  end,  old  year  ;  you  hardly  carried  us 
so  far  as  you  ought.  Still  you  might  have  done  worse  ;  you  have 
not  been  so  bad,  after  all.  Have  not  all  hopes  and  calculations 
been  justified,  and  are  we  not  drifting  away  just  where  I  wished 
and  hoped  we  should  be  ?  Only  one  thing  has  been  amiss — I  did 
not  think  the  drift  would  have  gone  in  quite  so  many  zigzags. 

"  One  could  not  have  a  more  beautiful  New-year's  eve.  The 
aurora  borealis  is  burning  in  wonderful  colors  and  bands  of  light 
over  the  whole  sky,  but  particularly  in  the  north.  Thousands 
of  stars  sparkle  in  the  blue  firmament  among  the  northern  lights. 
On  every  side  the  ice  stretches  endless  and  silent  into  the  night. 
The  rime-covered  rigging  of  the  Pram  stands  out  sharp  and  dark 
against  the  shining  sky. 

"  The  newspaper  was  read  aloud  ;  only  verses  this  time  ;  among 
other  poems  the  following  : 

"'TO  THE  NEW  YEAR. 

" '  And  you,  my  boy,  must  give  yourself  trouble 
Of  your  old  father  to  be  the  double; 
Your  lineage,  honor,  and  fight  hard  to  merit 
Our  praise  for  the  habits  we  trust  you  inherit. 


i88  FARTHEST  NORTH 

On  we  must  go  if  you  want  to  please  us; 

To  make  us  lie  still  is  the  way  to  tease  us. 

In  the  old  year  we  sailed  not  so  badly, 

Be  it  so  still,  or  you'll  hear  us  groan  sadly. 

When  the  time  comes  you  must  break  up  the  ice  for  us; 

When  the  time  comes  you  must  win  the  great  prize  for  us; 

We  fervently  hope,  having  reached  our  great  goal, 

To  eat  next  Christmas  dinner  beyond  the  North  Pole.' 

"  During  the  evening  we  were  regaled  with  pineapple,  figs, 
cakes,  and  other  sweets,  and  about  midnight  Hansen  brought  in 
toddy,  and  Nordahl  cigars  and  cigarettes.  At  the  moment  of  the 
passing  of  the  year  all  stood  up  and  I  had  to  make  an  apology 
for  a  speech — to  the  effect  that  the  old  year  had  been,  after  all, 
a  good  one,  and  I  hoped  the  new  would  not  be  worse ;  that  I 
thanked  them  for  good  comradeship,  and  was  sure  that  our  life 
together  this  year  would  be  as  comfortable  and  as  pleasant  as  it 
had  been  during  the  last.  Then  they  sang  the  songs  that  had 
been  written  for  the  farewell  entertainments  given  to  us  at 
Christiania  and  at  Bergen  : 

" '  Our  mother,  weep  not !  it  was  thou 

Gave  them  the  wish  to  wander ; 
To  leave  our  coasts  and  turn  their  prow 

Towards  night  and  perils  yonder. 
Thou  pointed  St  to  the  open  sea, 

The  long  cape  was  thy  finger; 
The  white  sail  wings  they  got  from  thee; 

Thou  canst  not  bid  them  linger! 

"  •  Yes,  they  are  thine,  O  mother  old ! 

And  proud  thou  dost  embrace  them ; 
Thou  hear'st  of  dangers  manifold, 

But  know'st  thy  sons  can  face  them. 
And  tears  of  joy  thine  eyes  will  rain, 
The  day  the  Fram  comes  steering 
Up  fjord  again  to  music  strain 
And  the  roar  of  thousands  cheering. 

"•E.  N.' 

"  Then  I  read  aloud  our  last  greeting,  a  telegram  we  received 
at  Tromso  from  Moltke  Moe  : 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  189 

"'Luck  on  the  way, 
Sun  on  the  sea, 
Sun  on  your  minds. 
Help  from  the  winds ; 
May  the  packed  floes 
Part  and  unclose 
Where  the  ship  goes. 
Forward  her  progress  be, 
E'en  though  the  silent  sea. 

Then 
After  her  freeze  up  again. 

"'Strength  enough,  meat  enough, 
Hope  enough,  heat  enough ; 
The  Fram  will  go  sure  enough  then 
To  the  Pole  and  so  back  to  the  dwellings  of  men. 

Luck  on  the  way 
To  thee  and  thy  band. 
And  welcome  back  to  the  fatherland!' 

"  After  this  we  read  some  of  Vinje's  poems,  and  then  sang 
songs  from  the  Framsjaa  and  others. 

"It  seems  strange  that  we  should  have  seen  the  new  year  in 
already,  and  that  it  will  not  begin  at  home  for  eight  hours  yet. 
It  is  almost  4  a.m.  now.  I  had  thought  of  sitting  up  till  it  was 
New  Year  in  Norway  too  ;  but  no  ;  I  will  rather  go  to  bed  and 
sleep,  and  dream  that  I  am  at  home. 

"  Monday,  January  ist,  1894.  The  year  began  well.  I  was 
awakened  by  Juell's  cheerful  voice  wishing  me  a  Happy  New 
Year.  He  had  come  to  give  me  a  cup  of  coffee  in  bed — delicious 
Turkish  coffee,  his  Christmas  present  from  Miss  Fougner.  It  is 
beautiful  clear  weather,  with  the  thermometer  at  36°  below  zero 
(—38°  C).  It  almost  seems  to  me  as  if  the  twilight  in  the  south 
were  beginning  to  grow  ;  the  upper  edge  of  it  to-day  was  14° 
above  the  horizon. 

"An  extra  good  dinner  at  6  p.m.: 

1.  Tomato  soup. 

2.  Cod  roe  with  melted  butter  and  potatoes. 

3.  Roast  reindeer,  with  green  pease,  potatoes,  and  cranberry  jam. 

4.  Cloudberries  with  milk. 

Ringnes's  beer. 


190  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  I  do  not  know  if  this  begins  to  give  any  impression  of  great 
sufferings  and  privations.  I  am  lying  in  my  berth,  writing, 
reading,  and  dreaming.  It  is  always  a  curious  feeling  to  write 
for  the  first  time  the  number  of  a  new  year.  Not  till  then  does 
one  grasp  the  fact  that  the  old  year  is  a  thing  of  the  past  ;  the 
new  one  is  here,  and  one  must  prepare  to  wrestle  with  it.  Who 
knows  what  it  is  bringing  ?  Good  and  evil,  no  doubt,  but  most 
good.  It  cannot  but  be  that  we  shall  go  forward  towards  our 
goal  and  towards  home. 

'"Life  is  rich  and  wreathed  in  roses; 
Gaze  forth  into  a  world  of  dreams.' 

"  Yes  ;  lead  us,  if  not  to  our  goal — that  would  be  too  early — 
at  least  towards  it ;  strengthen  our  hope ;  but  perhaps — no,  no 
perhaps.  These  brave  boys  of  mine  deserve  to  succeed.  There 
is  not  a  doubt  in  their  minds.  Each  one's  whole  heart  is  set  on 
getting  north.  I  can  read  it  in  their  faces — it  shines  from  every 
eye.  There  is  one  sigh  of  disappointment  every  time  that  we 
hear  that  we  are  drifting  south,  one  sigh  of  relief  when  we  begin 
to  go  north  again,  to  the  unknown.  And  it  is  in  me  and  my 
theories  that  they  trust.  What  if  I  have  been  mistaken,  and  am 
leading  them  astray  ?  Oh,  I  could  not  help  myself  !  We  are 
the  tools  of  powers  beyond  us.  We  are  born  under  lucky  or  un- 
lucky stars.  Till  now  I  have  lived  under  a  lucky  one  ;  is  its  light 
to  be  darkened  ?  I  am  superstitious,  no  doubt,  but  I  believe  in 
my  star.  And  Norway,  our  fatherland,  what  has  the  old  year 
brought  to  thee,  and  what  is  the  new  year  bringing?  Vain  to 
think  of  that ;  but  I  look  at  our  pictures,  the  gifts  of  Weren- 
skjold,  Munthe,  Kitty  Kielland,  Skredsvig,  Hansteen,  Eilif  Pet- 
tersen,  and  I  am  at  home,  at  home  I 

"Wednesday,  January  3d.  The  old  lane  about  1300  feet  ahead 
of  the  Fram  has  opened  again — a  large  rift,  with  a  coating  of  ice 
and  rime.  As  soon  as  ice  is  formed  in  this  temperature  the  frost 
forces  it  to  throw  out  its  salinity  on  the  surface,  and  this  itself 
freezes  into  pretty  salt  flowers,  resembling  hoar-frost.  The  tem- 
perature is  between  38°  Fahr.  and  40°  Fahr.  below  zero  (  —  39°  C. 
to  — 40°  C),  but  when  there  is  added  to  this  a  biting  wind,  with 
a  velocity  of  from  9  to  16  feet  per  second,  it  must  be  allowed 
that  it  is  rather  'cool  in  the  shade.' 

**  Sverdrup  and  I  agreed  to-day  that  the  Christmas  holidays 


THE  WINTER  NIGHT  191 

had  better  stop  now  and  the  usual  life  begin  again  ;  too  much 
idleness  is  not  good  for  us.  It  cannot  be  called  a  full  nor  a 
complicated  one,  this  life  of  ours ;  but  it  has  one  advantage,  that 
we  are  all  satisfied  with  it,  such  as  it  is. 

*'  They  are  still  working  in  the  engine-room,  but  expect  to 
finish  what  they  are  doing  to  the  boiler  in  a  few  days,  and  then 
all  is  done  there.  Then  the  turning-lathe  is  to  be  set  up  in  the 
hold,  and  tools  for  it  have  to  be  forged.  There  is  often  a  job  for 
Smith  Lars,  and  then  the  forge  flames  forward  by  the  forecastle, 
and  sends  its  red  glow  on  to  the  rime -covered  rigging,  and 
farther  up  into  the  starry  night,  and  out  over  the  waste  of  ice. 
From  far  off  you  can  hear  the  strokes  on  the  anvil  ringing 
through  the  silent  night.  When  one  is  wandering  alone  out 
there,  and  the  well-known  sound  reaches  one's  ear,  and  one  sees 
the  red  glow,  memory  recalls  less  solitary  scenes.  While  one 
stands  gazing,  perhaps  a  light  moves  along  the  deck  and  slowly 
up  the  rigging.  It  is  Johansen  on  his  way  up  to  the  crow's-nest 
to  read  the  temperature.  Blessing  is  at  present  engaged  in 
counting  blood  corpuscles  again,  and  estimating  amounts  of 
haemoglobin.  For  this  purpose  he  draws  blood  every  month 
from  every  mother's  son  of  us,  the  bloodthirsty  dog,  with  su- 
preme contempt  for  all  the  outcry  against  vivisection.  Hansen 
and  his  assistant  take  observations.  The  meteorological  ones, 
which  are  taken  every  four  hours,  are  Johansen's  special  depart- 
ment. First  he  reads  the  thermomete;',  hygrometer,  and  ther- 
mograph on  deck  (they  were  afterwards  kept  on  the  ice)  ;  next 
the  barometer,  barograph,  and  thermometer  in  the  saloon  ;  and 
then  the  minimum  and  maximum  thermometers  in  the  crow's- 
.nest  (this  to  take  the  record  of  the  temperature  of  a  higher  air 
stratum).  Then  he  goes  to  read  the  thermometers  that  are  kept 
on  the  ice  to  measure  the  radiations  from  its  surface,  and  per- 
haps down  to  the  hold,  too,  to  see  what  the  temperature  is  there. 
Every  second  day,  as  a  rule,  astronomical  observations  are  taken, 
to  decide  our  whereabouts  and  keep  us  up  to  date  in  the  crab's 
progress  we  are  making.  Taking  these  observations  with  the 
thermometer  between  22°  Fahr.  and  40°  Fahr.  below  zero  (—30° 
C.  to— 40°  C.)  is  a  very  mixed  pleasure.  Standing  still  on  deck 
working  with  these  fine  instruments,  and  screwing  in  metal 
screws  with  one's  bare  fingers,  is  not  altogether  agreeable.  It 
often  happens  that  they  must  s4ap  their  arms  about  and  tramp 


192  FARTHEST  NORTH 

hard  up  and  down  the  deck.  They  are  received  with  shouts  of 
laughter  when  they  reappear  in  the  saloon  after  the  performance 
of  one  of  these  thundering  nigger  break-downs  above  our  heads 
that  has  shaken  the  whole  ship.  We  ask  innocently  if  it  was 
cold  on  deck.  '  Not  the  very  least,'  says  Hansen ;  'just  a  pleasant 
temperature.'  *  And  your  feet  are  not  cold  now  ?'  '  No,  I  can't 
say  that  they  are,  but  one's  fingers  get  a  little  cold  sometimes.' 
Two  of  his  had  just  been  frostbitten  ;  but  he  refused  to  wear 
one  of  the  wolf-skin  suits  which  I  had  given  out  for  the  meteor- 
ologists. *  It  is  too  mild  for  that  yet ;  and  it  does  not  do  to 
pamper  one's  self,'  he  says. 

"  I  believe  it  was  when  the  thermometer  stood  at  40°  below 
zero  that  Hansen  rushed  up  on  deck  one  morning  in  shirt  and 
drawers  to  take  an  observation.  He  said  he  had  no  time  to  get 
on  his  clothes. 

"At  certain  intervals  they  also  take  magnetic  observations 
on  the  ice,  these  two.  I  watch  them  standing  there  with  lan- 
terns, bending  over  their  instruments  ;  and  presently  I  see  them 
tearing  away  over  the  floe,  their  arms  swinging  like  the  sails  of 
the  windmill  when  there  is  a  wind  pressure  of  32  to  39  feet — but 
*it  is  not  at  all  cold.'  I  cannot  help  thinking  of  what  I  have 
read  in  the  accounts  of  some  of  the  earlier  expeditions — namely, 
that  at  such  temperatures  it  was  impossible  to  take  observations. 
It  would  take  worse  than  this  to  make  these  fellows  give  in.  In 
the  intervals  between  tl^eir  observations  and  calculations  I  hear 
a  murmuring  in  Hansen's  cabin,  which  means  that  the  principal 
is  at  present  occupied  in  inflicting  a  dose  of  astronomy  or  navi- 
gation upon  his  assistant. 

"  It  is  something  dreadful  the  amount  of  card-playing  that 
goes  on  in  the  saloon  in  the  evenings  now ;  the  gaming  demon 
is  abroad  far  into  the  night ;  even  our  model  Sverdrup  is  pos- 
sessed by  him.  They  have  not  yet  played  the  shirts  off  their 
backs,  but  some  of  them  have  literally  played  the  bread  out  of 
their  mouths  ;  two  poor  wretches  have  had  to  go  without  fresh 
bread  for  a  whole  month  because  they  had  forfeited  their  rations 
of  it  to  their  opponents.  But,  all  the  same,  this  card-playing  is 
a  healthy,  harmless  recreation,  giving  occasion  for  much  laughter, 
fun,  and  pleasure. 

"  An  Irish  proverb  says,  *  Be  happy ;  and  if  you  cannot  be 
happy,  be  careless  ;  and  if  you  cannot  be  careless,  be  as  careless 


THE  WINTER  NIGHT  193 

as  you  can.'  This  is  good  philosophy,  which — no,  what  need  of 
proverbs  here,  where  life  is  happy  !  It  was  in  all  sincerity  that 
Amundsen  burst  out  yesterday  with,  '  Yes,  isn't  it  just  as  I  say, 
that  we  are  the  luckiest  men  on  earth  that  can  live  up  here 
where  we  have  no  cares,  get  everything  given  us  without  need- 
ing to  trouble  about  it,  and  are  well  off  in  every  possible  way  ?' 
Hansen  agreed  that  it  certainly  was  a  life  without  care.  Juell 
said  much  the  same  a  little  while  ago ;  what  seems  to  please  him 
most  is  that  there  are  no  summonses  here,  no  creditors,  no  bills. 
And  I  ?  Yes,  I  am  happy  too.  It  is  an  easy  life  ;  nothing  that 
weighs  heavy  on  one,  no  letters,  no  newspapers,  nothing  disturb- 
ing ;  just  that  monastic,  out-of-the-world  existence  that  was  my 
dream  when  I  was  younger  and  yearned  for  quietness  in  which 
to  give  myself  up  to  my  studies.  Longing,  even  when  it  is 
strong  and  sad,  is  not  unhappiness.  A  man  has  truly  no  right 
to  be  anything  but  happy  when  fate  permits  him  to  follow  up 
his  ideals,  exempting  him  from  the  wearing  strain  of  every-day 
cares,  that  he  may  with  clearer  vision  strive  towards  a  lofty 
goal. 

"  *  Where  there  is  work,  success  will  follow,'  said  a  poet  of  the 
land  of  Work.  I  am  working  as  hard  as  I  can,  so  I  suppose  suc- 
cess will  pay  me  a  visit  by  and  by.  I  am  lying  on  the  sofa, 
reading  about  Kane's  misfortunes,  drinking  beer,  smoking  ciga- 
rettes. Truth  obliges  me  to  confess  that  I  have  become  addicted 
to  the  vice  I  condemn  so  strongly — but  flesh  is  grass  ;  so  I  blow 
the  smoke  clouds  into  the  air  and  dream  sweet  dreams.  It  is 
hard  work,  but  I  must  do  the  best  I  can. 

"  Thursday,  January  4th.  It  seems  as  if  the  twilight  were 
increasing  quite  perceptibly  now,  but  this  is  very  possibly  only 
imagination.  I  am  in  good  spirits  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  we 
are  drifting  south  again.  After  all,  what  does  it  matter  ?  Per- 
haps the  gain  to  science  will  be  as  great,  and,  after  all,  I  suppose 
this  desire  to  reach  the  North  Pole  is  only  a  piece  of  vanity.  I 
have  now  a  very  good  idea  of  what  it  must  be  like  up  there.  ('  I 
like  that !'  say  you.)  Our  deep  water  here  is  connected  with,  is 
a  part  of,  the  deep  water  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean — of  this  there 
can  be  no  doubt.  And  have  riot  I  found  that  things  go  ex- 
actly as  I  calculated  they  would  whenever  we  get  a  favorable 
wind  ?  Have  not  many  before  us  had  to  wait  for  wind  ?  And  as 
to  vanity — that  is  a  child's  disease,  got  over  long  ago.  All  calcu- 
13 


194  FARTHEST  NVRTH 

lations,  with  but  one  exception,  have  proved  correct.  We  made 
our  way  along  the  coast  of  Asia,  which  many  prophesied  we 
should  have  great  difficulty  in  doing.  We  were  able  to  sail  far- 
ther north  than  I  had  dared  to  hope  for  in  my  boldest  moments, 
and  in  just  the  longitude  I  wished.  We  are  closed  in  by  the  ice, 
also  as  I  wished.  The  Train  has  borne  the  ice  -  pressure  splen- 
didly, and  allows  herself  to  be  lifted  by  it  without  so  much  as 
creaking,  in  spite  of  being  more  heavily  loaded  with  coal,  and 
drawing  more  water  than  we  reckoned  on  when  we  made  our 
calculations ;  and  this  after  her  certain  destruction  and  ours 
was  prophesied  by  those  most  experienced  in  such  matters.  I 
have  not  found  the  ice  higher  nor  heavier  than  I  expected  it  to 
be  ;  and  the  comfort,  warmth,  and  good  ventilation  on  board  are 
far  beyond  my  expectations.  Nothing  is  wanting  in  our  equip- 
ment, and  the  food  is  quite  exceptionally  good.  As  Blessing  and 
I  agreed  a  few  days  ago,  it  is  as  good  as  at  home ;  there  is  not  a 
thing  we  long  for ;  not  even  the  thought  of  a  beafsteak  k  la 
Chateaubriand,  or  a  pork  cutlet  with  mushrooms  and  a  bottle  of 
Burgundy,  can  make  our  mouths  water  ;  we  simply  don't  care 
about  such  things.  The  preparations  for  the  expedition  cost  me 
several  years  of  precious  life  ;  but  now  I  do  not  grudge  them  : 
my  object  is  attained.  On  the  drifting  ice  we  live  a  winter  life, 
not  only  in  every  respect  better  than  that  of  previous  expedi- 
tions, but  actually  as  if  we  had  brought  a  bit  of  Norway,  of 
Europe,  with  us.  We  are  as  well  off  as  if  we  were  at  home.  All 
together  in  one  saloon,  with  everything  in  common,  we  are  a  lit- 
tle part  of  the  fatherland,  and  daily  we  draw  closer  and  closer  to- 
gether. In  one  point  only  have  my  calculations  proved  incorrect, 
but  unfortunately  in  one  of  the  most  important.  I  presupposed  a 
shallow  Polar  Sea,  the  greatest  depth  known  in  these  regions  up 
till  now  being  80  fathoms,  found  by  the  Jeannette.  I  reasoned 
that  all  currents  would  have  a  strong  influence  in  the  shallow 
Polar  Sea,  and  that  on  the  Asiatic  side  the  current  of  the  Sibe- 
rian rivers  would  be  strong  enough  to  drive  the  ice  a  good  way 
north.  But  here  I  already  find  a  depth  which  we  cannot  meas- 
ure with  all  our  line,  a  depth  of  certainly  1000  fathoms,  and  pos- 
sibly double  that.  This  at  once  upsets  all  faith  in  the  operation 
of  a  current ;  we  find  either  none  or  an  extremely  slight  one ; 
my  only  trust  now  is  in  the  winds.  Columbus  discovered  Amer- 
ica by  means  of  a  mistaken  calculation,  and  even  that  not  his 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  I95 

own  ;  Heaven  only  knows  where  my  mistake  wilf  lead  us.  Only 
I  repeat  once  more  —  the  Siberian  driftwood  on  the  coast  of 
Greenland  cannot  lie,  and  the  way  it  went  we  must  go. 

"  Monday,  January  8th.  Little  Liv  is  a  year  old  to-day  ;  it  will 
be  a  fete-day  at  home.  As  I  was  lying  on  the  sofa  reading  after 
dinner,  Peter  put  his  head  in  at  the  door  and  asked  me  to  come 
up  and  look  at  a  strange  star  which  had  just  shown  itself  above 
the  horizon,  shining  like  a  beacon  flame.  I  got  quite  a  start  when 
I  came  on  deck  and  saw  a  strong  red  light  just  above  the  edge 
of  the  ice  in  the  south.  It  twinkled  and  changed  color;  it  looked 
just  as  if  some  one  were  coming  carrying  a  lantern  over  the  ice; 
I  actually  believe  that  for  a  moment  I  so  far  forgot  our  sur- 
roundings as  to  think  that  it  really  was  some  person  approaching 
from  the  south.  It  was  Venus,  which  we  see  to-day  for  the  first 
time,  as  it  has  till  now  been  beneath  the  horizon.  It  is  beautiful, 
with  its  red  light.  Curious  that  it  should  happen  to  come  to- 
day. It  must  be  Liv's  star,  as  Jupiter  is  the  home  star.  And 
Liv's  birthday  is  a  lucky  day — we  are  on  our  way  north  again. 
According  to  observations  we  are  certainly  north  of  79°  north 
latitude.  On  the  home  day,  September  6th,  the  favorable  wind 
began  to  blow  that  carried  us  along  the  coast  of  Asia ;  perhaps 
Liv's  day  has  brought  us  into  a  good  current,  and  we  are  mak- 
ing the  real  start  for  the  north  under  her  star.  ' 

"Friday,  January  12th.  There  was  pressure  about  10  o'clock 
this  morning  in  the  opening  forward,  but  I  could  see  no  move- 
ment when  I  was  there  a  little  later.  I  followed  the  opening 
some  way  to  the  north.  It  is  pretty  cold  work  walking  with  the 
thermometer  at  40°  Fahr.  below  zero,  and  the  wind  blowing  with 
a  velocity  of  16  feet  per  second  straight  in  your  face.  But  now 
we  are  certainly  drifting  fast  to  the  north  under  Liv's  star.  Af- 
ter all,  it  is  not  quite  indifferent  to  me  whether  we  are  going 
north  or  south.  When  the  drift  is  northward  new  life  seems  to 
come  into  me,  and  hope,  the  ever-young,  springs  fresh  and  green 
from  under  the  winter  snow.  I  see  the  way  open  before  me,  and 
I  see  the  home-coming  in  the  distance — too  great  happiness  to 
believe  in. 

"  Sunday,  January  14th.  Sunday  again.  The  time  is  passing 
almost  quickly,  and  there  is  more  light  every  day.  There  was 
great  excitement  to-day  when  yesterday  evening's  observations 
were  being  calculated.      All  guessed  that  we  had  come  a  long 


10  FARTHEST  NORTH 

way  north  again.  Several  thought  to  79°  18'  or  20'.  Others,  I 
believe,  insisted  on  80°.  The  calculation  places  us  in  79°  19' 
north  latitude,  137°  31'  east  longitude.  A  good  step  onward. 
Yesterday  the  ice  was  quiet,  but  this  morning  there  was  consid- 
erable pressure  in  several  places.  Goodness  knows  what  is  caus- 
ing it  just  now ;  it  is  a  whole  week  after  new  moon.  I  took  a 
long  walk  to  the  southwest,  and  got  right  in  among  it.  Packing 
began  where  I  stood,  with  roars  and  thunders  below  me  and  on 
every  side.  I  jumped,  and  ran  like  a  hare,  as  if  I  had  never 
heard  such  a  thing  before  ;  it  came  so  unexpectedly.  The  ice 
v/as  curiously  flat  there  to  the  south  ;  the  farther  I  went  the 
flatter  it  grew,  with  excellent  sledging  surface.  Over  such  ice 
one  could  drive  many  miles  a  day. 

"Monday,  January  15th.  There  was  pressure  forward  both 
this  morning  and  towards  noon,  but  we  heard  the  loudest  sounds 
from  the  north.  Sverdrup,  Mogstad,  and  Peter  went  in  that  di- 
rection and  were  stopped  by  a  large,  open  channel.  Peter  and 
I  afterwards  walked  a  long  distance  N.N.E.,  past  a  large  open- 
ing that  I  had  skirted  before  Christmas.  It  was  shining,  flat 
ice,  splendid  for  sledging,  always  better  the  farther  north  we 
went.  The  longer  I  wander  about  and  see  this  sort  of  ice  in  all 
directions,  the  more  strongly  does  a  plan  take  hold  of  me  that  I 
have  long  had  in  my  mind.  It  would  be  possible  to  get  with 
dogs  and  sledges  over  this  ice  to  the  Pole,  if  one  left  the  ship  for 
good  and  made  one's  way  back  in  the  direction  of  Franz  Josef 
Land,  Spitzbergen.  or  the  west  coast  of  Greenland.  It  might  al- 
most be  called  an  easy  expedition  for  two  men. 

"  But  it  would  be  too  hasty  to  go  off  in  spring.  We  must  first 
see  what  kind  of  drift  the  summer  brings.  And  as  I  think  over 
it  I  feel  doubtful  if  it  would  be  right  to  go  off  and  leave  the 
others.  Imagine  if  I  came  home  and  they  did  not !  Yet  it  was 
to  explore  the  unknown  polar  regions  that  I  came ;  it  was  for 
that  the  Norwegian  people  gave  their  money  ;  and  surely  my 
first  duty  is  to  do  that  if  I  can.  I  must  give  the  drift  plan  a 
longer  trial  yet ;  but  if  it  takes  us  in  a  wrong  direction,  then 
there  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  try  the  other,  come  what  may. 

"Tuesday,  January  i6th.  The  ice  is  quiet  to-day.  Does  long- 
ing stupefy  one,  or  does  it  wear  itself  out  and  turn  at  last  into 
stolidity  ?  Oh  that  burning  longing  night  and  day  were  happi- 
ness !     But  now  its  fire  has  turned  to  ice.     Why  does  home  seem 


THE  WINTER  NIGHT  i97 

so  far  away  ?  It  is  one's  all ;  life  without  it  is  so  empty — noth- 
ing but  dead  emptiness.  Is  it  the  restlessness  of  spring  that  is 
beginning  to  come  over  one? — the  desire  for  action,  for  some- 
thing different  from  this  indolent,  enervating  life  ?  Is  the  soul 
of  man  nothing  but  a  succession  of  moods  and  feelings,  shifting 
as  incalculably  as  the  changing  winds?  Perhaps  my  brain  is 
over-tired  ;  day  and  night  my  thoughts  have  turned  on  the  one 
point,  the  possibility  of  reaching  the  Pole  and  getting  home. 
Perhaps  it  is  rest  I  need — to  sleep,  sleep  !  Am  I  afraid  of  vent- 
uring my  life?  No,  it  cannot  be  that.  But  what  else,  then, 
can  be  keeping  me  back  ?  Perhaps  a  secret  doubt  of  the  prac- 
ticability of  the  plan.  My  mind  is  confused  ;  the  whole  thing  has 
got  into  a  tangle  ;  I  am  a  riddle  to  myself.  I  am  worn  out,  and 
yet  I  do  not  feel  any  special  tiredness.  Is  it  perhaps  because  I 
sat  up  reading  last  night  ?  Everything  around  is  emptiness,  and 
my  brain  is  a  blank.  I  look  at  the  home  pictures  and  am  moved 
by  them  in  a  curious,  dull  way  ;  I  look  into  the  future,  and  feel 
as  if  it  does  not  much  matter  to  me  whether  I  get  home  in  the 
autumn  of  this  year  or  next.  So  long  as  I  get  home  in  the  end, 
a  year  or  two  seems  almost  nothing.  I  have  never  thought  this 
before.  I  have  no  inclination  to  read,  nor  to  draw,  nor  to  do  any- 
thing else  whatever.  Folly  !  Shall  I  try  a  few  pages  of  Schopen- 
hauer ?  No,  I  will  go  to  bed,  though  I  am  not  sleepy.  Perhaps, 
if  the  truth  were  known,  I  am  longing  now  more  than  ever.  The 
only  thing  that  helps  me  is  writing,  trying  to  express  myself  on 
these  pages,  and  then  looking  at  myself,  as  it  were,  from  the  out- 
side. Yes,  man's  life  is  nothing  but  a  succession  of  moods,  half 
memory  and  half  hope. 

"Thursday,  January  i8th.  The  wind  that  began  yesterday 
has  gone  on  blowing  all  to-day  with  a  velocity  of  i6  to  19  feet  per 
second,  from  S.S.E.,  S.E.,  and  E.S.E.  It  has  no  doubt  helped  us 
on  a  good  way  north  ;  but  it  seems  to  be  going  down  ;  now,  about 
midnight,  it  has  sunk  to  4  metres  ;  and  the  barometer,  which  has 
been  rising  all  the  time,  has  suddenly  begun  to  fall ;  let  us  hope 
that  it  is  not  a  cyclone  passing  over  us,  bringing  northerly  wind. 
It  is  curious  that  there  is  almost  always  a  rise  of  the  thermometer 
with  these  stronger  winds  ;  to-day  it  rose  to  13°  Fahr.  below  zero 
(  —  25°  C).  A  south  wind  of  less  velocity  generally  lowers  the 
temperature,  and  a  moderate  north  wind  raises  it.  Payer's  ex- 
planation of  this  raising  of  the  temperature  by  strong  winds  is 


198  FARTHEST  NORTH 

that  the  wind  is  warmed  by  passing  over  large  openings  in  the 
ice.  This  can  hardly  be  correct,  at  any  rate,  in  our  case,  for  we 
have  few  or  no  openings.  I  am  rather  inclined  to  believe  that 
the  rise  is  produced  by  air  from  higher  strata  being  brought 
down  to  the  surface  of  the  earth.  It  is  certain  that  the  higher 
air  is  warmer  than  the  lower,  which  comes  into  contact  with  snow 
and  ice  surfaces  cooled  by  radiation.  Our  observations  go  to 
prove  that  such  is  the  case.  Add  to  this  that  the  air  in  its  fall  is 
heated  by  the  rising  pressure.  A  strong  wind,  even  if  it  does 
not  come  from  the  higher  strata  of  the  atmosphere,  must  neces- 
sarily make  some  confusion  in  the  mutual  position  of  the  various 
strata,  mixing  the  higher  with  those  below  them,  and  vice  versa. 

**  I  had  a  strange  dream  last  night.  I  had  got  home.  I  can 
still  feel  something  of  the  trembling  joy,  mixed  with  fear,  with 
which  I  neared  land  and  the  first  telegraph  station.  I  had  car- 
ried out  my  plan  ;  we  had  reached  the  North  Pole  on  sledges,  and 
then  got  down  to  Franz  Josef  Land.  I  had  seen  nothing  but 
drift-ice  ;  and  when  people  asked  what  it  was  like  up  there,  and 
how  we  knew  we  had  been  to  the  Pole,  I  had  no  answer  to  give  ; 
I  had  forgotten  to  take  accurate  observations,  and  now  began  to 
feel  that  this  had  been  stupid  of  me.  It  is  very  curious  that  I 
had  an  exactly  similar  dream  when  we  were  drifting  on  the  ice- 
floes along  the  east  coast  of  Greenland,  and  thought  that  we  were 
being  carried  farther  and  farther  from  our  destination.  Then  I 
dreamed  that  I  had  reached  home  after  crossing  Greenland  on 
the  ice  ;  but  that  I  was  ashamed  because  I  could  give  no  account 
of  what  I  had  seen  on  the  way —  I  had  forgotten  everything.  Is 
there  not  a  lucky  omen  in  the  resemblance  between  these  two 
dreams  ?  I  attained  my  aim  the  first  time,  bad  as  things  looked; 
shall  I  not  do  so  this  time  too  ?  If  I  were  superstitious  I  should 
feel  surer  of  it ;  but,  even  though  I  am  not  at  all  superstitious,  I 
have  a  firm  conviction  that  our  enterprise  must  be  successful. 
This  belief  is  not  merely  the  result  of  the  last  two  days'  south 
wind  ;  something  within  me  says  that  we  shall  succeed.  I  laugh 
now  at  myself  for  having  been  weak  enough  to  doubt  it.  I  can 
spend  hours  staring  into  the  light,  dreaming  of  how,  when  we 
land,  I  shall  grope  my  way  to  the  first  telegraph  station,  trem- 
bling with  emotion  and  suspense.  I  write  out  telegram  after  tel- 
egram ;  I  ask  the  clerk  if  he  can  give  me  any  news  from  home. 

"Friday,  January  19th.     Splendid  wind,  with  velocity  of  13  to 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  199 

19  feet  per  second ;  we  are  going  north  at  a  grand  rate.  The 
red,  glowing  twiHght  is  now  so  bright  about  mid-day  that  if  we 
were  in  more  southern  latitudes  we  should  expect  to  see  the  sun 
rise  bright  and  glorious  above  the  horizon  in  a  few  minutes  ;  but 
we  shall  have  to  wait  a  month  yet  for  that. 

"  Saturday,  January  20th.  I  had  about  600  pounds  of  pemmi- 
can  and  200  pounds  of  bread  brought  up  from  the  hold  to-day 
and  stowed  on  the  forecastle.  It  is  wrong  not  to  have  some  pro- 
visions on  deck  against  any  sudden  emergency,  such  as  fire. 

"Sunday,  January  21st.  We  took  a  long  excursion  to  the 
northwest ;  the  ice  in  that  direction,  too,  was  tolerably  flat. 
Sverdrup  and  I  got  on  the  top  of  a  high-pressure  mound  at  some 
distance  from  here.  It  was  in  the  centre  of  what  had  been  very 
violent  packing,  but,  all  the  same,  the  wall  at  its  highest  was  not 
over  17  feet,  and  this  was  one  of  the  highest  and  biggest  alto- 
gether that  I  have  seen  yet.  An  altitude  of  the  moon  taken  this 
evening  showed  us  to  be  in  79°  35'  north  latitude  —  exactly  what 
I  had  thought.  We  are  so  accustomed  now  to  calculating  our 
drift  by  the  wind  that  we  are  able  to  tell  pretty  nearly  where  we 
are.  This  is  a  good  step  northward.  If  we  could  take  many  more 
such !  In  honor  of  the  King's  birthday  we  have  a  treat  of  figs, 
raisins,  and  almonds. 

*'  Tuesday,  January  23d  When  I  came  on  deck  this  morning 
*  Caiaphas '  was  sitting  out  on  the  ice  on  the  port  quarter,  bark- 
ing incessantly  to  the  east.  I  knew  there  must  be  something 
there,  and  went  off  with  a  revolver,  Sverdrup  following  with  one 
also.  When  I  got  near  the  dog  he  came  to  meet  me  ;  always 
wriggling  his  head  round  to  the  east  and  barking  ;  then  he  ran 
on  before  us  in  that  direction  ;  it  was  plain  that  there  was  some 
animal  there,  and  of  course  it  could  only  be  a  bear.  The  full 
moon  stood  low  and  red  in  the  north,  and  sent  its  feeble  light 
obliquely  across  the  broken  ice-surface.  I  looked  out  sharply  in 
all  directions  over  the  hummocks,  which  cast  long,  many-shaped 
shadows  ;  but  I  could  distinguish  nothing  in  this  confusion.  We 
went  on,  '  Caiaphas '  first,  growling  and  barking  and  pricking  his 
ears,  and  I  after  him,  expecting  every  moment  to  see  a  bear  loom 
up  in  front  of  us.  Our  course  was  eastward  along  the  opening. 
The  dog  presently  began  to  go  more  cautiously  and  straighter 
forward  ;  then  he  stopped  making  any  noise  except  a  low  growl 
— we  were  evidently  drawing  near.     I  mounted  a  hummock  to 


200  FARTHEST  NORTH 

look  about,  and  caught  sight  among  the  blocks  of  ice  of  some- 
thing dark,  which  seemed  to  be  coming  towards  us.  'There 
comes  a  black  dog,'  I  called.  '  No,  it  is  a  bear,'  said  Sverdrup, 
who  was  more  to  the  side  of  it  and  could  see  better.  I  saw  now, 
too,  that  it  was  a  large  animal,  and  that  it  had  only  been  its  head 
that  I  had  taken  for  a  dog.  It  was  not  unlike  a  bear  in  its  move- 
ments, but  it  seemed  to  me  remarkably  dark  in  color.  I  pulled 
the  revolver  out  of  the  holster  and  rushed  forward  to  empty  all 
its  barrels  into  the  creature's  head.  When  I  was  just  a  few  paces 
from  it,  and  preparing  to  shoot,  it  raised  its  head  and  I  saw  that 
it  was  a  walrus,  and  that  same  moment  it  threw  itself  sideways 
into  the  water.  There  we  stood.  To  shoot  at  such  a  fellow  with 
a  revolver  would  be  of  as  much  use  as  squirting  water  at  a  goose. 
The  great  black  head  showed  again  immediately  in  a  strip  of 
moonlight  on  the  dark  water.  The  animal  took  a  long  look  at 
us,  disappeared  for  a  little,  appeared  again  nearer,  bobbed  up  and 
down,  blew,  lay  with  its  head  under  water,  shoved  itself  over 
towards  us,  raised  its  head  again.  It  was  enough  to  drive  one 
mad ;  if  we  had  only  had  a  harpoon  I  could  easily  have  stuck  it 
into  its  back.  Yes,  if  we  had  had — and  back  to  the  Frani  we  ran 
as  fast  as  our  legs  would  carry  us  to  get  harpoon  and  rifle.  But 
the  harpoon  and  line  were  stored  away,  and  were  not  to  be  had 
at  once.  Who  could  have  guessed  that  they  would  be  needed 
here  ?  The  harpoon  point  had  to  be  sharpened,  and  all  this  took 
time.  And  for  all  our  searching  afterwards  east  and  west  along 
the  opening,  no  walrus  was  to  be  found.  Goodness  knows  where 
it  had  gone,  as  there  are  hardly  any  openings  in  the  ice  for  a  long 
distance  round.  Sverdrup  and  I  vainly  fret  over  not  having 
known  at  once  what  kind  of  animal  it  was,  for  if  we  had  only 
guessed  we  should  have  him  now.  But  who  expects  to  meet  a 
walrus  on  close  ice  in  the  middle  of  a  wild  sea  of  a  thousand 
fathoms'  depth,  and  that  in  the  heart  of  winter  ?  None  of  us 
ever  heard  of  such  a  thing  before  ;  it  is  a  perfect  mystery.  As 
I  thought  we  might  have  come  upon  shoals  or  into  the  neighbor- 
hood of  land,  I  had  soundings  taken  in  the  afternoon  with  130 
fathoms  (240  metres)  of  line,  but  no  bottom  was  found. 

"By  yesterday's  observations  we  are  in  79°  41'  north  latitude 
and  135°  29'  east  longitude.  That  is  good  progress  north,  and  it 
does  not  much  matter  that  we  have  been  taken  a  little  west. 
The  clouds  are  driving  this  evening  before  a  strong  south  wind, 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  201 

so  we  shall  likely  be  going  before  it  soon  too  ;  in  the  mean- 
time there  is  a  breeze  from  the  south  so  slight  that  you  hardly 
feel  it. 

"The  opening  on  our  stern  lies  almost  east  and  west.  We 
could  see  no  end  to  it  westward  when  we  went  after  the  walrus ; 
and  Mogstad  and  Peter  had  gone  three  miles  east,  and  it  was  as 
broad  as  ever  there. 

"Wednesday,  January  24th.  At  supper  this  evening  Peter 
told  some  of  his  remarkable  Spitzbergen  stories — about  his  com- 
rade Andreas  Bek.  '  Well,  you  see,  it  was  up  about  Dutchman's 
Island,  or  Amsterdam  Island,  that  Andreas  Bek  and  I  were  on 
shore  and  got  in  among  all  the  graves.  We  thought  we'd  like  to 
see  what  was  in  them,  so  we  broke  up  some  of  the  coffins,  and 
there  they  lay.  Some  of  them  still  had  flesh  on  their  jaws  and 
noses,  and  some  of  them  still  had  their  caps  on  their  heads. 
Andreas,  he  was  a  devil  of  a  fellow,  you  see,  and  he  broke  up  the 
coffins  and  got  hold  of  the  skulls,  and  rolled  them  about  here  and 
there.  Some  of  them  he  set  up  for  targets  and  shot  at.  Then 
he  wanted  to  see  if  there  was  marrow  left  in  their  bones,  so  he 
took  and  broke  a  thigh-bone — and,  sure  enough,  there  was  mar- 
row ;  he  took  and  picked  it  out  with  a  wooden  pin.' 

" '  How  could  he  do  a  thing  like  that  ?' 

"  *  Oh,  it  was  only  a  Dutchman,  you  know.  But  he  had  a  bad 
dream  that  night,  had  Andreas.  All  the  dead  men  came  to  fetch 
him,  and  he  ran  from  them  and  got  right  out  on  the  bowsprit, 
and  there  he  sat  and  yelled,  while  the  dead  men  stood  on  the 
forecastle.  And  the  one  with  his  broken  thigh-bone  in  his  hand 
was  foremost,  and  he  came  crawling  out,  and  wanted  Andreas 
to  put  it  together  again.  But  just  then  he  wakened.  We  were 
lying  in  the  same  berth,  you  see,  Andreas  and  me,  and  I  sat  up 
in  the  berth  and  laughed,  listening  to  him  yelling.  I  wouldn't 
waken  him,  not  I.  I  thought  it  was  fun  to  hear  him  getting  paid 
out  a  little.' 

"  *  It  was  bad  of  you,  Peter,  to  have  any  part  in  that  horrid 
plundering  of  dead  bodies.' 

"  *  Oh,  I  never  did  anything  to  them,  you  know.  Just  once  I 
broke  up  a  coffin  to  get  wood  to  make  a  fire  for  our  coffee ;  but 
when  we  opened  it  the  body  just  fell  to  pieces.  But  it  was  juicy 
wood,  that,  better  to  burn  than  the  best  fir-roots— such  a  fire  as 
it  made !' 


202  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  One  of  the  others  now  remarked,  '  Wasn't  it  the  devil  that 
used  a  skull  for  his  coffee-cup  ?' 

"  *  Well,  he  hadn't  anything  else,  you  see,  and  he  just  happened 
to  find  one.     There  was  no  harm  in  that,  was  there  ?' 

"  Then  Jacobsen  began  to  hold  forth  :  '  It's  not  at  all  such  an 
uncommon  thing  to  use  skulls  for  shooting  at,  either  because 
people  fancy  them  for  targets,  or  because  of  some  other  reason  ; 
they  shoot  in  through  the  eyeholes,'  etc.,  etc. 

"  I  asked  Peter  about  '  Tobiesen's '  coffin — if  it  had  ever  been 
dug  up  to  find  out  if  it  was  true  that  his  men  had  killed  him  and 
his  son. 

" '  No,  that  one  has  never  been  dug  up.' 

" '  I  sailed  past  there  last  year,'  begins  Jacobsen  again ;  *  I 
didn't  go  ashore,  but  it  seems  to  me  that  I  heard  that  it  had  been 
dug  up.' 

"  '  That's  just  rubbish  ;  it  has  never  been  dug  up.' 

"'Well,'  said  I,  'it  seems  to  me  that  I've  heard  something 
about  it  too  ;  I  believe  it  was  here  on  board,  and  I  am  very  much 
mistaken  if  it  was  not  yourself  that  said  it,  Peter.* 

"  '  No,  I  never  said  that.  All  I  said  was  that  a  man  once  stuck 
a  walrus-spear  through  the  coffin,  and  it's  sticking  there  yet.' 

"  '  What  did  he  do  that  for?' 

" '  Oh,  just  because  he  wanted  to  know  if  there  was  anything 
in  the  cofffn  ;  and  yet  he  didn't  want  to  open  it,  you  know.  But 
let  him  lie  in  peace  now.' 

"  Friday,  January  26th.  Peter  and  I  went  eastward  along  the 
opening  this  morning  for  about  seven  miles,  and  we  saw  where 
it  ends,  in  some  old  pressure-ridges ;  its  whole  length  is  over 
seven  miles.  Movement  in  the  ice  began  on  our  way  home ;  in- 
deed, there  was  pretty  strong  pressure  all  the  time.  As  we  were 
walking  on  the  new  ice  in  the  opening  it  rose  in  furrows  or  crack- 
ed under  our  feet.  Then  it  raised  itself  up  into  two  high  walls, 
between  which  we  walked  as  if  along  a  street,  amidst  unceasing 
noises,  sometimes  howling  and  whining  like  a  dog  complaining  of 
the  cold,  sometimes  a  roar  like  the  thunder  of  a  great  waterfall. 
We  were  often  obliged  to  take  refuge  on  the  old  ice,  either  be- 
cause we  came  to  open  water  with  a  confusion  of  floating  blocks, 
or  because  the  line  of  the  packing  had  gone  straight  across  the 
opening,  and  there  was  a  wall  in  front  of  us  like  a  high  frozen 
wave.     It  seemed  as  if  the  ice  on  the  south  side  of  the  opening 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  203 

where  the  Fram  is  lying  were  moving  east,  or  else  that  on  the 
north  side  was  moving  west ;  for  the  floes  on  the  two  sides  slanted 
in  towards  each  other  in  these  directions.  We  saw  tracks  of  a 
little  bear  which  had  trotted  along  the  opening  the  day  before. 
Unfortunately  it  had  gone  off  southwest,  and  we  had  small  hope, 
with  this  steady  south  wind,  of  its  getting  scent  of  the  ship  and 
coming  to  fetch  a  little  of  the  flesh  on  board. 

"  Saturday,  January  27th.  The  days  are  turning  distinctly 
lighter  now.  We  can  just  see  to  read  Verdens  Gang*  about  mid- 
day. At  that  time  to-day  Sverdrup  thought  he  saw  land  far 
astern  ;  it  was  dark  and  irregular,  in  some  places  high ;  he  fancied 
that  it  might  be  only  an  appearance  of  clouds.  When  I  returned 
from  a  walk,  about  i  o'clock,  I  went  up  to  look,  but  saw  only 
piled-up  ice.  Perhaps  this  was  the  same  as  he  saw,  or  possibly  I 
was  too  late.  (It  turned  out  next  day  to  be  only  an  optical  illu- 
sion.) .  Severe  pressure  has  been  going  on  this  evening.  It  began 
at  7.30  astern  in  the  opening,  and  went  on  steadily  for  two  hours. 
It  sounded  as  if  a  roaring  waterfall  were  rushing  down  upon  us 
with  a  force  that  nothing  could  resist.  One  heard  the  big  floes 
crashing  and  breaking  against  each  other.  They  were  flung  and 
pressed  up  into  high  walls,  which  must  now  stretch  along  the 
whole  opening  east  and  west,  for  one  hears  the  roar  the  whole 
way.  It  is  coming  nearer  just  now ;  the  ship  is  getting  violent 
shocks ;  it  is  like  waves  in  the  ice.  They  come  on  us  from  be- 
hind, and  move  forward.  We  stare  out  into  the  night,  but  can 
see  nothing,  for  it  is  pitch-dark.  Now  I  hear  cracking  and 
shifting  in  the  hummock  on  the  starboard  quarter ;  it  gets 
louder  and  stronger,  and  extends  steadily.  At  last  the  water- 
fall roar  abates  a  little.  It  becomes  more  unequal ;  there  is  a 
longer  interval  between  each  shock.  I  am  so  cold  that  I  creep 
below. 

"  But  no  sooner  have  I  seated  myself  to  write  than  the  ship 
begins  to  heave  and  tremble  again,  and  I  hear  through  her  sides 
the  roar  of  Lhe  packing.  As  the  bear-trap  may  be  in  danger, 
three  men  go  off  to  see  to  it,  but  they  find  that  there  is  a  distance 
of  50  paces  between  the  new  pressure-ridge  and  the  wire  by  which 
the  trap  is  secured,  so  they  leave  it  as  it  is.  The  pressure-ridge 
was  an  ugly  sight,  they  say,  but  they  could  distinguish  nothing 
well  in  the  dark. 

*  A  Norwegian  newspaper. 


204  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  Most  violent  pressure  is  beginning  again.  I  must  go  on  deck 
and  look  at  it.  The  loud  roar  meets  one  as  one  opens  the  door. 
It  is  coming  from  the  bow  now,  as  well  as  from  the  stern.  It  is 
clear  that  pressure-ridges  are  being  thrown  up  in  both  openings, 
so  if  they  reach  us  we  shall  be  taken  by  both  ends  and  lifted 
lightly  and  gently  out  of  the  water.  There  is  pressure  near  us  on 
all  sides.  Creaking  has  begun  in  the  old  hummock  on  the  port 
quarter ;  it  is  getting  louder,  and,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  the  hummock 
is  slowly  rising.  A  lane  has  opened  right  across  the  large  floe  on 
the  port  side ;  you  can  see  the  water,  dark  as  it  is.  Now  both 
pressure  and  noise  get  worse  and  worse ;  the  ship  shakes,  and  I 
feel  as  if  I  myself  were  being  gently  lifted  with  the  stern-rail, 
where  I  stand  gazing  out  at  the  welter  of  ice-masses  that  resem- 
ble giant  snakes  writhing  and  twisting  their  great  bodies  out 
there  under  the  quiet,  starry  sky,  whose  peace  is  only  broken  by 
one  aurora  serpent  waving  and  flickering  restlessly  in  the  north- 
east. I  once  more  think  what  a  comfort  it  is  to  be  safe  on  board 
the  Fram,  and  look  out  with  a  certain  contempt  at  the  horrible 
hurly-burly  Nature  is  raising  to  no  purpose  whatever ;  it  will  not 
crush  us  in  a  hurry,  nor  even  frighten  us.  Suddenly  I  remember 
that  my  fine  thermometer  is  in  a  hole  on  a  floe  to  port  on  the 
other  side  of  the  opening,  and  must  certainly  be  in  danger.  I 
jump  on  to  the  ice,  find  a  place  where  I  can  leap  across  the  open- 
ing, and  grope  about  in  the  dark  until  I  find  the  piece  of  ice  cov^ 
ering  the  hole ;  I  get  hold  of  the  string,  and  the  thermometer  is 
saved.  I  hurry  on  board  again  well  pleased,  and  down  into  my 
comfortable  cabin  to  smoke  a  pipe  of  peace — alas  !  this  vice  grows 
upon  me  more  and  more — and  to  listen  with  glee  to  the  roar  of 
the  pressure  outside  and  feel  its  shakings,  like  so  many  earth- 
quakes, as  I  sit  and  write  my  diary.  Safe  and  comfortable,  I 
cannot  but  think  with  deep  pity  of  the  many  who  have  had  to 
stand  by  on  deck  in  readiness  to  leave  their  frail  vessels  on  the 
occurrence  of  any  such  pressure.  The  poor  Tegethoff  fellows — 
they  had  a  bad  time  of  it,  and  yet  theirs  was  a  good  ship  in  com- 
parison with  many  of  the  others.  It  is  now  11.30,  and  the  noise 
outside  seems  to  be  subsiding. 

"  It  is  remarkable  that  we  should  have  this  strong  pressure  just 
now,  with  the  moon  in  its  last  quarter  and  neap  tide.  This  does 
not  agree  with  our  previous  experiences ;  no  more  does  the  fact 
that  the  pressure  the  day  before  yesterday  was  from  1 2  a.m.  to  about 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  205 

2  P.M.,  and  then  again  at  2  a.m.,  and  now  we  have  had  it  from  7.30 
to  10.30  P.M.  Can  land  have  something  to  do  with  it  here,  after  all  ? 
The  temperature  to-day  is  42°  Fahr.  below  zero  (—41.4°  C),  but 
there  is  no  wind,  and  we  have  not  had  such  pleasant  weather  for 
walking  for  a  long  time  ;  it  feels  almost  mild  here  when  the  air 
is  still. 

"  No,  that  was  not  the  end  of  the  pressure.  When  I  was  on 
deck  at  a  quarter  to  twelve  roaring  and  trembling  began  again 
in  the  ice  forward  on  the  port  quarter  ;  then  suddenly  came  one 
loud  boom  after  another,  sounding  out  in  the  distance,  and  the 
ship  gave  a  start ;  there  was  again  a  little  pressure,  and  after 
that  quietness.     Faint  aurora  borealis. 

"  Sunday,  January  28th.  Strange  to  say,  there  has  been  no 
pressure  since  12  o'clock  last  night;  the  ice  seems  perfectly 
quiet.  The  pressure-ridge  astern  showed  what  violent  packing 
yesterday's  was  ;  in  one  place  its  height  was  18  or  19  feet  above 
the  surface  of  the  water ;  floe-ice  8  feet  thick  was  broken,  pressed 
up  in  square  blocks,  and  crushed  to  pieces.  At  one  point  a 
huge  monolith  of  such  floe-ice  rose  high  into  the  air.  Beyond 
this  pressure-wall  there  was  no  great  disturbance  to  be  detected. 
There  had  been  a  little  packing  here  and  there,  and  the  floe  to  port 
had  four  or  five  large  cracks  across  it,  which  no  doubt  account- 
•  ed  for  the  explosions  I  heard  last  night.  The  ice  to  starboard 
was  also  cracked  in  several  places.  The  pressure  had  evidently 
come  from  the  north  or  N.N.E,  The  ridge  behind  us  is  one  of 
the  highest  I  have  seen  yet.  I  believe  that  if  the  Fram  had 
been  lying  there  she  would  have  been  lifted  right  out  of  the 
water.  I  walked  for  some  distance  in  a  northeasterly  direction, 
but  saw  no  signs  of  pressure  there. 

"  Another  Sunday.  It  is  wonderful  that  the  time  can  pass  so 
quickly  as  it  does.  For  one  thing  we  are  in  better  spirits,  know- 
ing that  we  are  drifting  steadily  north.  A  rough  estimate  of  to- 
day's observation  gives  79°  50'  north  latitude.  That  is  not  much 
since  Monday ;  but  then  yesterday  and  to-day  there  has  been  al- 
most no  wind  at  all,  and  the  other  days  it  has  been  very  light — 
only  once  or  twice  with  as  much  as  9  feet  velocity,  the  rest  of 
the  time  3  and  6. 

"  A  remarkable  event  happened  yesterday  afternoon  :  I  got 
Munthe's  picture  of  the  *  Three  Princesses '  fastened  firmly  on 
the  wall.     It  is  a  thing  that  we  have  been  going  to  do  ever  since 


206  FARTHEST  NORTH 

we  left  Christiania,  but  we  have  never  been  able  to  summon  up 
energy  for  such  a  heavy  undertaking  —  it  meant  knocking  in 
four  nails — and  the  picture  has  amused  itself  by  constantly  fall- 
ing and  guillotining  whoever  happened  to  be  sitting  on  the  sofa 
below  it. 

"Tuesday,  January  30th.  79°  49'  north  latitude,  134°  57'  east 
longitude,  is  the  tale  told  by  this  afternoon's  observations,  while 
by  Sunday  afternoon's  we  were  in  79°  50'  north  latitude  and  133° 
23'  east  longitude.  This  fall-off  to  the  southeast  again  was  not 
more  than  I  had  expected,  as  it  has  been  almost  calm  since  Sun- 
day. I  explain  the  thing  to  myself  thus  :  When  the  ice  has 
been  set  adrift  in  a  certain  direction  by  the  wind  blowing  that 
way  for  some  time  it  gradually  in  process  of  drifting  becomes 
more  compressed,  and  when  that  wind  dies  away  a  reaction  in 
the  opposite  direction  takes  place.  Such  a  reaction  must,  I  be- 
lieve, have  been  the  cause  of  Saturday's  pressure,  which  stopped 
entirely  as  suddenly  as  it  began.  Since  then  there  has  not  been 
the  slightest  appearance  of  movement  in  the  ice.  Probably  the 
pressure  indicates  the  time  when  the  drift  turned.  A  light 
breeze  has  sprung  up  this  afternoon  from  S.E.  and  E.S.E.,  in- 
creasing gradually  to  almost  'mill  wind.'  We  are  going  north 
again  ;  surely  we  shall  get  the  better  of  the  80th  degree  this 
time. 

"  Wednesday,  January  31st.  The  wind  is  whistling  among 
the  hummocks  ;  the  snow  flies  rustling  through  the  air ;  ice  and 
sky  are  melted  into  one.  It  is  dark ;  our  skins  are  smarting 
with  the  cold ;  but  we  are  going  north  at  full  speed,  and  are  in 
the  wildest  of  gay  spirits. 

"  Thursday,  February  ist.  The  same  sort  of  weather  as  yester- 
day, except  that  it  has  turned  quite  mild — 7^°  Fahr.  below  zero 
(  —  22°  C).  The  snow  is  falling  exactly  as  it  does  in  winter 
weather  at  home.  The  wind  is  more  southerly,  S.S.E.  now,  and 
rather  lighter.  It  may  be  taken  for  granted  that  we  have  passed 
the  80th  degree,  and  we  had  a  small  preliminary  fete  this  even- 
ing— figs,  raisins,  and  almonds — and  dart-shooting,  which  last  re- 
sulted for  me  in  a  timely  replenishment  of  my  cigarette-case. 

"  Friday,  February  2d.  High  festival  to-day  in  honor  of  the 
80th  degree,  beginning  with  fresh  rye-bread  and  cake  for  break- 
fast. Took  a  long  walk  to  get  up  an  appetite  for  dinner.  Ac- 
cording to  this  morning's  observation,  we  are  in  80°  10'  north 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  207 

latitude  and  132°  10'  east  longitude.  Hurrah  !  Well  sailed !  I 
had  offered  to  bet  heavily  that  we  had  passed  80°,  but  no  one 
would  take  the  bet.  Dinner  menu  :  Ox-tail  soup,  fish-pudding, 
potatoes,  rissoles,  green  pease,  haricot  beans,  cloudberries  with 
milk,  and  a  whole  bottle  of  beer  to  each  man.  Coffee  and  a 
cigarette  after  dinner.  Could  one  wish  for  more?  In  the  even- 
ing we  had  tinned  pears  and  peaches,  gingerbread,  dried  bana- 
nas, figs,  raisins,  and  almonds.  Complete  holiday  all  day.  We 
read  aloud  the  discussions  of  this  expedition  published  before  we 
left,  and  had  some  good  laughs  at  the  many  objections  raised. 
But  our  people  at  home,  perhaps,  do  not  laugh  if  they  read  them 
now. 

"  Monday,  February  5th.  Last  time  we  shall  have  Ringnes's 
beer  at  dinner.     Day  of  mourning. 

"Tuesday,  February  6th.  Calm,  clear  weather.  A  strong 
sun-glow  above  the  horizon  in  the  south  ;  yellow,  green,  and 
light  blue  above  that ;  all  the  rest  of  the  sky  deep  ultramarine. 
I  stood  looking  at  it,  trying  to  remember  if  the  Italian  sky  was 
ever  bluer ;  I  do  not  think  so.  It  is  curious  that  this  deep  color 
should  always  occur  along  with  cold.  Is  it  perhaps  that  a  cur- 
rent from  more  northerly,  clear  regions  produces  drier  and  more 
transparent  air  in  the  upper  strata  ?  The  color  was  so  remark- 
able to-day  that  one  could  not  help  noticing  it.  Striking  con- 
trasts to  it  were  formed  by  the  Pram's  red  deck-house  and  the 
white  snow  on  roof  and  rigging.  Ice  and  hummocks  were  quite 
violet  wherever  they  were  turned  from  the  daylight.  This  color 
was  specially  strong  over  the  fields  of  snow  upon  the  floes.  The 
temperature  has  been  52°  Fahr.  and  54°  Fahr.  below  zero  (—47° 
and  —48°  C).  There  is  a  sudden  change  of  125°  Fahr.  when  one 
comes  up  from  the  saloon,  where  the  thermometer  is  at  72°  Fahr 
(-f  22°  C);  but,  although  thinly  clad  and  bareheaded,  one  does 
not  feel  it  cold,  and  can  even  with  impunity  take  hold  of  the 
brass  door-handle  or  the  steel  cable  of  the  rigging.  The  cold  is 
visible,  however ;  one's  breath  is  like  cannon  smoke  before  it 
is  out  of  one's  mouth  ;  and  when  a  man  spits  there  is  quite  a 
little  cloud  of  steam  round  the  fallen  moisture.  The  Fram  al- 
ways gives  off  a  mist,  which  is  carried  along  by  the  wind,  and  a 
man  or  a  dog  can  be  detected  far  off  among  the  hummocks  or 
pressure-ridges  by  the  pillar  of  vapor  that  follows  his  progress. 

"  Wednesday,  February  7th.     It  is  extraordinary  what  a  frail 


2o8  FARTHEST  NORTH 

thing  hope,  or  rather  the  mind  of  man,  is.  There  was  a  little 
breeze  this  morning  from  the  N.N.E.,  only  6  feet  per  second, 
thermometer  at  57°  Fahr.  below  zero  (—49.6°  C),  and  immediately 
one's  brow  is  clouded  over,  and  it  becomes  a  matter  of  indiffer- 
ence how  we  get  home,  so  long  as  we  only  get  home  soon.  I  im- 
mediately assume  land  to  the  northward,  from  which  come  these 
cold  winds,  with  clear  atmosphere  and  frost  and  bright  blue  skies, 
and  conclude  that  this  extensive  tract  of  land  must  form  a  pole 
of  cold  with  a  constant  maximum  of  air  -  pressure,  which  will 
force  us  south  with  northeast  winds.  About  mid-day  the  air  be- 
gan to  grow  more  hazy  and  my  mood  less  gloomy.  No  doubt 
there  is  a  south  wind  coming,  but  the  temperature  is  still  too 
low  for  it.  Then  the  temperature,  too,  rises,  and  now  we  can 
rely  on  the  wind.  And  this  evening  it  came,  sure  enough,  from 
S.S.W.,  and  now,  12  p.m.,  its  velocity  is  11  feet,  and  the  tempera- 
ture has  risen  to  43°  Fahr.  below  zero  (—42°  C).  This  promises 
well.  We  should  soon  reach  81°.  The  land  to  the  northward 
has  now  vanished  from  my  mind's  eye. 

"We  had  lime-juice  with  sugar  at  dinner  to-day  instead  of 
beer,  and  it  seemed  to  be  approved  of.  We  call  it  wine,  and  we 
agreed  that  it  was  better  than  cider.  Weighing  has  gone  on  this 
evening,  and  the  increase  in  certain  cases  is  still  disquieting. 
Some  have  gained  as  much  as  4  pounds  in  the  last  month — for 
instance,  Sverdrup,  Blessing,  and  Juell,  who  beats  the  record  on 
board  with  13  stone.  '  I  never  weighed  so  much  as  I  do  now,' 
says  Blessing,  and  it  is  much  the  same  story  with  us  all.  Yes, 
this  is  a  fatiguing  expedition,  but  our  menus  are  always  in  due 
proportion  to  our  labors.  To-day's  dinner  :  Knorr's  bean  soup, 
toad-in-the-hole,  potatoes,  rice  and  milk,  with  cranberry  jam. 
Yesterday's  dinner  :  Fish  au  gratin  (hashed  fish)  with  potatoes, 
curried  rabbit  with  potatoes  and  French  beans,  stewed  bilberries, 
and  cranberries  with  milk.  At  breakfast  yesterday  we  had  fresh- 
ly baked  wheat  -  bread,  at  breakfast  to  -  day  freshly  baked  rye- 
bread.  These  are  specimens  of  our  ordinary  bills  of  fare.  It  is  as 
I  expected :  I  hear  the  wind  roaring  in  the  rigging  now ;  it  is 
going  to  be  a  regular  storm,  according  to  our  ideas  of  one  here. 

"  Saturday,  February  loth.  Though  that  wind  the  other  day 
did  not  come  to  much,  after  all,  we  still  hoped  that  we  had  made 
good  way  north,  and  it  was  consequently  an  unwelcome  surprise 
when  yesterday's  observation  showed  our  latitude  to  be  79°  57'  N., 


THE  WINTER  NIGHT  209 

13'  farther  south  instead  of  farther  north.  It  is  extraordinary 
how  little  inured  one  gets  to  disappointments ;  the  longing 
begins  again ;  and  again  attainment  seems  so  far  off,  so  doubt- 
ful. And  this  though  I  dream  at  nights  just  now  of  getting 
out  of  the  ice  west  of  Iceland.  Hope  is  a  rickety  craft  to  trust 
one's  self  to.  I  had  a  long,  successful  drive  with  the  dogs  to- 
day. 

"Sunday,  February  nth.  To-day  we  drove  out  with  two 
teams  of  dogs.  Things  went  well ;  the  sledges  got  on  much  bet- 
ter over  this  ice  than  I  thought  they  would.  They  do  not  sink 
much  in  the  snow.     On  flat  ice  four  dogs  can  draw  two  men. 

*'  Tuesday,  February  13th.  A  long  drive  southwest  yesterday 
with  white  dogs.  To-day  still  farther  in  the  same  direction  on 
snow-shoes.  It  is  good,  healthy  exercise  with  a  temperature  of 
43°  Fahr.  to  47°  Fahr.  below  zero  (  —42°  and  —44°  C.)  and  a  bit- 
ing north  wind.  Nature  is  so  fair  and  pure,  the  ice  is  so  spotless, 
and  the  lights  and  shadows  of  the  growing  day  so  beautiful 
on  the  new-fallen  snow.  The  Pram's  hoar-frost-covered  rigging 
rises  straight  and  white  with  rime  towards  the  sparkling  blue 
sky.     One's  thoughts  turn  to  the  snow-shoeing  days  at  home. 

"Thursday,  February  15th.  I  went  yesterday  on  snow-shoes 
farther  northeast  than  I  have  ever  been  before,  but  I  could  still 
see  the  ship's  rigging  above  the  edge  of  the  ice.  I  was  able  to 
go  fast,  because  the  ice  was  flat  in  that  direction.  To-day  I  went 
the  same  way  with  dogs.  I  am  examining  the  *  lie  of  the  land ' 
all  round,  and  thinking  of  plans  for  the  future. 

"What  exaggerated  reports  of  the  Arctic  cold  are  in  circula- 
tion !  It  was  cold  in  Greenland,  and  it  is  not  milder  here ;  the 
general  day  temperature  just  now  is  about  40°  Fahr.  and  43° 
Fahr.  below  zero.  I  was  clothed  yesterday  as  usual  as  regards 
the  legs  —  drawers,  knickerbockers,  stockings,  frieze  leggings, 
snow-socks,  and  moccasins ;  my  body  covering  consisted  of  an 
ordinary  shirt,  a  wolfskin  cape,  and  a  sealskin  jacket,  and  I 
sweated  like  a  horse.  To-day  I  sat  still,  driving  with  only  thin 
ducks  above  my  ordinary  leg  wear,  and  on  my  body  woollen  shirt, 
vest,  Iceland  woollen  Jersey,  a  frieze  coat,  and  a  sealskin  one.  I 
found  the  temperature  quite  pleasant,  and  even  perspired  a  lit- 
tle to-day,  too.  Both  yesterday  and  to-day  I  had  a  red-flannel 
mask  on  my  face,  but  it  made  me  too  warm,  and  I  had  to  take 
it  off,  though  there  was  a  bitter  breeze  from  the  north.  That 
14 


210  FARTHEST  NORTH 

north  wind  is  still  persistent,  sometimes  with  a  velocity  of  9  or 
even  13  feet,  but  yet  we  do  not  seem  to  be  drifting  south  ;  we 
lie  in  80°  north  latitude,  or  even  a  few  minutes  farther  north. 
What  can  be  the  reason  of  this  ?  There  is  a  little  pressure  every 
day  just  now.  Curious  that  it  should  again  occur  at  the  moon's 
change  of  quarter.  The  moon  stands  high  in  the  sky,  and  there 
is  daylight  now,  too.  Soon  the  sun  will  be  making  his  appear- 
ance, and  when  he  does  we  shall  hold  high  festival. 

"Friday,  February  i6th.  Hurrah!  A  meridian  observation 
to-day  shows  80°  i'  north  latitude,  so  that  we  have  come  a  few 
minutes  north  since  last  Friday,  and  that  in  spite  of  constant 
northerly  winds  since  Monday.  There  is  something  very  singu- 
lar about  this.  Is  it,  as  I  have  thought  all  along  from  the  appear- 
ance of  the  clouds  and  the  haziness  of  the  air,  that  there  has  been 
south  wind  in  the  south,  preventing  the  drift  of  the  ice  that  way, 
or  have  we  at  last  come  under  the  influence  of  a  current  ?  That 
shove  we  got  to  the  south  lately  in  the  face  of  southerly  winds 
was  a  remarkable  thing,  and  so  is  our  remaining  where  we  are 
now  in  spite  of  the  northerly  ones.  It  would  seem  that  new 
powers  of  some  kind  must  be  at  work. 

"  To-day  another  noteworthy  thing  happened,  which  was  that 
about  mid-day  we  saw  the  sun,  or,  to  be  more  correct,  an  image 
of  the  sun,  for  it  was  only  a  mirage.  A  peculiar  impression  was 
produced  by  the  sight  of  that  glowing  fire  lit  just  above  the 
outermost  edge  of  the  ice.  According  to  the  enthusiastic  de- 
scriptions given  by  many  Arctic  travellers  of  the  first  appearance 
of  this  god  of  life  after  the  long  winter  night,  the  impression 
ought  to  be  one  of  jubilant  excitement ;  but  it  was  not  so  in  my 
case.  We  had  not  expected  to  see  it  for  some  days  yet,  so  that 
my  feeling  was  rather  one  of  pain,  of  disappointment,  that  we 
must  have  drifted  farther  south  than  we  thought.  So  it  was  with 
pleasure  I  soon  discovered  that  it  could  not  be  the  sun  itself. 
The  mirage  was  at  first  like  a  flattened-out  glowing  red  streak 
of  fire  on  the  horizon  ;  later  there  were  two  streaks,  the  one 
above  the  other,  with  a  dark  space  between ;  and  from  the  main- 
top I  could  see  four,  or  even  five,  such  horizontal  lines  directly 
over  one  another,  and  all  of  equal  length ;  as  if  one  could  only 
imagine  a  square  dull-red  sun  with  horizontal  dark  streaks  across 
it.  An  astronomical  observation  we  took  in  the  afternoon  showed 
that  the  sun  must  in  reality  have  been  2°  22'  below  the  horizon 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  211 

at  noon  ;  we  cannot  expect  to  see  its  disk  above  the  ice  before 
Tuesday  at  the  earliest  :  it  depends  on  the  refraction,  which  is 
very  strong  in  this  cold  air.  All  the  same,  we  had  a  small  sun- 
festival  this  evening,  on  the  occasion  of  the  appearance  of  its 
image — a  treat  of  figs,  bananas,  raisins,  almonds,  and  ginger- 
bread. 

"  Sunday,  February  i8th.  I  went  eastward  yesterday  on  snow- 
shoes,  and  found  a  good  snow-shoeing  and  driving  road  out  to  the 
fiats  that  lie  in  that  direction.  There  is  a  pretty  bad  bit  first,  with 
hummocks  and  pressure-ridges,  and  then  you  come  out  on  these 
great  wide  plains,  which  seem  to  extend  for  miles  and  miles  to 
the  north,  east,  and  southeast.  To-day  I  drove  out  there  with 
eight  dogs ;  the  driving  goes  capitally  now  ;  some  of  the  others 
followed  on  snow-shoes.  Still  northerly  wind.  This  is  slow  work  ; 
but,  anyhow,  we  are  having  clear,  bright  weather.  Yes,  it  is  all 
very  well — we  snow-shoe,  sledge,  read  both  for  instruction  and 
amusement,  write,  take  observations,  play  cards,  chat,  smoke, 
play  chess,  eat  and  drink  ;  but  all  the  same  it  is  an  execrable  life 
in  the  long-run,  this — at  least,  so  it  seems  to  me  at  times.  When 
I  look  at  the  picture  of  our  beautiful  home  in  the  evening  light, 
with  my  wife  standing  in  the  garden,  I  feel  as  if  it  were  impossi- 
ble that  this  could  go  on  much  longer.  But  only  the  merciless 
fates  know  when  we  shall  stand  there  together  again,  feeling  all 
life's  sweetness  as  we  look  out  over  the  smiling  fjord,  and  ,  .  . 
Taking  everything  into  calculation,  if  I  am  to  be  perfectly  honest, 
I  think  this  is  a  wretched  state  of  matters.  We  are  now  in  about 
80°  north  latitude,  in  September  we  were  in  79° ;  that  is,  let  us 
say,  one  degree  for  five  months.  If  we  go  on  at  this  rate  we  shall 
be  at  the  Pole  in  forty-five,  or  say  fifty,  months,  and  in  ninety  or 
one  hundred  months  at  80°  north  latitude  on  the  other  side  of  it, 
with  probably  some  prospect  of  getting  out  of  the  ice  and  home 
in  a  month  or  two  more.  At  best,  if  things  go  on  as  they  are 
doing  now,  we  shall  be  home  in  eight  years.  I  remember  Brogger 
writing  before  I  left,  when  I  was  planting  small  bushes  and  trees 
in  the  garden  for  future  generations,  that  no  one  knew  what 
length  of  shadows  these  trees  would  cast  by  the  time  I  came 
back.  Well,  they  are  lying  under  the  winter  snow  now,  but  in 
spring  they  will  shoot  and  grow  again — how  often  ?  Oh  !  at  times 
this  inactivity  crushes  one's  very  soul ;  one's  life  seems  as  dark 
as  the  winter  night  outside  ;  there  is  sunlight  upon  no  part  of  it 


212  FARTHEST  NORTH 

except  the  past  and  the  far,  far  distant  future.  I  feel  as  if  I  must 
break  through  this  deadness,  this  inertia,  and  find  some  outlet 
for  my  energies.  Can't  something  happen  ?  Could  not  a  hurri- 
cane come  and  tear  up  this  ice,  and  set  it  rolling  in  high  waves 
like  the  open  sea?  Welcome  danger,  if  it  only  brings  us  the 
chance  of  fighting  for  our  lives — only  lets  us  move  onward  !  The 
miserable  thing  is  to  be  inactive  onlookers,  not  to  be  able  to  lift 
a  hand  to  help  ourselves  forward.  It  wants  ten  times  more 
strength  of  mind  to  sit  still  and  trust  in  your  theories  and  let 
nature  work  them  out  without  your  being  able  so  much  as  to  lay 
one  stick  across  another  to  help,  than  it  does  to  trust  in  working 
them  out  by  your  own  energy — that  is  nothing  when  you  have  a 
pair  of  strong  arms.  Here  I  sit,  whining  like  an  old  woman. 
Did  I  not  know  all  this  before  I  started  ?  Things  have  not  gone 
worse  than  I  expected,  but,  on  the  contrary,  rather  better. 
Where  is  now  the  serene  hopefulness  that  spread  itself  in  the 
daylight  and  the  sun?  Where  are  those  proud  imaginings  now 
that  mounted  like  young  eagles  towards  the  brightness  of  the 
future?  Like  broken-winged,  wet  crows  they  leave  the  sunlit 
sea,  and  hide  themselves  in  the  misty  marshes  of  despondency. 
Perhaps  it  will  all  come  back  again  with  the  south  wind  ;  but, 
no — I  must  go  and  rummage  up  one  of  the  old  philosophers 
again. 

"There  is  a  little  pressure  this  evening,  and  an  observation 
just  taken  seems  to  indicate  a  drift  of  3'  south. 

"11  P.M.  Pressure  in  the  opening  astern.  The  ice  is  cracking 
and  squeezing  against  the  ship,  making  it  shake. 

"Monday,  February  19th.  Once  more  it  may  be  said  that  the 
night  is  darkest  just  before  the  dawn.  Wind  began  to  blow  from 
the  south  to-day,  and  has  reached  a  velocity  of  13  feet  per  second. 
We  did  some  ice-boring  this  morning,  and  found  that  the  ice  to 
port  is  5  feet  ii|  inches  (1.875  metres)  thick,  with  a  layer  of 
about  i\  inches  of  snow  over  it.  The  ice  forward  was  6  feet  7^ 
inches  (2.08  metres)  thick,  but  a  couple  of  inches  of  this  was 
snow.  This  cannot  be  called  much  growth  for  quite  a  month, 
when  one  thinks  that  the  temperature  has  been  down  to  58°  Fahr. 
below  zero. 

"  Both  to-day  and  yesterday  we  have  seen  the  mirage  of  the 
sun  again ;  to-day  it  was  high  above  the  horizon,  and  almost 
seemed  to  assume  a  round,  disk-like  form.     Some  of  the  others 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  213 

maintain  that  they  have  seen  the  upper  edge  of  the  sun  itself ; 
Peter  and  Bentzen,  that  they  have  seen  at  least  half  of  the  disk, 
and  Juell  and  Hansen  declare  that  the  whole  of  it  was  above  the 
horizon.  I  am  afraid  it  is  so  long  since  they  saw  it  that  they 
have  forgotten  what  it  is  like. 

"  Tuesday,  February  20th.  Great  sun-festival  to-day  without 
any  sun.  We  felt  certain  we  should  see  it,  but  there  were  clouds 
on  the  horizon.  However,  we  were  not  going  to  be  cheated  out 
of  our  festival ;  we  can  hold  another  on  the  occasion  of  really 
seeing  it  for  the  first  time.  We  began  with  a  grand  rifle  practice 
in  the  morning ;  then  there  was  a  dinner  of  three  or  four  courses 
and  '/r^wwine,'  otherwise  lime-juice,  coffee  afterwards  with 
^ Fram  cake.'  In  the  evening  pineapple,  cake,  figs,  bananas,  and 
sweets.  We  go  off  to  bed  feeling  that  we  have  over-eaten  our- 
selves, while  half  a  gale  from  the  S.E.  is  blowing  us  northward. 
The  mill  has  been  going  to-day,  and,  though  the  real  sun  did  not 
come  to  the  festival,  our  saloon  sun  lighted  up  our  table  both  at 
dinner  and  supper.  Great  face  -  washing  in  honor  of  the  day. 
The  way  we  are  laying  on  flesh  is  getting'serious.  Several  of  us 
are  like  prize  pigs,  and  the  bulge  of  cook  Juell's  cheeks,  not  to 
mention  another  part  of  his  body,  is  quite  alarming.  I  saw  him 
in  profile  to-day,  and  wondered  how  he  would  ever  manage  to 
carry  such  a  corporation  over  the  ice  if  we  should  have  to  turn 
out  one  of  these  fine  days.  Must  begin  to  think  of  a  course  of 
short  rations  now. 

"Wednesday,  February  21st.  The  south  wind  continues. 
Took  up  the  bag-nets  to-day  which  were  put  out  the  day  before 
yesterday.  In  the  upper  one,  which  hung  near  the  surface,  there 
were  chiefly  amphipoda  ;  in  Murray's  net,  which  hung  at  about 
50  fathoms'  depth,  there  was  a  variety  of  small  Crustacea  and 
other  small  animals  shining  with  such  a  strong  phosphorescence 
that  the  contents  of  the  net  looked  like  glowing  embers  as  I  emp- 
tied them  out  in  the  cook's  galley  by  lamplight.  To  my  astonish- 
ment the  net-line  pointed  northwest,  though  from  the  wind  there 
ought  to  be  a  good  northerly  drift.  To  clear  this  matter  up  I  let 
the  net  down  in  the  afternoon,  and  as  soon  as  it  got  a  little  way 
under  the  ice  the  line  pointed  northwest  again,  and  continued  to 
do  so  the  whole  afternoon.  How  is  this  phenomenon  to  be  ex- 
plained ?  Can  we,  after  all,  be  in  a  current  moving  northwest  ? 
Let  us  hope  that  the  future  will  prove  such  to  be  the  case.     We 


214  FARTHEST  NORTH 

can  reckon  on  two  points  of  variation  in  the  compass,  and  in  that 
case  the  current  would  make  due  N.N.W.  There  seems  to  be 
strong  movement  in  the  ice.  It  has  opened  and  formed  channels 
in  several  places. 

"  Thursday,  February  22d.  The  net-line  has  pointed  west  all 
day  till  now,  afternoon,  when  it  is  pointing  straight  up  and  down, 
and  we  are  presumably  lying  still.  The  wind  slackened  to-day 
till  it  was  quite  calm  in  the  afternoon.  Then  there  came  a  faint 
breeze  from  the  southwest  and  from  the  west,  and  this  evening 
the  long-dreaded  northwester  has  come  at  last.  At  9  p.m.  it  is 
blowing  pretty  hard  from  N.N.W,  An  observation  of  Capella 
taken  in  the  afternoon  would  seem  to  show  that  we  are,  in  any 
case,  not  farther  north  than  80°  11',  and  this  after  almost  four 
days'  south  wind.  Whatever  can  be  the  meaning  of  this  ?  Is 
there  dead-water  under  the  ice,  keeping  it  from  going  either  for- 
ward or  backward?  The  ice  to  starboard  cracked  yesterday, 
away  beyond  the  bear-trap.  The  thickness  of  the  solid  floe  was 
iij  feet  (3.45  metres),  but,  besides  this,  other  ice  was  packed  on 
to  it  below.  Where  it  was  broken  across  the  floe  showed  a 
marked  stratified  formation,  recalling  the  stratification  of  a  glac- 
ier. Even  the  darker  and  dirtier  strata  were  there,  the  color  in 
this  case  produced  by  the  brownish-red  organisms  that  inhabit 
the  water,  specimens  of  which  I  found  at  an  earlier  date.  In 
several  places  the  strata  were  bent  and  broken,  exactly  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  geological  strata  forming  the  earth's  crust. 
This  was  evidently  the  result  of  the  horizontal  pressure  in  the 
ice  at  the  time  of  packing.  It  was  especially  noticeable  at  one 
place,  near  a  huge  mound  formed  during  the  last  pressure.  Here 
the  strata  looked  very  much  as  they  are  represented  in  the  an- 
nexed drawing.* 

It  was  extraordinary,  too,  to  see  how  this  floe  of  over  three 
yards  in  thickness  was  bent  into  great  waves  without  breaking. 
This  was  clearly  done  by  pressure,  and  was  specially  noticeable, 
more  particularly  near  the  pressure-ridges,  which  had  forced  the 
floe  down  so  that  its  upper  surface  lay  even  with  the  water-line, 
while  at  other  places  it  was  a  good  half-yard  above  it,  in  these 
last  cases  thrust  up  by  ice  pressed  in  below.     It  all  shows  how 

♦  In  spite  of  this  bending  of  the  strata,  the  surface  of  the  ice  and  snow 
remained  even. 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT 


215 


extremely  plastic  these  floes  are,  in  spite  of  the  cold ;  the  tem- 
perature of  the  ice  near  the  surface  must  have  been  from  4° 
Fahr.  to  22°  Fahr.  below  zero  (  —  20°  to  —30^°  C.)  at  the  time  of 
these  pressures.     In  many  places  the  bending  had  been  too  vio- 


DIAGRAMS    OF    ICE    WITH    LAYERS 


lent,  and  the  floe  had  cracked.  The  cracks  were  often  covered 
with  loose  ice,  so  that  one  could  easily  enough  fall  into  them, 
just  as  in  crossing  a  dangerous  glacier. 

"  Saturday,  February  24th.  Observations  to-day  show  us  to 
be  in  79°  54'  north  latitude,  132°  57'  east  longitude.  Strange 
that  we  should  have  come  so  far  south  when  the  north  or  north- 
west wind  only  blew  for  twenty-four  hours. 

"  Sunday,  February  25th.  It  looks  as  if  the  ice  were  drifting 
eastward  now.  Oh  !  I  see  pictures  of  summer  and  green  trees 
and  rippling  streams.  I  am  reading  of  valley  and  mountain  life, 
and  I  grow  sick  at  heart  and  enervated.  Why  dwell  on  such 
things  just  now?  It  will  be  many  a  long  day  before  we  can  see 
all  that  again.  We  are  going  at  the  miserable  pace  of  a  snail, 
but  not  so  surely  as  it  goes.  We  carry  our  house  with  us ;  but 
what  we  do  one  day  is  undone  the  next. 

"Monday,  February   26th.      We  are  drifting  northeast.      A 


2i6  FARTHEST  NORTH 

tremendous  snow-storm  is  going  on.  The  wind  has  at  times  a 
velocity  of  over  35  feet  per  second  ;  it  is  howling  in  the  rigging, 
whistling  over  the  ice,  and  the  snow  is  drifting  so  badly  that  a 
man  might  be  lost  in  it  quite  near  at  hand.  We  are  sitting  here 
listening  to  the  howling  in  the  chimney  and  in  the  ventilators, 
just  as  if  we  were  sitting  in  a  house  at  home  in  Norway.  The 
wings  of  the  windmill  have  being  going  round  at  such  a  rate 
that  you  could  hardly  distinguish  them  ;  but  we  have  had  to 
stop  the  mill  this  evening  because  the  accumulators  are  full,  and 
we  fastened  up  the  wings  so  that  the  wind  might  not  destroy 
them.     We  have  had  electric  light  for  almost  a  week  now. 

"This  is  the  strongest  wind  we  have  had  the  whole  winter. 
If  anything  can  shake  up  the  ice  and  drive  us  north,  this  must 
do  it.  But  the  barometer  is  falling  too  fast ;  there  will  be  north 
wind  again  presently.  Hope  has  been  disappointed  too  often  ; 
it  is  no  longer  elastic  ;  and  the  gale  makes  no  great  impression 
on  me.  I  look  forward  to  spring  and  summer,  in  suspense  as  to 
what  change  they  will  bring.  But  the  Arctic  night,  the  dreaded 
Arctic  night,  is  over,  and  we  have  daylight  once  again.  I  must 
say  that  I  see  no  appearance  of  the  sunken,  wasted  faces  which 
this  night  ought  to  have  produced ;  in  the  clearest  daylight  and 
the  brightest  sunshine  I  can  only  discover  plump,  comfortable- 
looking  ones.  It  is  curious  enough,  though,  about  the  light. 
We  used  to  think  it  was  like  real  day  down  here  when  the  incan- 
descent lamps  were  burning ;  but  now,  coming  down  from  the 
daylight,  though  they  may  be  all  lit,  it  is  like  coming  into  a  cel- 
lar. When  the  arc  lamp  has  been  burning  all  day,  as  it  has  to- 
day, and  is  then  put  out  and  its  place  supplied  by  the  incandes- 
cent ones,  the  effect  is  much  the  same. 

"Tuesday,  February  27th.  Drifting  E.S.E.  My  pessimism 
is  justified.  A  strong  west  wind  has  blown  almost  all  day  ;  the 
barometer  is  low,  but  has  begun  to  rise  unsteadily.  The  tem- 
perature is  the  highest  we  have  had  all  winter ;  to-day's  max- 
imum is  15°  Fahr.  above  zero  (  —  9.7°  C).  At  8  p.m.  the  ther- 
mometer stood  at  7°  Fahr.  below  zero  (  — 2  2°C.).  The  temperature 
rises  and  falls  almost  exactly  conversely  with  the  barometer.  This 
afternoon's  observation  places  us  in  about  80°  10'  north  latitude. 

"Wednesday,  February  28th.  Beautiful  weather  to-day,  al- 
most still,  and  temperature  only  about  15°  Fahr.  to  22°  Fahr.  be- 
low zero  (  —  26°  to  —30^°  C).    There  were  clouds  in  the  south,  so 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  217 

that  not  much  was  to  be  seen  of  the  sun ;  but  it  is  light  wonder- 
fully long  already.  Sverdrup  and  I  went  snow -shoeing  after 
dinner — the  first  time  this  year  that  we  have  been  able  to  do 
anything  of  the  kind  in  the  afternoon.  We  made,  attempts  to 
pump  yesterday  and  to-day  ;  there  ought  to  be  a  little  water,  but 
the  pump  would  not  suck,  though  we  tried  both  warm  water  and 
salt.  Possibly  there  is  water  frozen  round  it,  and  possibly  there 
is  no  water  at  all.  In  the  engine-room  there  has  been  no  appear- 
ance of  water  for  more  than  a  month,  and  none  comes  into  the 
forehold,  especially  now  that  the  bow  is  raised  up  by  the  pack- 
ice  ;  so  if  there  is  any  it  can  only  be  a  little  in  the  hold.  This 
tightening  may  be  attributed  chiefly  to  the  frost. 

"The  wind  has  begun  to  blow  again  from  the  S.S.W.  this 
evening,  and  the  barometer  is  falling,  which  ought  to  mean  good 
wind  coming  ;  but  the  barometer  of  hope  does  not  rise  above  its 
normal  height.  I  had  a  bath  this  evening  in  a  tin  tub  in  the 
galley  ;  trimmed  and  clean,  one  feels  more  of  a  human  being. 

"  Thursday,  March  ist.  We  are  lying  almost  still.  Beautiful 
mild  weather,  only  2^°  Fahr.  below  zero  (  — 19°  C.) ;  sky  overcast ; 
light  fall  of  snow  and  light  wind.  We  made  attempts  to  sound 
to-day,  having  lengthened  our  hemp  line  with  a  single  strand  of 
steel.  This  broke  off  with  the  lead.  We  put  on  a  new  lead  and 
the  whole  line  ran  out,  about  2000  fathoms,  without  touching 
bottom,  so  far  as  we  could  make  out.  In  process  of  hauling  in, 
the  steel  line  broke  again.  So  the  results  are :  no  bottom,  and 
two  sounding  -  leads,  each  of  100  pounds'  weight,  making  their 
way  down.  Goodness  knows  if  they  have  reached  the  bottom 
yet.  I  declare  I  feel  inclined  to  believe  that  Bentzen  is  right, 
and  that  it  is  the  hole  at  the  earth's  axis  we  are  trying  to 
sound. 

"  Friday,  March  2d.  The  pups  have  lived  until  now  in  the 
chart-room,  and  have  done  all  the  mischief  there  that  they  could, 
gnawing  the  cases  of  Hansen's  instruments,  the  log-books,  etc. 
They  were  taken  out  on  deck  yesterday  for  the  first  time,  and 
to-day  they  have  been  there  all  the  morning.  They  are  of  an 
inquiring  turn  of  mind,  and  examine  everything,  being  specially 
interested  in  the  interiors  of  all  the  kennels  in  this  new,  large 
town. 

"  Sunday,  March  4th.  The  drift  is  still  strong  south.  There 
is  northwesterly  wind  to-day  again,  but  not  quite  so  much  of  it. 


2i8        <  FARTHEST  NORTH 

I  expected  we  had  come  a  long  way  south,  but  yesterday's  ob- 
servation still  showed  79°  54'  north  latitude.  We  must  have 
drifted  a  good  way  north  during  the  last  days  before  this  wind 
came.  The  .weather  yesterday  and  to-day  has  been  bitter,  35° 
Fahr.  and  7,6^  Fahr.  below  zero  (  —  37°  and  —38°  C),  with  some- 
times as  much  as  35  feet  of  wind  per  second,  must  be  called 
cool.  It  is  curious  that  now  the  northerly  winds  bring  cold 
and  the  southerly  warmth.  Earlier  in  the  winter  it  was  just  the 
opposite. 

"  Monday,  March  5th.  Sverdrup  and  I  have  been  a  long  way 
northeast  on  snow-shoes.  The  ice  was  in  good  condition  for  it ; 
the  wind  has  tossed  about  the  snow  finely,  covering  over  the 
pressure-ridge  as  far  as  the  scanty  supply  of  material  has  per- 
mitted. 

"  Tuesday,  March  6th.  No  drift  at  all.  It  has  been  a  bitter 
day  to-day,  47°  Fahr.  to  50°  Fahr.  below  zero  (—44°  to  —46°  C), 
and  wind  up  to  19  feet.  This  has  been  a  good  occasion  for  get- 
ting hands  and  face  frost-bitten,  and  one  or  two  have  taken  ad- 
vantage of  it.  Steady  northwest  wind.  I  am  beginning  to  get 
indifferent  and  stolid  as  far  as  the  wind  is  concerned.  I  photo- 
graphed Johansen  to-day  at  the  anemometer,  and  during  the 
process  his  nose  was  frost-bitten. 

"There  has  been  a  general  weighing  this  evening  again. 
These  weighings  are  considered  very  interesting  performances, 
and  we  stand  watching  in  suspense  to  see  whether  each  man  has 
gained  or  lost.  Most  of  them  have  lost  a  little  this  time.  Can  it 
be  because  we  have  stopped  drinking  beer  and  begun  lime-juice  ? 
But  Juell  goes  on  indefatigably — he  has  gained  nearly  a  pound 
this  time.  Our  doctor  generally  does  very  well  in  this  line  too, 
but  to-day  it  is  only  10  ounces.  In  other  ways  he  is  badly  off 
on  board,  poor  fellow — not  a  soul  will  turn  ill.  In  despair  he  set 
up  a  headache  yesterday  himself,  but  he  could  not  make  it  last 
over  the  night.  Of  late  he  has  taken  to  studying  the  diseases 
of  dogs  ;  perhaps  he  may  find  a  more  profitable  practice  in  this 
department. 

"  Thursday,  March  8th.  Drifting  south.  Sverdrup  and  I  had 
a  good  snow-shoeing  trip  to-day,  to  the  north  and  west.  The 
snow  was  in  splendid  condition  after  the  winds  ;  you  fly  along 
like  thistledown  before  a  breeze,  and  can  get  about  everywhere, 
even  over  the  worst  pressure-mounds.   The  weather  was  beautiful. 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  219 

temperature  only  38°  Fahr.  below  zero  (  —  39°  C);  but  this  even- 
ing it  is  quite  bitter  again,  55°  Fahr.  (—48^°  C.)  and  from  16  to 
26  feet  of  wind.  It  is  by  no  means  pleasant  work  standing  up 
on  the  windmill,  reefing  or  taking  in  the  sails  ;  it  means  aching 
nails,  anij  sometimes  frost-bitten  cheeks  ;  but  it  has  to  be  done, 
and  it  is  done.  There  is  plenty  of  '  mill  -  wind  '  in  the  daytime 
now — this  is  the  third  week  we  have  had  electric  light — but  it  is 
wretched  that  it  should  be  always  this  north  and  northwest 
wind  ;  goodness  only  knows  when  it  is  going  to  stop.  Can  there 
be  land  north  of  us  ?  We  are  drifting  badly  south.  It  is  hard 
to  keep  one's  faith  alive.  There  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  wait  and 
see  what  time  will  do. 

"After  a  long  rest  the  ship  got  a  shake  this  afternoon.  I 
went  on  deck.  Pressure  was  going  on  in  an  opening  just  in  front 
of  the  bow.  We  might  almost  have  expected  it  just  now,  as  it  is 
new  moon  ;  only  we  have  got  out  of  the  way  of  thinking  at  all 
about  the  spring  tides,  as  they  have  had  so  little  effect  lately. 
They  should,  of  course,  be  specially  strong  just  now,  as  the  equi- 
nox is  approaching. 

"  Friday,  March  9th.  The  net-line  pointed  slightly  southwest 
this  morning ;  but  the  line  attached  to  a  cheese  which  was  only 
hanging  a  few  fathoms  below  the  ice  to  thaw  faster  seemed  to 
point  in  the  opposite  direction.  Had  we  got  a  southerly  current 
together  with  the  wind  now  ?  H'm  !  in  that  case  something 
must  come  of  it !  Or  was  it,  perhaps,  only  the  tide  setting  that 
way  ? 

"  Still  the  same  northerly  wind  ;  we  are  steadily  bearing  south. 
This,  then,  is  the  change  I  hoped  the  March  equinox  would  bring  ! 
We  have  been  having  northerly  winds  for  more  than  a  fortnight. 
I  cannot  conceal  from  myself  any  longer  that  I  am  beginning  to 
despond.  Quietly  and  slowly,  but  mercilessly,  one  hope  after  the 
other  is  being  crushed  and  .  .  .  have  I  not  a  right  to  be  a  little 
despondent  ?  I  long  unutterably  after  home,  perhaps  I  am  drift- 
ing away  farther  from  it,  perhaps  nearer ;  but  anyhow  it  is  not 
cheering  to  see  the  realization  of  one's  plans  again  and  again  de- 
layed, if  not  annihilated  altogether,  in  this  tedious  and  monoto- 
nously killing  way.  Nature  goes  her  age-old  round  impassively  ; 
summer  changes  into  winter ;  spring  vanishes  away ;  autumn 
comes,  and  finds  us  still  a  mere  chaotic  whirl  of  daring  projects 
and  shattered  hopes.     As  the  wheel  revolves,  now  the  one  and 


220  FARTHEST  NORTH 

now  the  other  comes  to  the  top  —  but  memory  between  whiles 
lightly  touches  her  ringing  silver  chords — now  loud  like  a  roaring 
waterfall,  now  low  and  soft  like  far-off  sweet  music.  I  stand  and 
look  out  over  this  desolate  expanse  of  ice  with  its  plains  and  heights 
and  valleys,  formed  by  the  pressure  arising  from  the  shifting 
tidal  currents  of  winter.  The  sun  is  now  shining  over  them  with 
his  cheering  beams.  In  the  middle  lies  the  Fram^  hemmed  in 
immovably.  When,  my  proud  ship,  will  you  float  free  in  the  open 
water  again  ? 

" '  Ich  schau  dich  an,  und  Wehmuth, 
Schleicht  mir  in's  Herz  hinein.' 

Over  these  masses  of  ice,  drifting  by  paths  unknown,  a  human 
pondered  and  brooded  so  long  that  he  put  a  whole  people  in  mo- 
tion to  enable  him  to  force  his  way  in  among  them — a  people  who 
had  plenty  of  other  claims  upon  their  energies.  For  what  pur- 
pose all  this  to-do  ?  If  only  the  calculations  were  correct  these 
ice-floes  would  be  glorious — nay,  irresistible  auxiliaries.  But  if 
there  has  been  an  error  in  the  calculation — well,  in  that  case  they 
are  not  so  pleasant  to  deal  with.  And  how  often  does  a  calcula- 
tion come  out  correct?  But  were  I  now  free?  Why,  I  should 
do  it  all  over  again,  from  the  same  starting-point.  One  must 
persevere  till  one  learns  to  calculate  correctly. 

"  I  laugh  at  the  scurvy ;  no  sanatorium  better  than  ours. 

"  I  laugh  at  the  ice  ;  we  are  living  as  it  were  in  an  impregnable 
castle. 

"  I  laugh  at  the  cold  ;  it  is  nothing. 

"  But  I  do  not  laugh  at  the  winds ;  they  are  everything ;  they 
bend  to  no  man's  will. 

"  But  why  always  worry  about  the  future  ?  Why  distress  your- 
self as  to  whether  you  are  drifting  forward  or  backward  ?  Why 
not  carelessly  let  the  days  glide  by  like  a  peacefully  flowing 
river? — every  now  and  then  there  will  come  a  rapid  that  will 
quicken  the  lazy  flow.  Ah  !  what  a  wondrous  contrivance  is  life 
— one  eternal  hurrying  forward,  ever  forward — to  what  end?  And 
then  comes  death  and  cuts  all  short  before  the  goal  is  reached. 

•*I  went  a  long  snow-shoe  tour  to-day.  A  little  way  to  the 
north  there  were  a  good  many  newly  formed  lanes  and  pressure- 
ridges  which  were  hard  to  cross,  but  patience  overcomes  every- 
thing, and  I  soon  reached  a  level  plain  where  it  was  delightful 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  221 

going.  It  was,  however,  rather  cold,  about  54°  Fahr.  below  zero 
{—48°  C.)  and  16  feet  of  wind  from  N.N.E.,  but  I  did  not  feel  it 
much.  It  is  wholesome  and  enjoyable  to  be  out  in  such  weather. 
I  wore  only  ordinary  clothes,  such  as  I  might  wear  at  home,  with 
a  sealskin  jacket  and  linen  outside  breeches,  and  a  half-mask  to 
protect  the  forehead,  nose,  and  cheeks. 

"  There  has  been  a  good  deal  of  ice-pressure  in  different  direc- 
tions to-day.  Oddly  enough,  a  meridian  altitude  of  the  sun  gave 
79°  45'.  We  have  therefore  drifted  only  8'  southward  during  the 
four  days  since  March  4th.  This  slow  drift  is  remarkable  in  spite 
of  the  high  winds.  If  there  should  be  land  to  the  north  ?  I  begin 
more  and  more  to  speculate  on  this  possibility.  Land  to  the 
north  would  explain  at  once  our  not  progressing  northward  and 
the  slowness  of  our  southward  drift.  But  it  may  also  possibly 
arise  from  the  fact  of  the  ice  being  so  closely  packed  together 
and  frozen  so  thick  and  massive.  It  seems  strange  to  me  that 
there  is  so  much  northwest  wind,  and  hardly  any  from  the  north- 
east, though  the  latter  is  what  the  rotation  of  the  earth  would 
lead  one  to  expect.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  wind  merely  shifts 
between  northwest  and  southeast,  instead  of  between  southwest 
and  northeast,  as  it  ought  to  do.  Unless  there  is  land  I  am  at  a  loss 
to  find  a  satisfactory  explanation,  at  all  events,  of  this  northwest 
direction.  Does  Franz  Josef  Land  jut  out  eastward  or  northward, 
or  does  a  continuous  line  of  islands  extend  from  Franz  Josef  Land 
in  one  or  other  of  those  directions  ?  It  is  by  no  means  impossible. 
Directly  the  Austrians  got  far  enough  to  the  north  they  met  with 
prevailing  winds  from  the  northeast,  while  we  get  northwesterly 
winds.  Does  the  central  point  of  these  masses  of  land  lie  to  the 
north,  midway  between  our  meridian  and  theirs?  I  can  hardly 
believe  that  these  remarkably  cold  winds  from  the  north  are  en- 
gendered by  merely  passing  over  an  ice-covered  sea.  If,  indeed, 
there  is  land,  and  we  get  hold  of  it,  then  all  our  troubles  would 
be  over.  But  no  one  can  tell  what  the  future  may  bring  forth, 
and  it  is  better,  perhaps,  not  to  know, 

"Saturday,  March  loth.  The  line  shows  a  drift  northward; 
now,  too,  in  the  afternoon,  a  slight  southerly  breeze  has  sprung 
up.  As  usual,  it  has  done  me  good  to  put  my  despondency  on 
paper  and  get  rid  of  it.  To-day  I  am  in  good  spirits  again,  and 
can  indulge  in  happy  dreams  of  a  large  and  high  land  in  the 
north,  with  mountains  and  valleys,  where  we  can  sit  under  the 


222  FARTHEST  NORTH 

mountain  wall,  roast  ourselves  in  the  sun,  and  see  the  spring 
come.  And  over  its  inland  ice  we  can  make  our  way  to  the  very- 
Pole. 

"Sunday,  March  nth.  A  snow-shoe  run  northward.  Tem. 
perature  —50°  C.  (58°  Fahr.  below  zero),  and  10  feet  wind  from 
N.N.E.  We  did  not  feel  the  cold  very  much,  though  it  was  rath- 
er bad  for  the  stomach  and  thighs,  as  none  of  us  had  our  wind 
trousers*  on.  We  wore  our  usual  dress  of  a  pair  of  ordinary 
trousers  and  woollen  pants,  a  shirt,  and  wolfskin  cloak,  or  a  com- 
mon woollen  suit  with  a  light  sealskin  jacket  over  it.  For  the 
first  time  in  my  life  I  felt  my  thighs  frozen,  especially  just  over 
the  knee  and  on  the  kneecap  ;  my  companions  also  suffered  in 
the  same  way.  This  was  after  going  a  long  while  against  the 
wind.  We  rubbed  our  legs  a  little,  and  they  soon  got  warm 
again  ;  but  had  we  kept  on  much  longer  without  noticing  it  we 
should  probably  have  been  severely  frost-bitten.  In  other  re- 
spects we  did  not  suffer  the  least  inconvenience  from  the  cold 
— on  the  contrary,  found  the  temperature  agreeable  ;  and  I  am 
convinced  that  10°,  20°,  or  even  30°  lower  would  not  have  been 
unendurable.  It  is  strange  how  one's  sensations  alter.  When 
at  home,  I  find  it  unpleasant  if  I  only  go  out-of-doors  when  there 
are  some  20  degrees  of  cold,  even  in  calm  weather.  But  here  I 
don't  find  it  any  colder  when  I  turn  out  in  50  degrees  of  cold, 
with  a  wind  into  the  bargain.  Sitting  in  a  warm  room  at  home 
one  gets  exaggerated  ideas  about  the  terribleness  of  the  cold.  It 
is  really  not  in  the  least  terrible  ;  we  all  of  us  find  ourselves  very 
well  in  it,  though  sometimes  one  or  another  of  us  does  not  take 
quite  so  long  a  walk  as  usual  when  a  strong  wind  is  blowing,  and 
will  even  turn  back  for  the  cold  ;  but  that  is  when  he  is  only 
lightly  clad  and  has  no  wind  clothes  on.  This  evening  it  is  51.2° 
Fahr.  below  zero,  and  14^  feet  N.N.E.  wind.  Brilliant  northern 
lights  in  the  south.  Already  there  is  a  very  marked  twilight 
even  at  midnight. 

"Monday,  March  12th.  Slowly  drifting  southward.  Took  a 
long  snow-shoe  run  alone,  towards  the  north  ;  to-day  had  on  my 
wind  breeches,  but  found  them  almost  too  warm.  This  morning 
it  was  51.6°  Fahr.  below  zero,  and  about  13  feet  N.  wind  ;  at  noon 

*  So  we  called  some  light  trousers  of  thin,  close  cotton,  which  we  used 
as  a  protection  against  the  wind  and  snow. 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  223 

it  was  some  degrees  warmer.  Ugh  !  this  north  wind  is  freshen- 
ing ;  the  barometer  has  risen  again,  and  I  had  thought  the  wind 
would  have  changed,  but  it  is  and  remains  the  same. 

"  This  is  what  March  brings  us  —  the  month  on  which  my 
hopes  relied.  Now  I  must  wait  for  the  summer.  Soon  the  half- 
year  will  be  past ;  it  will  leave  us  about  in  the  same  place  as  when 
it  began.  Ugh  !  I  am  weary — so  weary  !  Let  me  sleep,  sleep  ! 
Come,  sleep  !  noiselessly  close  the  door  of  the  soul,  stay  the  flow- 
ing stream  of  thought  !  Come  dreams,  and  let  the  sun  beam 
over  the  snowless  strand  of  Godthaab  ! 

"  Wednesday,  March  14th.  In  the  evening  the  dogs  all  at 
once  began  to  bark,  as  we  supposed  on  account  of  bears.  Sver- 
drup  and  I  took  our  guns,  let  '  Ulenka '  and  '  Pan '  loose,  and  set 
off.  There  was  twilight  still,  and  the  moon,  moreover,  began 
to  shine.  No  sooner  were  the  dogs  on  the  ice  than  off  they  start- 
ed westward  like  a  couple  of  rockets,  we  after  them  as  quickly  as 
we  could.  As  I  was  jumping  over  a  lane  I  thrust  one  leg  through 
the  ice  up  to  the  knee.  Oddly  enough,  I  did  not  get  wet  through 
to  the  skin,  though  I  only  had  Finn  shoes  and  frieze  gaiters  on  ; 
but  in  this  temperature,  38°  Fahr.  below  zero  (  —  39°  C),  the 
water  freezes  on  the  cold  cloth  before  it  can  penetrate  it.  I  felt 
nothing  of  it  afterwards ;  it  became,  as  it  were,  a  plate  of  ice  ar- 
mor that  almost  helped  to  keep  me  warm.  At  a  channel  some 
distance  off  we  at  last  discovered  that  it  was  not  a  bear  the  dogs 
had  winded,  but  either  a  walrus  or  a  seal.  We  saw  holes  in  several 
places  on  the  fresh-formed  ice  where  it  had  stuck  its  head  through. 
What  a  wonderfully  keen  nose  those  dogs  must  have :  it  was 
quite  two-thirds  of  a  mile  from  the  ship,  and  the  creature  had 
only  had  just  a  little  bit  of  its  snout  above  the  ice.  We  returned 
to  the  ship  to  get  a  harpoon,  but  saw  no  more  of  the  animal, 
though  we  went  several  times  up  and  down  the  channel.  Mean- 
while '  Pan,'  in  his  zeal,  got  too  near  the  edge  of  the  lane  and 
fell  into  the  water.  The  ice  was  so  high  that  he  could  not  get 
up  on  it  again  without  help,  and  if  I  had  not  been  there  to  haul 
him  up  I  am  afraid  he  would  have  been  drowned.  He  is  now  ly- 
ing in  the  saloon,  and  making  himself  comfortable  and  drying 
himself.  But  he,  too,  did  not  get  wet  through  to  the  skin,  though 
he  was  a  good  time  in  the  water  :  the  inner  hair  of  his  close, 
coarse  coat  is  quite  dry  and  warm.  The  d6gs  look  on  it  as  a  high 
treat  to  come  in  here,  for  they  are  not  often  allowed  to  do  so. 


224  FARTHEST  NORTH 

They  go  round  all  the  cabins  and  look  out  for  a  comfortable  cor- 
ner to  lie  down  in. 

"  Lovely  weather,  almost  calm,  sparklingly  bright,  and  moon- 
shine ;  in  the  north  the  faint  flush  of  evening,  and  the  aurora 
over  the  southern  sky,  now  like  a  row  of  flaming  spears,  then 
changing  into  a  silvery  veil,  undulating  in  wavy  folds  with  the 
wind,  every  here  and  there  interspersed  with  red  sprays.  These 
wonderful  night  effects  are  ever  new,  and  never  fail  to  captivate 
the  soul. 

"Thursday,  March  15th.  This  morning  41.7°,  and  at  8  p.m. 
40.7°  Fahr.  below  zero,  while  the  daytime  was  rather  warmer. 
At  noon  it  was  40.5°  and  at  4  p.m.  39°  Fahr.  below  zero.  It  would 
almost  seem  as  if  the  sun  had  begun  to  have  power. 

"The  dogs  are  strange  creatures.  This  evening  they  are 
probably  sweltering  in  their  kennels  again,  for  four  or  five  of 
them  are  lying  outside  or  on  the  roof.  When  there  are  50  de- 
grees of  cold  most  of  them  huddle  together  inside,  and  lie  as 
close  to  one  another  as  possible.  Then,  too,  they  are  very  loath 
to  go  out  for  a  walk  ;  they  prefer  to  lie  in  the  sun  under  the  lee 
of  the  ship.  But  now  they  find  it  so  mild  and  such  pleasant 
walking  that  to-day  it  was  not  difficult  to  get  them  to  follow. 

"Friday,  March  i6th.  Sverdrup  has  of  late  been  occupied  in 
making  sails  for  the  ship's  boats.  To  -  day  there  was  a  light 
southwesterly  breeze,  so  we  tried  one  of  the  sails  on  two  hand- 
sledges  lashed  together.  It  is  first-rate  sailing,  and  does  not  re- 
quire much  wind  to  make  them  glide  along.  This  would  be  a 
great  assistance  if  we  had  to  go  home  over  the  ice. 

"Wednesday,  March  21st.  At  length  a  reaction  has  set  in: 
the  wind  is  S.E.,  and  there  is  a  strong  drift  northward  again. 
The  equinox  is  past,  and  we  are  not  one  degree  farther  north 
since  the  last  equinox.  I  wonder  where  the  next  will  find  us. 
Should  it  be  more  to  the  south,  then  victory  is  uncertain;  if  more 
to  the  north,  the  battle  is  won,  though  it  may  last  long.  I  am 
looking  forward  to  the  summer  ;  it  must  bring  a  change  with  it. 
The  open  water  we  sailed  in  up  here  cannot  possibly  be  produced 
by  the  melting  of  the  ice  alone  ;  it  must  be  also  due  to  the  winds 
and  current.  And  if  the  ice  in  which  we  are  now  drifts  so  far 
to  the  north  as  to  make  room  for  all  this  open  water,  we  shall 
have  covered  a  good  bit  on  our  way.  It  would  seem,  indeed,  as 
if  summer  must  bring  northerly  winds,  with  the  cold  Arctic  Sea 


THE  WINTER  NIGHT  225 

in  the  north  and  warm  Siberia  in  the  south.  This  makes  me 
somewhat  dubious  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  we  have  warm  seas 
in  the  west :  they  may  be  stronger  ;  and  th^/eannette,  moreover, 
drifted  northwest. 

"  It  is  strange  that,  notwithstanding  these  westerly  winds,  we 
do  not  drift  eastward.  The  last  longitude  was  only  135°  east 
longitude, 

"  Maundy  Thursday,  March  2  2d.  A  strong  southeasterly  wind 
still,  and  a  good  drift  northward.  Our  spirits  are  rising.  The 
wind  whistles  through  the  rigging  overhead,  and  sounds  like  the 
sough  of  victory  through  the  air.  In  the  forenoon  one  of  the 
puppies  had  a  severe  attack  of  convulsions ;  it  foamed  at  the 
mouth  and  bit  furiously  at  everything  round  it.  It  ended  with 
tetanus,  and  we  carried  it  out  and  laid  it  down  on  the  ice.  It 
hopped  about  like  a  toad,  its  legs  stiff  and  extended,  neck  and 
head  pointing  upward,  while  its  back  was  curved  like  a  saddle. 
I  was  afraid  it  might  be  hydrophobia  or  some  other  infectious 
sickness,  and  shot  it  on  the  spot.  Perhaps  I  was  rather  too 
hasty  ;  we  can  scarcely  have  any  infection  among  us  now.  But 
what  could  it  have  been  ?  Was  it  an  epileptic  attack  ?  The  other 
day  one  of  the  other  puppies  alarmed  me  by  running  round  and 
round  in  the  chart-house  as  if  it  were  mad,  hiding  itself  after  a 
time  between  a  chest  and  the  wall.  Some  of  the  others,  too,  had 
seen  it  do  the  same  thing ;  but  after  a  while  it  got  all  right 
again,  and  for  the  last  few  days  there  has  been  nothing  amiss 
with  it. 

"Good  Friday,  March  23d.  Noonday  observation  gives  80° 
north  latitude.  In  four  days  and  nights  we  have  drifted  as  far 
north  as  we  drifted  southward  in  three  weeks.  It  is  a  comfort, 
at  all  events,  to  know  that ! 

"  It  is  remarkable  how  quickly  the  nights  have  grown  light. 
Even  stars  of  the  first  magnitude  can  now  barely  manage  to 
twinkle  in  the  pale  sky  at  midnight. 

"  Saturday,  March  24th.  Easter  Eve.  To-day  a  notable  event 
has  occurred.  We  have  allowed  the  light  of  spring  to  enter  the 
saloon.  During  the  whole  of  the  winter  the  skylight  was  covered 
with  snow  to  keep  the  cold  out,  and  the  dogs'  kennels,  moreover, 
had  been  placed  round  it.  Now  we  have  thrown  out  all  the  snow 
upon  the  ice,  and  the  panes  of  glass  in  the  skylight  have  been 
duly  cleared  and  cleaned. 
15 


226  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"Monday,  March  26th.  We  are  lying  motionless — no  drift. 
How  long  will  this  last  ?  Last  equinox  how  proud  and  trium- 
phant I  was !  The  whole  world  looked  bright ;  but  now  I  am 
proud  no  longer. 

"  The  sun  mounts  up  and  bathes  the  ice-plain  with  its  radiance. 
Spring  is  coming,  but  brings  no  joys  with  it.  Here  it  is  as  lonely 
and  cold  as  ever.  One's  soul  freezes.  Seven  more  years  of  such 
life — or  say  only  four — how  will  the  soul  appear  then  ?  And 
she  .  .  .  ?  If  I  dared  to  let  my  longings  loose — to  let  my  soul 
thaw.    Ah  !  I  long  more  than  I  dare  confess. 

"  I  have  not  courage  to  think  of  the  future.  .  .  .  And  how  will 
it  be  at  home,  when  year  after  year  rolls  by  and  no  one  comes  ? 

"  I  know  this  is  all  a  morbid  mood ;  but  still  this  inactive, 
lifeless  monotony,  without  any  change,  wrings  one's  very  soul. 
No  struggle,  no  possibility  of  struggle  !  All  is  so  still  and  dead, 
so  stiff  and  shrunken,  under  the  mantle  of  ice.  Ah !  .  .  .  the 
very  soul  freezes.  What  would  I  not  give  for  a  single  day  of 
struggle — for  even  a  moment  of  danger  ! 

"  Still  I  must  wait,  and  watch  the  drift ;  but  should  it  take  a 
wrong  direction,  then  I  will  break  all  the  bridges  behind  me,  and 
stake  everything  on  a  northward  march  over  the  ice.  I  know 
nothing  better  to  do.  It  will  be  a  hazardous  journey — a  matter, 
maybe,  of  life  or  death.     But  have  I  any  other  choice  ? 

"  It  is  unworthy  of  a  man  to  set  himself  a  task  and  then  give 
in  when  the  brunt  of  the  battle  is  upon  him.  There  is  but  one 
way,  and  that  is  Fram — forward. 

"Tuesday,  March  27th.  We  are  again  drifting  southward, 
and  the  wind  is  northerly.  The  mid-day  observation  showed  80° 
4'  north  latitude.  But  why  so  dispirited  ?  I  am  staring  myself 
blind  at  one  single  point — am  thinking  solely  of  reaching  the 
Pole  and  forcing  our  way  through  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  And 
all  the  time  our  real  task  is  to  explore  the  unknown  polar  re- 
gions. Are  we  doing  nothing  in  the  service  of  science?  It  will 
be  a  goodly  collection  of  observations  that  we  shall  take  home 
with  us  from  this  region,  with  which  we  are  now  rather  too  well 
acquainted.  The  rest  is,  and  remains,  a  mere  matter  of  vanity. 
'  Love  truth  more,  and  victory  less.' 

"  I  look  at  Eilif  Peterssen's  picture,  a  Norwegian  pine  forest, 
and  I  am  there  in  spirit.  How  marvellously  lovely  it  is  there 
now,  in  the  spring,  in  the  dim,  melancholy  stillness  that  reigns 


eWm^M-^ 


AT   THE   COMING    OF    THE    SPRING.       MARCH,    1 894 
(Fro77i  a  photograph) 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  227 

among  the  stately  stems  !  I  can  feel  the  damp  moss  in  which 
my  foot  sinks  softly  and  noiselessly  ;  the  brook,  released  from 
the  winter  bondage,  is  murmuring  through  the  clefts  and  among 
the  rocks,  with  its  brownish-yellow  water  ;  the  air  is  full  of  the 
scent  of  moss  and  pine  -  needles ;  while  overhead,  against  the 
light-blue  sky,  the  dark  pine-tops  rock  to  and  fro  in  the  spring 
breeze,  ever  uttering  their  murmuring  wail,  and  beneath  their 
shelter  the  soul  fearlessly  expands  its  wings  and  cools  itself  in 
the  forest  dew. 

"  O  solemn  pine  forest,  the  only  confidant  of  my  childhood,  it 
was  from  you  I  learned  nature's  deepest  tones — its  wildness,  its 
melancholy  !     You  colored  my  soul  for  life. 

"  Alone — far  in  the  forest — beside  the  glowing  embers  of  my 
fire  on  the  shore  of  the  silent,  murky  woodland  tarn,  with  the 
gloom  of  night  overhead,  how  happy  I  used  to  be  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  nature's  harmony  !  ' 

"Thursday,  March  29th.  It  is  wonderful  what  a  change  it 
makes  to  have  daylight  once  more  in  the  saloon.  On  turning 
out  for  breakfast  and  seeing  the  light  gleaming  in,  one  feels 
that  it  really  is  morning. 

"  We  are  busy  on  board.  Sails  are  being  made  for  the  boats 
and  hand-sledges.  The  windmill,  too,  is  to  have  fresh  sails,  so 
that  it  can  go  in  any  kind  of  weather.  Ah,  if  we  could  but  give. 
the  Pram  wings  as  well !  Knives  are  being  forged,  bear-spears, 
which  we  never  have  any  use  for,  bear-traps  in  which  we  never 
catch  a  bear,  axes,  and  many  other  things  of  like  usefulness. 
For  the  moment  there  is  a  great  manufacture  of  wooden  shoes 
going  on,  and  a  newly  started  nail-making  industry.  The  only 
shareholders  in  this  company  are  Sverdrup  and  Smith  Lars-/ 
called  'Storm  King,'  because  he  always  comes  upon  us  like  hard 
weather.  The  output  is  excellent  and  is  in  active  demand,  as 
all  our  small  nails  for  the  hand  -  sledge  fittings  have  been  used. 
Moreover,  we  are  very  busy  putting  German-silver  plates  under 
the  runners  of  the  hand-sledges,  and  providing  appliances  for 
lashing  sledges  together.  There  is,  moreover,  a  workshop  for 
snow-shoe  fastenings,  and  a  tinsmith's  shop,  busied  for  the  mo- 
ment with  repairs  to  the  lamps.  Our  doctor,  too,  for  lack  of 
patients,  has  set  up  a  bookbinding  establishment  which  is  greatly 
patronized  by  the  Frani's  library,  whereof  several  books  that 
are  in  constant  circulation,  such  as  Gjest  Baardsens  Liv  og  Levnet^ 


228  FARTHEST  NORTH 

etc.,  are  in  a  very  bad  state.  We  have  also  a  saddlers'  and  sail- 
makers'  workshop,  a  photographic  studio,  etc.  The  manufact- 
ure of  diaries,  however,  is  the  most  extensive  —  every  man  on 
board  works  at  that.  In  fine,  there  is  nothing  between  heaven 
and  earth  that  we  cannot  turn  out — excepting  constant  fair 
winds. 

"  Our  workshops  can  be  highly  recommended  ;  they  turn  out 
good,  solid  work.  We  have  lately  had  a  notable  addition  to  our 
industries,  the  firm  '  Nansen  &  Amundsen '  having  established  a 
music-factory.  The  card-board  plates  of  the  organ  had  suffered 
greatly  from  wear  and  damp,  so  that  we  had  been  deplorably 
short  of  music  during  the  winter.  But  yesterday  I  set  to  work 
in  earnest  to  manufacture  a  plate  of  zinc.  It  answers  admira- 
bly, and  now  we  shall  go  ahead  with  music  sacred  and  profane, 
especially  waltzes,  and  these  halls  shall  once  more  resound  with 
the  pealing  tones  of  the  organ,  to  our  great  comfort  and  edifica- 
tion. When  a  waltz  is  struck  up  it  breathes  fresh  life  into  many 
of  the  inmates  of  the  Fram. 

"  I  complain  of  the  wearing  monotony  of  our  surroundings ; 
but  in  reality  I  am  unjust.  The  last  few  days,  dazzling  sunshine 
over  the  snow-hills  ;  to-day,  snow-storm  and  wind,  the  Fram  en- 
veloped in  a  whirl  of  foaming  white  snow.  Soon  the  sun  ap- 
pears again,  and  the  waste  around  gleams  as  before. 

*'  Here,  too,  there  is  sentiment  in  nature.  How  often,  when 
least  thinking  of  it,  do  I  find  myself  pausing,  spell-bound  by  the 
marvellous  hues  which  evening  wears.  The  ice-hills  steeped  in 
bluish-violet  shadows,  against  the  orange-tinted  sky,  illumined 
by  the  glow  of  the  setting  sun,  form  as  it  were  a  strange  color- 
poem,  imprinting  an  ineffaceable  picture  on  the  soul.  And  these 
bright,  dream-like  nights,  how  many  associations  they  have  for 
us  Northmen  !  One  pictures  to  one's  self  those  mornings  in 
spring  when  one  went  out  into  the  forest  after  blackcock,  un- 
der the  dim  stars  and  with  the  pale  crescent  moon  peering  over 
the  tree -tops.  Dawn,  with  its  glowing  hues  up  here  in  the 
north,  is  the  breaking  of  a  spring  day  over  the  forest  wilds  at 
home  ;  the  hazy  blue  vapor  beneath  the  morning  glow  turns  to 
the  fresh  early  mist  over  the  marshes  ;  the  dark,  low  clouds  on  a 
background  of  dim  red  seem  like  distant  ranges  of  hills. 

"  Daylight  here,  with  its  rigid,  lifeless  whiteness,  has  no  attrac- 
tions ;  but  the  evening  and  night  thaw  the  heart  of  this  world  of 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  229 

ice  ;  it  dreams  mournful  dreams  and  you  seem  to  hear  in  the 
hues  of  the  evening  sounds  of  its  smothered  wail.  Soon  these 
will  cease,  and  the  sun  will  circle  round  the  everlasting  light- 
blue  expanse  of  heaven,  imparting  one  uniform  color  to  day  and 
night  alike. 

"  Friday,  April  6th.  A  remarkable  event  was  to  take  place 
to-day,  which,  naturally,  we  all  looked  forward  to  with  lively  in- 
terest. It  was  an  eclipse  of  the  sun.  During  the  night  Hansen 
had  made  a  calculation  that  the  eclipse  would  begin  at  12.56 
o'clock.  It  was  important  for  us  to  be  able  to  get  a  good  obser- 
vation, as  we  should  thus  be  able  to  regulate  our  chronometers 
to  a  nicety.  In  order  to  make  everything  sure,  we  set  up  our 
instruments  a  couple  of  hours  beforehand,  and  commenced  to 
observe.  We  used  the  large  telescope  and  our  large  theodolite. 
Hansen,  Johansen,  and  myself  took  it  by  turns  to  sit  for  five 
minutes  each  at  the  instruments,  watching  the  rim  of  the  sun, 
as  we  expected  a  shadow  would  become  visible  on  its  lower  west- 
ern edge,  while  another  stood  by  with  the  watch.  We  remained 
thus  full  two  hours  without  anything  occurring.  The  exciting 
moment  was  now  at  hand,  when,  according  to  calculation,  the 
shadow  should  first  be  apparent.  Hansen  was  sitting  by  the 
large  telescope  when  he  thought  he  could  discern  a  quivering  in 
the  sun's  rim  ;  i^i  seconds  afterwards  he  cried  out,  '  Now  !'  as  did 
Johansen  simultaneously.  The  watch  was  then  at  12  hrs.  56  min. 
7.5  sec.  A  dark  body  advanced  over  the  border  of  the  sun  yi 
seconds  later  than  we  had  calculated  on.  It  was  an  immense 
satisfaction  for  us  all,  especially  for  Hansen,  for  it  proved  our 
chronometers  to  be  in  excellent  order.  Little  by  little  the  sun- 
light sensibly  faded  away,  while  we  went  below  to  dinner.  At  2 
o'clock  the  eclipse  was  at  its  height,  and  we  could  notice  even 
down  in  the  saloon  how  the  daylight  had  diminished.  After 
dinner  we  observed  the  moment  when  the  eclipse  ended,  and  the 
moon's  dark  disk  cleared  the  rim  of  the  sun. 

"  Sunday,  April  8th.  I  was  lying  awake  yesterday  morning 
thinking  about  getting  up,  when  all  at  once  I  heard  the  hurried 
footsteps  of  some  one  running  over  the  half-deck  above  me,  and 
then  another  followed.  There  was  something  in  those  footsteps 
that  involuntarily  made  me  think  of  bears,  and  I  had  a  hazy  sort 
of  an  idea  that  I  ought  to  jump  up  out  of  bed,  but  I  lay  still,  listen- 
ing for  the  report  of  a  gun.     I  heard  nothing,  however,  and  soon 


230  FARTHEST  NORTH 

fell  a-dreaming  again.  Presently  Johansen  came  tearing  down 
into  the  saloon,  crying  out  that  a  couple  of  bears  were  lying  half 
or  quite  dead  on  the  large  ice  hummocks  astern  of  the  ship.  He 
and  Mogstad  had  shot  at  them,  but  they  had  no  more  cartridges 
left.  Several  of  the  men  seized  hold  of  their  guns  and  hurried 
up.  I  threw  on  my  clothes  and  came  up  a  little  after,  when  I 
gathered  that  the  bears  had  taken  to  flight,  as  I  could  see  the 
other  fellows  following  them  over  the  ice.  As  I  was  putting  on 
my  snow-shoes  they  returned,  and  said  that  the  bears  had  made 
off.  However,  I  started  after  them  as  fast  as  my  snow-shoes 
would  take  me  across  the  floes  and  the  pressure-ridges.  I  soon 
got  on  their  tracks,  which  at  first  were  a  little  blood-stained.  It 
was  a  she-bear,  with  her  cub,  and,  as  I  believed,  hard  hit — the 
she-bear  had  fallen  down  several  times  after  Johansen's  first  bul- 
let. I  thought,  therefore,  it  would  be  no  difficult  matter  to  over- 
take them.  Several  of  the  dogs  were  on  ahead  of  me  on  their 
tracks.  They  had  taken  a  northwesterly  course,  and  I  toiled  on, 
perspiring  profusely  in  the  sun,  while  the  ship  sank  deeper  and 
deeper  down  below  the  horizon.  The  surface  of  the  snow,  spark- 
ling with  its  eternal  whiteness  all  around  me,  tried  my  eyes  se- 
verely, and  I  seemed  to  get  no  nearer  the  bears.  My  prospects 
of  coming  up  with  them  were  ruined  by  the  dogs,  who  were  keen 
enough  to  frighten  the  bears,  but  not  so  keen  as  to  press  on  and 
bring  them  to  bay.  I  would  not,  however,  give  up.  Presently 
a  fog  came  on  and  hid  everything  from  view  except  the  bear- 
tracks,  which  steadily  pointed  forward  ;  then  it  lifted,  and  the 
sun  shone  out  again  clear  and  bright  as  before.  The  Frames 
masts  had  long  since  disappeared  over  the  edge  of  the  ice,  but 
still  I  kept  on.  Presently,  however,  I  began  to  feel  faint  and 
hungry,  for  in  my  hurry  I  had  not  even  had  my  breakfast,  and 
at  last  had  to  bite  the  sour  apple  and  turn  back  without  any 
bears. 

"  On  my  way  I  came  across  a  remarkable  hummock.  It  was 
over  20  feet  in  height  (I  could  not  manage  to  measure  it  quite  to 
the  top)  ;  the  middle  part  had  fallen  in,  probably  from  pressure 
of  the  ice,  while  the  remaining  part  formed  a  magnificent  tri- 
umphal arch  as  of  the  whitest  marble,  on  which  the  sun  glittered 
with  all  its  brilliancy  Was  it  erected  to  celebrate  my  defeat? 
I  got  up  on  it  to  look  out  for  the  Fram,  but  had  to  go  some  dis- 
tance yet  before  I  could  see  her  rigging  over  the  horizon.     It 


THE    WINTER  NIGHT  231 

was  not  till  half-past  five  in  the  afternoon  that  I  found  myself 
on  board  again,  worn  out  and  famished  from  this  sudden  and  un- 
expected excursion.  After  a  day's  fasting  I  heartily  relished  a 
good  meal.  During  my  absence  some  of  the  others  had  started 
after  me  with  a  sledge  to  draw  home  the  dead  bears  that  I  had 
shot ;  but  they  had  barely  reached  the  spot  where  the  encounter 
had  taken  place,  when  Johansen  and  Blessing,  who  were  in  ad- 
vance of  the  others,  saw  two  more  bears  spring  up  from  behind 
a  hummock  a  little  way  off.  But  before  they  could  get  their 
guns  in  readiness  the  bears  were  out  of  range  ;  so  a  new  hunt 
began.  Johansen  tore  after  them  in  his  snow-shoes,  but  several 
of  the  dogs  got  in  front  of  him  and  kept  the  bears  going,  so  that 
he  could  not  get  within  range,  and  his  chase  ended  as  fruitlessly 
as  mine. 

"  Has  good-luck  abandoned  us  ?  I  had  plumed  myself  on  our 
never  having  shot  at  a  single  bear  without  bagging  it ;  but  to- 
day .  .  .  !  Odd  that  we  should  get  a  visit  from  four  bears  on  one 
day,  after  having  seen  nothing  of  them  for  three  months  !  Does 
it  signify  something  ?  Have  we  got  near  the  land  in  the  north- 
west which  I  have  so  long  expected  ?  There  seems  to  be  change 
in  the  air.  An  observation  the  day  before  yesterday  gave  80°  15' 
north  latitude,  the  most  northerly  we  have  had  yet. 

"  Sunday,  April  15th.  So  we  are  in  the  middle  of  April !  What 
a  ring  of  joy  in  that  word,  a  well-spring  of  happiness  !  Visions 
of  spring  rise  up  in  the  soul  at  its  very  mention — a  time  when 
doors  and  windows  are  thrown  wide  open  to  the  spring  air  and 
sun,  and  the  dust  of  winter  is  blown  away  ;  a  time  when  one  can 
no  longer  sit  still,  but  must  perforce  go  out-of-doors  to  inhale 
the  perfume  of  wood  and  field  and  fresh-dug  earth,  and  behold 
the  fjord,  free  from  ice,  sparkling  in  the  sunlight.  What  an 
inexhaustible  fund  of  the  awakening  joys  of  nature  does  that 
word  April  contain  !  But  here — here  that  is  not  to  be  found. 
True,  the  sun  shines  long  and  bright,  but  its  beams  fall  not  on 
forest  or  mountain  or  meadow,  but  only  on  the  dazzling  white- 
ness of  the  fresh-fallen  snow.  Scarcely  does  it  entice  one  out 
from  one's  winter  retreat.  This  is  not  the  time  of  revolutions 
here.  If  they  come  at  all,  they  will  come  much  later.  The  days 
roll  on  uniformly  and  monotonously  ;  here  I  sit,  and  feel  no 
touch  of  the  restless  longings  of  the  spring,  and  shut  myself  up 
in  the  snail-shell  of  my  studies.     Day  after  day  I  dive  down  into 


232  FARTHEST  NORTH 

the  world  of  the  microscope,  forgetful  of  time  and  surroundings. 
Now  and  then,  indeed,  I  may  make  a  little  excursion  from  dark- 
ness to  light — the  daylight  beams  around  me,  and  my  soul  opens 
a  tiny  loophole  for  light  and  courage  to  enter  in  —  and  then 
down,  down  into  the  darkness,  and  to  work  once  more.  Before 
turning  in  for  the  night  I  must  go  on  deck.  A  little  while  ago 
the  daylight  would  by  this  time  have  vanished,  a  few  solitary 
stars  would  have  been  faintly  twinkling,  while  the  pale  moon 
shone  over  the  ice.  But  now  even  this  has  come  to  an  end.  The 
sun  no  longer  sinks  beneath  the  icy  horizon ;  it  is  continual  day. 
I  gaze  into  the  far  distance,  far  over  the  barren  plain  of  snow,  a 
boundless,  silent,  and  lifeless  mass  of  ice  in  imperceptible  motion. 
No  sound  can  be  heard  save  the  faint  murmur  of  the  air  through 
the  rigging,  or  perhaps  far  away  the  low  rumble  of  packing  ice. 
In  the  midst  of  this  empty  waste  of  white  there  is  but  one  little 
dark  spot,  and  that  is  the  Fram. 

"But  beneath  this  crust,  hundreds  of  fathoms  down,  there 
teems  a  world  of  checkered  life  in  all  its  changing  forms,  a  world 
of  the  same  composition  as  ours,  with  the  same  instincts,  the 
same  sorrows,  and  also,  no  doubt,  the  same  joys ;  everywhere 
the  same  struggle  for  existence.  So  it  ever  is.  If  we  penetrate 
within  even  the  hardest  shell  we  come  upon  the  pulsations  of 
life,  however  thick  the  crust  may  be. 

"  I  seem  to  be  sitting  here  in  solitude  listening  to  the  music 
of  one  of  Nature's  mighty  harp-strings.  Her  grand  symphonies 
peal  forth  through  the  endless  ages  of  the  universe,  now  in  the 
tumultuous  whirl  of  busy  life,  now  in  the  stiffening  coldness  of 
death,  as  in  Chopin's  Funeral  March  ;  and  we — we  are  the  mi- 
nute, invisible  vibrations  of  the  strings  in  this  mighty  music  of 
the  universe,  ever  changing,  yet  ever  the  same.  Its  notes  are 
worlds ;  one  vibrates  for  a  longer,  another  for  a  shorter  period, 
and  all  in  turn  give  way  to  new  ones.  .  .  . 

"  The  world  that  shall  be  !  .  .  .  Again  and  again  this  thought 
comes  back  to  my  mind.     I  gaze  far  on  through  the  ages.  .  .  . 

"  Slowly  and  imperceptibly  the  heat  of  the  sun  declines,  and 
the  temperature  of  the  earth  sinks  by  equally  slow  degrees. 
Thousands,  hundreds  of  thousands,  millions  of  years  pass  away, 
glacial  epochs  come  and  go,  but  the  heat  still  grows  ever  less ; 
little  by  little  these  drifting  masses  of  ice  extend  far  and  wide, 
ever  towards  more  southern  shores,  and  no  one  notices  it ;  but 


THE   WINTER  NIGHT  233 

at  last  all  the  seas  of  earth  become  one  unbroken  mass  of  ice. 
Life  has  vanished  from  its  surface,  and  is  to  be  found  in  the 
ocean  depths  alone. 

"  But  the  temperature  continues  to  fall,  the  ice  grows  thicker 
and  ever  thicker  ;  life's  domain  vanishes.  Millions  of  years  roll 
on,  and  the  ice  reaches  the  bottom.  The  last  trace  of  life  has 
disappeared  ;  the  earth  is  covered  with  snow.  All  that  we  lived 
for  is  no  longer  ;  the  fruit  of  all  our  toil  and  sufferings  has  been 
blotted  out  millions  and  millions  of  years  ago,  buried  beneath  a 
pall  of  snow.  A  stiffened,  lifeless  mass  of  ice,  this  earth  rolls  on 
in  her  path  through  eternity.  Like  a  faintly  growing  disk  the 
sun  crosses  the  sky  ;  the  moon  shines  no  more,  and  is  scarcely 
visible.  Yet  still,  perhaps,  the  northern  lights  flicker  over  the 
desert,  icy  plain,  and  still  the  stars  twinkle  in  silence,  peacefully 
as  of  yore.  Some  have  burned  out,  but  new  ones  usurp  their 
place ;  and  round  them  revolve  new  spheres,  teeming  with  new 
life,  new  sufferings,  without  any  aim.  Such  is  the  infinite  cycle 
of  eternity  ;  such  are  nature's  everlasting  rhythms. 

"  Monday,  April  30th.  Drifting  northward.  Yesterday  ob- 
servations gave  80°  42',  and  to  -  day  80°  44^'.  The  wind  steady 
from  the  south  and  southeast. 

"  It  is  lovely  spring  weather.  One  feels  that  spring-time  must 
have  come,  though  the  thermometer  denies  it.  '  Spring  clean- 
ing '  has  begun  on  board ;  the  snow  and  ice  along  the  Pram's 
sides  are  cleared  away,  and  she  stands  out  like  the  crags  from 
their  winter  covering  decked  with  the  flowers  of  spring.  The 
snow  lying  on  the  deck  is  little  by  little  shovelled  overboard ; 
her  rigging  rises  up  against  the  clear  sky  clean  and  dark,  and 
the  gilt  trucks  at  her  mastheads  sparkle  in  the  sun.  We  go  and 
bathe  ourselves  in  the  broiling  sun  along  her  warm  sides,  where 
the  thermometer  is  actually  above  freezing-point,  smoke  a  peace- 
ful pipe,  gazing  at  the  white  spring  clouds  that  lightly  fleet 
across  the  blue  expanse.  Some  of  us  perhaps  think  of  spring- 
time yonder  at  home,  when  the  birch  -  trees  are  bursting  into 
leaf." 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE    SPRING  AND   SUMMER   OF    1 894 

So  came  the  season  which  we  at  home  call  spring,  the  season 
of  joy  and  budding  life,  when  Nature  awakens  after  her  long 
winter  sleep.  But  there  it  brought  no  change  ;  day  after  day 
we  had  to  gaze  over  the  same  white,  lifeless  mass,  the  same  white, 
boundless  ice -plains.  Still  we  wavered  between  despondency, 
idle  longing,  and  eager  energy,  shifting  with  the  winds  as  we 
drift  forward  to  our  goal  or  are  driven  back  from  it.  As  before, 
I  continued  to  brood  upon  the  possibilities  of  the  future  and  of 
our  drift.  One  day  I  would  think  that  everything  was  going  on 
as  we  hoped  and  anticipated.  Thus  on  April  17th  I  was  con- 
vinced that  there  must  be  a  current  through  the  unknown  polar 
basin,  as  we  were  unmistakably  drifting  northward.  The  mid- 
day observation  gave  80°  20'  northeast ;  that  is,  9'  since  the  day 
before  yesterday.  Strange  !  A  north  wind  of  four  whole  days 
took  us  to  the  south,  while  twenty  -  four  hours  of  this  scanty 
wind  drifts  us  9'  northward.  This  is  remarkable  ;  it  looks  as  if 
we  were  done  with  drifting  southward.  And  when,  in  addition 
to  this,  I  take  into  consideration  the  striking  warmth  of  the 
water  deep  down,  it  seems  to  me  that  things  are  really  looking 
brighter.  The  reasoning  runs  as  follows :  The  temperature  of 
the  water  in  the  East  Greenland  current,  even  on  the  surface,  is 
nowhere  over  zero  (the  mean  temperature  for  the  year),  and 
appears  generally  to  be  —1°  C.  (30.2°  Fahr.),  even  in  70°  north 
latitude.  In  this  latitude  the  temperature  steadily  falls  as  you 
get  below  the  surface  ;  nowhere  at  a  greater  depth  than  100 
fathoms  is  it  above  —  1°  C,  and  generally  from  — 1.5°  (29.3°  Fahr.) 
to  —1.7°  C.  (28.94°  Fahr.)  right  to  the  bottom.  Moreover,  the 
bottom  temperature  of  the  whole  sea  north  of  the  60th  degree 
of  latitude  is  under  —1°  C,  a  strip  along  the  Norwegian  coast 
and  between  Norway  and  Spitzbergen  alone  excepted,  but  here 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER   OF  i8g4  235 

the  temperature  is  over  —1°  C,  from  S6  fathoms  (160  metres) 
downward,  and  at  135  fathoms  (250  metres)  the  temperature  is 
already  +0.55°  C.  (32.99°  Fahr.),  and  that,  too,  be  it  remarked, 
north  of  the  80th  degree  of  latitude,  and  in  a  sea  surrounding 
the  pole  of  maximum  cold. 

This  warm  water  can  hardly  come  from  the  Arctic  Sea  itself, 
while  the  current  issuing  thence  towards  the  south  has  a  general 
temperature  of  about  — 1.5°  C.  It  can  hardly  be  anything  other 
than  the  Gulf  Stream  that  finds  its  way  hither,  and  replaces  the 
water  which  in  its  upper  layers  flows  towards  the  north,  forming 
the  sources  of  the  East  Greenland  polar  current.  All  this  seems 
to  chime  in  with  my  previous  assumptions,  and  supports  the 
theory  on  which  this  expedition  was  planned.  And  when,  in  ad- 
dition to  this,  one  bears  in  mind  that  the  winds  seem,  as  antici- 
pated, to  be  as  a  rule  southeasterly,  as  was,  moreover,  the  case 
at  the  international  station  at  Sagastyr  (by  the  Lena  mouth), 
our  prospects  do  not  appear  to  be  unfavorable. 

Frequently,  moreover,  I  thought  I  could  detect  unmistakable 
symptoms  of  a  steadily  flowing  northwesterly  current  under  the 
ice,  and  then,  of  course,  my  spirits  rose  ;  but  at  other  times, 
when  the  drift  again  bore  southward — and  that  was  often — my 
doubts  would  return,  and  it  seemed  as  if  there  was  no  prospect 
of  getting  through  within  any  reasonable  time.  Truly  such 
drifting  in  the  ice  is  extremely  trying  to  the  mind ;  but  there  is 
one  virtue  it  fosters,  and  that  is  patience.  The  whole  expedition 
was  in  reality  one  long  course  of  training  in  this  useful  virtue. 

Our  progress  as  the  spring  advanced  grew  somewhat  better 
than  it  had  been  during  the  winter,  but  on  the  whole  it  was  al- 
ways the  same  sort  of  crab-like  locomotion  ;  for  each  time  we 
made  a  long  stretch  to  the  north  a  longer  period  of  reaction  was 
sure  to  follow.  It  was,  in  the  opinion  of  one  of  our  number,  who 
was  somewhat  of  a  politician,  a  constant  struggle  between  the 
Left  and  Right,  between  Progressionists  and  Recession ists.  Af- 
ter a  period  of  Left  wind  and  a  glorious  drift  northward,  as  a 
matter  of  course  the  "  Radical  Right "  took  the  helm,  and  we  re- 
mained lying  in  dead-water  or  drifted  backward,  thereby  putting 
Amundsen  into  a  very  bad  temper.  It  was  a  remarkable  fact 
that  during  the  whole  time  the  Pram's  bow  turned  towards  the 
south,  generally  S.  \  W.,  and  shifted  but  very  little  during  the 
whole  drift.     As  I  say  on  May  14th  :  *'  She  went  backward  tow- 


236  FARTHEST  NORTH 

ards  her  goal  in  the  north,  with  her  nose  ever  turned  to  the 
south.  It  is  as  though  she  shrank  from  increasing  her  distance 
from  the  world  ;  as  though  she  were  longing  for  southern  shores, 
while  some  invisible  power  is  drawing  her  on  towards  the  un- 
known. Can  it  be  an  ill  omen,  this  backward  advance  towards 
the  interior  of  the  Polar  Sea  ?  I  cannot  think  it  ;  even  the  crab 
.ultimately  reaches  its  goal." 

A  statement  of  our  latitude  and  longitude  on  different  days 
will  best  indicate  the  general  course  of  our  drift : 

May  ist,  80°  46'  N.  lat.;  May  4th,  80°  50'  ;  May  6th,  80°  49' ; 
May  8th,  80°  55'  N.  lat,  129°  58'  E.  long.  ;  May  12th,  80°  52'  N. 
lat.;  May  15th,  129°  20'  E.  long. ;  May  21st,  81°  20'  N.  lat.,  125° 
45'  E.  long.  ;  May  23d,  81°  26'  N.  lat. ;  May  27th,  81°  31' ;  June 
2d,  81°  31'  N.  lat.,  121°  47'  E.  long.;  June  13th,  81°  46';  June  i8th, 
81°  52'.  Up  to  this  we  had  made  fairly  satisfactory  progress 
towards  the  north,'  but  now  came  the  reaction  :  June  24th,  81° 
42'  ;  July  ist,  81°  33' ;  July  loth,  81°  20' ;  July  14th,  81°  32';  July 
i8th,  81°  26'  ;  July  31st,  81°  2  N.  lat.,  126°  5'  5"  E.  long.  ;  August 
8th,  81°  8' ;  August  14th,  81°  5'  N.  lat.,  127°  38'  E.  long.;  August 
26th,  81°  i';  September  5th,  81°  14  N.  lat.,  123°  36'  E.  long. 

After  this  we  began  once  more  to  drift  northward,  but  not 
very  fast. 

As  before,  we  were  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  land,  and 
were  inclined,  first  from  one  thing,  then  from  another,  to  think 
we  saw  signs  of  its  proximity  ;  but  they  always  turned  out  to 
be  imaginary,  and  the  great  depth  of  the  sea,  moreover,  showed 
that,  at  all  events,  land  could  not  be  near. 

Later  on^August  7th— when  I  had  found  over  2085  fathoms' 
(3850  metres)  depth,  I  say  in  my  diary  :  "  I  do  not  think  we  shall 
talk  any  more  about  the  shallow  Polar  Sea,  where  land  may  be 
expected  anywhere.  We  may  very  possibly  drift  out  into  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  without  having  seen  a  single  mountain-top.  An 
eventful  series  of  years  to  look  forward  to  !" 

The  plan  already  alluded  to  of  travelling  over  the  ice  with 
dogs  and  sledges  occupied  me  a  good  deal,  and  during  my  daily 
expeditions — partly  on  snow-shoes,  partly  with  dogs — my  atten- 
tion was  constantly  given  to  the  condition  of  the  ice  and  our 
prospects  of  being  able  to  make  our  way  over  it.  During  April 
it  was  specially  well  adapted  for  using  dogs.  The  surface  was 
good,  as  the  sun's  power  had  made  it  smoother  than  the  heavy 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER  OF  1894  237 

drift-snow  earlier  in  the  winter  ;  besides,  the  wind  had  covered 
the  pressure-ridges  pretty  evenly,  and  there  were  not  many  cre- 
vasses or  channels  in  the  ice,  so  that  one  could  proceed  for  miles 
without  much  trouble  from  them.  In  May,  however,  a  change 
set  in.  So  early  as  May  8th  the  wind  had  broken  up  the  ice  a 
good  deal,  and  now  there  were  lanes  in  all  directions,  which 
proved  a  great  obstacle  when  I  went  out  driving  with  the  dogs. 
The  temperature,  however,  was  still  so  low  that  the  channels 
were  quickly  frozen  over  again  and  became  passable ;  but  later 
on  in  the  month  the  temperature  rose,  so  that  ice  was  no  longer 
so  readily  formed  on  the  water,  and  the  channels  became  ever 
more  and  more  numerous. 

On  May  20th  I  write  :  "  Went  out  on  show-shoes  in  the  fore- 
noon. The  ice  has  been  very  much  broken  up  in  various  direc- 
tions, owing  to  the  continual  winds  during  the  last  week.  The 
lanes  are  difficult  to  cross  over,  as  they  are  full  of  small  pieces  of 
ice,  that  lie  dispersed  about,  and  are  partly  covered  with  drift- 
snow.  This  is  very  deceptive,  for  one  may  seem  to  have  firm 
ice  under  one  at  places  where,  on  sticking  one's  staff  in,  it  goes 
right  down  without  any  sign  of  ice."  On  many  occasions  I  nearly 
got  into  trouble  in  crossing  over  snow  like  this  on  snow-shoes. 
I  would  suddenly  find  that  the  snow  was  giving  way  under  me, 
and  would  manage  with  no  little  difficulty  to  get  safely  back  on 
to  the  firm  ice. 

On  June  5th  the  ice  and  the  snow  surface  were  about  as  before. 
I  write  :  "Have  just  been  out  on  a  snow-shoe  excursion  with 
Sverdrup  in  a  southerly  direction,  the  first  for  a  long  while.  The 
condition  of  the  ice  has  altered,  but  not  for  the  better ;  the  sur- 
face, indeed,  is  hard  and  good,  but  the  pressure-ridges  are  very 
awkward,  and  there  are  crevasses  and  hummocks  in  all  directions. 
A  sledge  expedition  would  make  poor  enough  progress  on  such 
ice  as  this." 

Hitherto,  however,  progress  had  always  been  possible,  but  now 
the  snow  began  to  melt,  and  placed  almost  insuperable  difficulties 
in  the  way.  On  June  13th  I  write:  "The  ice  gets  softer  and 
softer  every  day,  and  large  pools  of  water  are  formed  on  the  floes 
all  around  us.  In  short,  the  surface  is  abominable.  The  snow- 
shoes  break  through  into  the  water  everywhere.  Truly  one 
would  not  be  able  to  get  far  in  a  day  now  should  one  be  obliged 
to  set  off  towards  the  south  or  west.     It  is  as  if  every  outlet  were 


^38  FARTHEST  NORTH 

blocked,  and  here  we  stick — we  stick.  Sometimes  it  strikes  me 
as  rather  remarkable  that  none  of  our  fellows  have  become 
alarmed,  even  when  we  are  bearing  farther  and  farther  north- 
ward, farther  and  farther  into  the  unknown  ;  but  there  is  no  sign 
of  fear  in  any  one  of  them.  All  look  gloomy  when  we  are  bear- 
ing south  or  too  much  to  the  west,  and  all  are  beaming  with  joy 
when  we  are  drifting  to  the  northward,  the  farther  the  better. 
Yet  none  of  them  can  be  blind  to  the  fact  that  it  is  a  matter  of 
life  and  death  if  anything  of  what  nearly  every  one  prophesied 
should  now  occur.  Should  the  ship  be  crushed  in  this  ice  and  go 
to  the  bottom,  like  the  Jeannette^  without  our  being  able  to  save 
sufficient  supplies  to  continue  our  drift  on  the  ice,  we  should 
have  to  turn  our  course  to  the  south,  and  then  there  would  be 
little  doubt  as  to  our  fate.  The  Jeannette  people  fared  badly 
enough,  but  their  ship  went  down  in  77°  north  latitude,  white  the 
nearest  land  to  us  is  many  times  more  than  double  the  distance 
it  was  in  their  case,  to  say  nothing  of  the  nearest  inhabited  land. 
We  are  now  more  than  70  miles  from  Cape  Chelyuskin,  while 
from  there  to  any  inhabited  region  we  are  a  long  way  farther. 
But  the  Fram  will  not  be  crushed,  and  nobody  believes  in  the 
possibility  of  such  an  event.  We  are  like  the  kayak-rower,  who 
knows  well  enough  that  one  faulty  stroke  of  his  paddle  is  enough 
to  capsize  him  and  send  him  into  eternity  ;  but  none  the  less  he 
goes  on  his  way  serenely,  for  he  knows  that  he  will  not  make  a 
faulty  stroke.  This  is  absolutely  the  most  comfortable  way  of 
undertaking  a  polar  expedition  ;  what  possible  journey,  indeed, 
could  be  more  comfortable  ?  Not  even  a  railway  journey,  for 
then  you  have  the  bother  of  changing  carriages.  Still,  a  change 
now  and  then  would  be  no  bad  thing." 

Later  on — in  July — the  surface  was  even  worse.  The  floes 
were  everywhere  covered  with  slush,  with  water  underneath,  and 
on  the  pressure-ridges  and  between  the  hummocks  where  the 
snow-drifts  were  deep  one  would  often  sink  in  up  to  the  middle, 
not  even  the  snow-shoes  bearing  one  up  in  this  soft  snow.  Later 
on  in  July  matters  improved,  the  snow  having  gradually  melted 
away,  so  that  there  was  a  firmer  surface  of  ice  to  go  on. 

But  large  pools  of  water  now  formed  on  the  ice-floes.  Already 
on  the  8th  and  9th  of  June  such  a  pool  had  begun  to  appear  round 
the  ship,  so  that  she  lay  in  a  little  lake  of  fresh  water,  and  we 
were  obliged  to  make  use  of  a  bridge  in  order  to  reach  a  dry  spot 


?  9. 


GO 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER   OF  1894  239 

on  the  ice.  Some  of  these  fresh-water  pools  were  of  respectable 
dimensions  and  depth.  There  was  one  of  these  on  the  starboard 
side  of  the  ship,  so  large  that  in  the  middle  of  July  we  could  row 
and  sail  on  it  with  the  boats.  This  was  a  favorite  evening  amuse- 
ment with  some  of  us,  and  the  boat  was  fully  officered  with  cap- 
tain, mate,  and  second  mate,  but  had  no  common  sailors.  They 
thought  it  an  excellent  opportunity  of  practising  sailing  with  a 
square  sail ;  while  the  rest  of  our  fellows,  standing  on  the  icy 
shore,  found  it  still  more  diverting  to  bombard  the  navigators 
with  snowballs  and  lumps  of  ice.  It  was  in  this  same  pool  that 
we  tried  one  day  if  one  of  our  boats  could  carry  all  thirteen  of 
us  at  once.  When  the  dogs  saw  us  all  leave  the  ship  to  go  to  the 
pool,  they  followed  us  in  utter  bewilderment  as  to  what  this 
unusual  movement  could  mean  ;  but  when  we  got  into  the  boat 
they,  all  of  them,  set  to  work  and  howled  in  wild  despair,  think- 
ing, probably,  that  they  would  never  see  us  again.  Some  of  them 
swam  after  us,  while  two  cunning  ones,  "  Pan  "  and  "  Kvik,"  con- 
ceived the  brilliant  idea  of  galloping  round  the  pool  to  the  oppo- 
site side  to  meet  us.  A  few  days  afterwards  I  was  dismayed  to 
find  the  pool  dried  up  ;  a  hole  had  been  worn  through  the  ice  at 
the  bottom,  and  all  the  fresh  water  had  drained  out  into  the  sea. 
So  that  amusement  came  to  an  end. 

In  the  summer,  when  we  wanted  to  make  an  excursion  over 
the  ice,  in  addition  to  such  pools  we  met  with  lanes  in  the  ice  in 
all  directions  ;  but  as  a  rule  could  easily  cross  them  by  jumping 
from  one  loose  floe  to  another,  or  leaping  right  across  at  narrow 
places. 

These  lanes  never  attained  any  great  width,  and  there  was 
consequently  no  question  of  getting  the  Fram  afloat  in  any  of 
them  ;  and  even  could  we  have  done  so,  it  would  have  been  of 
very  little  avail,  as  none  of  them  was  large  enough  to  have  taken 
her  more  than  a  few  cable -lengths  farther  north.  Sometimes 
there  were  indications  in  the  sky  that  there  must  be  large 
stretches  of  open  water  in  our  vicinity,  and  we  could  now  and 
then  see  from  the  crow's-nest  large  spaces  of  clear  water  in  the 
horizon  ;  but  they  could  not  have  been  large  enough  to  be  of 
much  use  when  it  came  to  a  question  of  pushing  forward  with  a 
ship. 

Sanguine  folk  on  board,  however,  attached  more  importance 
to  such  open  stretches.     June  15th  I  wrote  in  my  diary  :  "There 


240  FARTHEST  NORTH 

are  several  lanes  visible  in  different  directions,  but  none  of  them 
is  wide  or  of  any  great  extent.  The  mate,  however,  is  always 
insisting  that  we  shall  certainly  get  open  water  before  autumn, 
and  be  able  to  creep  along  northward,  while  with  the  rest,  Sver- 
drup  excepted,  it  seems  to  be  a  generally  accepted  belief.  Where 
they  are  to  get  their  open  water  from  I  do  not  know.  For  the 
rest,  this  is  the  first  ice-bound  expedition  that  has  not  spent  the 
summer  spying  after  open  water,  and  sighing  and  longing  for 
the  ice  to  disperse.  I  only  wish  it  may  keep  together,  and  hurry 
up  and  drift  northward.  Everything  in  this  life  depends  on  what 
one  has  made  up  one's  mind  to  do.  One  person  sets  forth  to 
sail  in  open  water,  perhaps  to  the  very  Pole,  but  gets  stuck  in  the 
ice  and  laments  ;  another  is  prepared  to  get  stuck  in  the  ice,  but 
will  not  grumble  even  should  he  find  open  water.  It  is  ever  the 
safest  plan  to  expect  the  least  of  life,  for  then  one  often  gets  the 
most."    . 

The  open  spaces,  the  lanes,  and  the  rifts  in  the  ice  are,  of 
course,  produced,  like  the  pressure  and  packing,  by  the  shifting 
winds  and  the  tidal  currents  that  set  the  ice  drifting  first  in  one 
direction,  then  in  another.  And  they  best  prove,  perhaps,  how 
the  surface  of  the  Polar  Sea  must  be  considered  as  one  continu- 
ous mass  of  ice-floes  in  constant  motion,  now  frozen  together, 
now  torn  apart  or  crushed  against  each  other. 

During  the  whole  of  our  drift  I  paid  great  attention  to  this 
ice,  not  only  with  respect  to  its  motion,  but  to  its  formation  and 
growth  as  well.  In  the  Introduction  of  this  book  I  have  pointed 
out  that,  even  should  the  ice  pass  year  after  year  in  the  cold 
Polar  Sea,  it  could  not  by  mere  freezing  attain  more  than  a  cer- 
tain thickness.  From  measurements  that  were  constantly  being 
made,  it  appeared  that  the  ice  which  was  formed  during  the 
autumn  in  October  or  November  continued  to  increase  in  size 
during  the  whole  of  the  winter  and  part  of  the  spring,  but  more 
slowly  the  thicker  it  became.  On  April  loth  it  was  about  2.31 
metres  ;  April  21st,  2.41  metres  ;  May  5th,  2.45  metres  ;  May  31st, 
2.52  metres ;  June  9th,  2.58  metres.  It  was  thus  continually  in- 
creasing in  bulk,  notwithstanding  that  the  snow  now  melted 
quickly  on  the  surface,  and  large  pools  of  fresh  water  were  formed 
on  the  floes.  On  June  20th  the  thickness  was  the  same,  although 
the  melting  on  the  surface  had  now  increased  considerably.  On 
July  4th  the  thickness  was  2.57  metres.     On  July  loth  I  was 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER   OF  1894  241 

amazed  to  find  that  the  ice  had  increased  to  2.76  metres,  notwith- 
standing that  it  would  now  diminish  several  centimetres  daily 
from  surface  melting.  I  bored  in  many  places,  but  found  it  ev- 
erywhere the  same — a  thin,  somewhat  loose  ice  mass  lay  under 
the  old  floe.  I  first  thought  it  was  a  thin  ice-floe  that  had  got 
pushed  under,  but  subsequently  discovered  that  it  was  actually 
a  new  formation  of  fresh-water  ice  on  the  lower  side  of  the  old 
ice,  due  to  the  layer  of  fresh  water  of  about  9  feet  9  inches  (3 
metres)  in  depth,  formed  by  the  melting  of  the  snow  on  the  ice. 
Owing  to  its  lightness  this  warm  fresh  water  floated  on  the  salt 
sea- water,  which  was  at  a  temperature  of  about  —1.5°  C.  on  its 
surface.  Thus  by  contact  with  the  colder  sea-water  the  fresh 
water  became  cooler,  and  so  a  thick  crust  of  ice  was  formed 
on  the  fresh  water,  where  it  came  in  contact  with  the  salt  water 
lying  underneath  it.  It  was  this  ice  crust,  then,  that  augmented 
the  thickness  of  the  ice  on  its  under  side.  Later  on  in  the  sum- 
mer, however,  the  ice  diminished  somewhat,  owing  to  melting  on 
the  surface.  On  July  23d  the  old  ice  was  only  2.33  metres,  and 
with  the  newly  formed  layer  2.49  metres.  On  August  loth  the 
thickness  of  the  old  ice  had  decreased  to  1.94  metres,  and  to- 
gether the  aggregate  thickness  to  3.17  metres.  On  August  2 2d 
the  old  ice  was  1.86  metres,  and  the  aggregate  thickness  3.06 
metres.  On  September  3d  the  aggregate  thickness  was  2.02 
metres,  and  on  September  30th  1.98  metres.  On  October  3d  it 
was  the  same ;  the  thickness  of  the  old  ice  was  then  1.75  metres. 
On  October  12th  the  aggregate  thickness  was  2.08  metres,  while 
the  old  ice  was  1.8  metres.  On  November  loth  it  was  still  about 
the  same,  with  only  a  slight  tendency  to  increase.  Further  on,  in 
November  and  in  December,  it  increased  quite  slowly.  On  Decem- 
ber nth  the  aggregate  thickness  reached  2.11  metres.  On  Janu- 
ary 3d,  1895,  2.32  metres  ;  January  loth,  2.48  metres ;  February 
6th,  2.59  metres.  Hence  it  will  be  seen  that  the  ice  does  not  at- 
tain any  enormous  thickness  by  direct  freezing.  The  packing 
caused  by  pressure  can,  however,  produce  blocks  and  floes  of  a 
very  different  size.  It  often  happens  that  the  floes  get  shoved 
in  under  each  other  in  several  layers,  and  are  frozen  together  so 
as  to  appear  like  one  originally  continuous  mass  of  ice.  Thus 
the  Fram  had  got  a  good  bed  under  her. 

Juell  and  Peter  had  often  disputed  together  during  the  winter 
as  to  the  thickness  of  ice  the  Fram  had  under  her.     Peter,  who 
16 


242  FARTHEST  NORTH 

had  seen  a  good  deal  of  the  ice  before,  maintained  that  it  must 
at  least  be  20  feet  thick,  while  Juell  would  not  believe  it,  and 
betted  20  kroner  that  it  was  not  as  thick  as  that.  On  April  19th 
this  dispute  again  broke  out,  and  I  say  of  it  in  my  diary  :  "  Juell 
has  undertaken  to  make  a  bore,  but  unfortunately  our  borer 
reaches  no  farther  than  16  feet  down.  Peter,  however,  has  un- 
dertaken to  cut  away  the  4  feet  that  are  lacking.  There  has 
been  a  lot  of  talk  about  this  wager  during  the  whole  winter,  but 
they  could  never  agree  about  it.  Peter  says  that  Juell  should 
begin  to  bore,  while  Juell  maintains  that  Peter  ought  to  cut  the 
4  feet  first.  This  evening  it  ended  in  Juell  incautiously  offering 
10  kroner  to  any  one  who  would  bore.  Bentzen  took  him  at  his 
word,  and  immediately  set  to  work  at  it  with  Amundsen  ;  he 
thought  one  did  not  always  have  the  chance  of  earning  10  kroner 
so  easily.  Amundsen  offered  him  a  kroner  an  hour,  or  else  pay- 
ment per  foot ;  and  time  payment  was  finally  agreed  to.  They 
worked  till  late  on  into  the  night,  and  when  they  had  got  down 
12  feet  the  borer  slipped  a  little  way,  and  water  rose  in  the  hole, 
but  this  did  not  come  to  much,  and  presently  the  borer  struck 
on  ice  again.  They  went  on  for  some  time,  but  now  the  borer 
would  reach  no  farther,  and  Peter  had  to  be  called  up  to  cut  his 
four  feet.  He  and  Amundsen  worked  away  at  cutting  till  they 
were  dripping  with  perspiration.  Amundsen,  as  usual,  was  very 
eager,  and  vowed  he  would  not  give  in  till  he  had  got  through  it, 
even  if  it  were  30  feet  thick.  Meanwhile  Bentzen  had  turned  in, 
but  a  message  was  sent  to  him  to  say  that  the  hole  was  cut,  and 
that  boring  could  now  begin  again.  When  it  was  only  an  inch 
or  an  inch  and  a  half  short  of  20  feet  the  borer  slipped  through, 
and  the  water  spurted  up  and  filled  the  hole.  They  now  sank  a 
lead-line  down  it,  and  at  30  feet  it  again  brought  up  against  ice. 
Now  they  were  obliged  to  give  it  up.  A  fine  lump  of  ice  we  are 
lying  on  !  Not  taking  into  account  a  large,  loose  ice-floe  that  is 
lying  packed  up  on  the  ice,  it  is  16  inches  above  the  water  ;  and 
adding  to  this  the  2  feet  which  the  Fram  is  raised  up  above  the 
ice,  there  is  no  small  distance  between  her  and  the  water." 

The  temperature  on  the  ice  in  summer  is  about  thawing-point, 
but  gradually  as  the  winter  cold  comes  on,  it,  of  course,  falls  rap- 
idly on  the  surface,  whence  the  cold  slowly  penetrates  deeper  and 
deeper  down  towards  the  lower  surface,  where  it  naturally  keeps 
at  an  even  temperature  with  the  underlying  water.   Observations 


THE  SPRING  AND   SUMMER   OF  i8g4  243 

of  the  temperature  of  the  ice  in  its  different  layers  were  constantly 
taken  in  order  to  ascertain  how  quickly  this  cooling-down  process 
of  the  ice  took  place  during  the  winter,  and  also  how  the  tempera- 
ture rose  again  towards  spring.  The  lowest  temperature  of  the 
ice  occurred  in  March  and  the  beginning  of  April,  when  at  1.2 
metres  it  was  about  3.20  Fahr.  (  —  16°  C),  and  at  0.8  metre  about 
22°  Fahr.  below  zero  (—30°  C).  After  the  beginning  of  April  it 
began  to  rise  slowly. 

At  these  low  temperatures  the  ice  became  very  hard  and 
brittle,  and  was  readily  cracked  or  broken  up  by  a  blow  or  by 
packing.  In  the  summer,  on  the  other  hand,  when  its  tempera- 
ture was  near  melting-point,  the  ice  became  tough  and  plastic,  and 
was  not  so  readily  broken  up  under  packing.  This  difference  be- 
tween the  condition  of  the  ice  in  summer  and  winter  was  apparent 
also  to  the  ear,  as  the  ice-packing  in  winter  was  always  accom- 
panied by  the  frequently  mentioned  loud  noises,  while  the  pack- 
ing of  the  tough  summer  ice  was  almost  noiseless,  so  that  the 
most  violent  convulsions  might  take  place  close  to  us  without 
our  noticing  them. 

In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Pram  the  ice  remained  per- 
fectly at  rest  the  whole  year  through,  and  she  was  not  at  this 
time  exposed  to  any  great  amount  of  pressure  ;  she  lay  safe  and 
secure  on  the  ice-floe  to  which  she  was  firmly  frozen  ;  and  gradual- 
ly, as  the  surface  of  the  ice  thawed  under  the  summer  sun,  she 
rose  up  higher  and  higher.  In  the  autumn  she  again  began  to 
sink  a  little,  either  because  the  ice  gave  way  under  her  weight,  or 
because  it  melted  somewhat  on  the  under  surface,  so  that  it  no 
longer  had  so  much  buoyancy  as  before. 

Meanwhile  life  on  board  went  on  in  its  usual  way.  Now  that 
we  had  daylight  there  was  of  course  more  work  of  various  descrip- 
tions on  the  ice  than  had  been  the  case  during  the. winter.  I 
have  already  alluded  more  than  once  to  our  unsuccessful  en- 
deavors to  reach  the  bottom  by  sounding.  Unfortunately  we 
were  not  prepared  for  such  great  depths,  and  had  not  brought 
any  deep-sea  sounding  apparatus  with  us.  We  had,  therefore,  to 
do  the  best  we  could  under  the  circumstances,  and  that  was  to 
sacrifice  one  of  the  ship's  steel  cables  in  order  to  make  a  lead- 
line. It  was  not  difficult  to  find  sufficient  space  on  the  ice  for  a 
rope-walk,  and  although  a  temperature  of  from"  22°  Fahr.  below 
zero  (  —  30°  C.)  to  40°  Fahr.  below  zero  (—40°  C.)  is  not  the  pleas- 


244  FARTHEST  NORTH 

antest  in  which  to  manipulate  such  things  as  steel  wire,  yet  for 
all  that  the  work  went  on  well.  The  cable  was  unlaid  into  its 
separate  strands,  and  a  fresh,  pliant  lead-line  manufactured  by- 
twisting  two  of  these  strands  together.  In  this  way  we  made 
a  line  of  between  4000  and  5000  metres  (2150  to  2700  fath- 
oms) long,  and  could  now  at  last  reach  the  bottom.  The  depth 
proved  to  range  between  3300  and  3900  metres  (1800  to  2100 
fathoms). 

This  was  a  remarkable  discovery,  for,  as  I  have  frequently 
mentioned,  the  unknown  polar  basin  has  always  been  supposed 
to  be  shallow,  with  numerous  unknown  lands  and  islands.  I,  too, 
had  assumed  it  to  be  shallow  when  I  sketched  out  my  plan  (see 
page  15),  and  had  thought  it  was  traversed  by  a  deep  channel 
which  might  possibly  be  a  continuation  of  the  deep  channel  in 
the  North  Atlantic  (see  page  18). 

From  this  assumption  of  a  shallow  Polar  Sea  it  was  concluded 
that  the  regions  about  the  Pole  had  formerly  been  covered  with 
an  extensive  tract  of  land,  of  which  the  existing  islands  are  sim- 
ply the  remains.  This  extensive  tract  of  polar  land  was  further- 
more assumed  to  have  been  the  nursery  of  many  of  our  animal 
and  plant  forms,  whence  they  had  found  their  way  to  lower  lati- 
tudes. These  conjectures  now  appear  to  rest  on  a  somewhat  in- 
firm basis. 

This  great  depth  indicates  that  here,  at  all  events,  there  has 
not  been  land  in  any  very  recent  geological  period ;  and  this 
depth  is,  no  doubt,  as  old  as  the  depth  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  of 
which  it  is  almost  certainly  a  part. 

Another  task  to  which  I  attached  great  importance,  and  to 
which  I  have  frequently  alluded,  was  the  observation  of  the  tem- 
perature of  the  sea  at  different  depths,  from  the  surface  down  to 
the  bottom.  These  observations  we  took  as  often  as  time  per- 
mitted, and,  as  already  mentioned,  they  gave  some  surprising 
results,  showing  the  existence  of  warmer  water  below  the  cold 
surface  stratum.  This  is  not  the  place  to  give  the  results  of  the 
different  measurements,  but  as  they  are  all  very  similar  I  will 
instance  one  of  them  in  order  that  an  idea  may  be  formed  how 
the  temperature  is  distributed. 

This  series  of  temperatures,  of  which  an  extract  is  given  here, 
was  taken  from  the  T3th  to  the  17th  of  August. 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER  OF  1894  245 


TABLE   OF   TEMPERATURES 

DEPTHS 

TEMPERATURE 

Fathoms 

Degrees 

Degrees 

Centigrade 

Fahrenheit 

Surface 

+  1.02 

=  33.83 

2  metres 

=         I 

-1.32 

29.62 

20 

10 

-1-33 

29.61 

40     •• 

21 

-1.50 

29.3 

60     " 

32 

-1.50 

29-3 

80     " 

43 

-1.50 

29-3 

100     " 

1^ 

—  1.40 

29.48 

120     " 

^1 

-1.24 

29.77 

140     " 

76 

—  0.97 

30.254 

160     " 

87 

—  0.58 

30.96 

180     " 

98 

-0.31 

31.44 

200     " 

109 

—  0.03 

31-95 

220     " 

120 

-)-o.i9 

32.34 

240     " 

131 

-f  0.20 

32.36 

260     " 

142 

+  0.34 

32.61 

280     " 

153 

4-0.42 

32.76 

300     '• 

164 

+  0.34 

32.61 

350     " 

191 

+  0.44 

32.79 

400     " 

218 

+  0.35 

32.63 

450     " 

246 

-fo.36 

32.66 

500     " 

273 

+  0.34 

32.61 

600     " 

328 

+  0.26 

32.47 

700     " 

382 

H-O.I4 

32.25 

800     " 

437 

+  0.07 

32.126 

900     •' 

492 

—  0.04 

31.928 

lOCX) 

546 

—  O.IO 

31.82 

1200    " 

656 

—0.28 

31.496 

1400 

765 

-0.34 

31-39 

1600   " 

874 

—  0.46 

31-17 

1800    " 

984 

—  0.60 

30.92 

2ono      " 

1093 

-0.66 

30.81 

2600      " 

1421 

-0.74 

30.67 

2900      " 

1585 

—  0.76 

30.63 

3000      " 

1640 

-0.73 

30.69 

3400      " 

1859 

—0.69 

30.76 

3700      " 

2023 

—  0.65 

30.83 

3800      " 

2077 

—  0.64 

30.85 

325      " 

177 

+0.49 

32.88 

+0.85 

33.53 

+0.76 

33-37 

+0.78 

3340 

+0.62 

33.12 

These  temperatures  of  the  water  are  in  many  respects  re- 
markable. In  the  first  place,  the  temperature  falls,  as  will  be 
seen,  from  the  surface  downward  to  a  depth  of  80  metres,  after 


246  FARTHEST  NORTH 

which  it  rises  to  280  metres,  falls  again  at  300  metres,  then  rises 
again  at  326  metres,  where  it  was  +0.49°  ;  then  falls  to  rise  again 
at  450  metres,  then  falls  steadily  down  to  2000  metres,  to  rise 
once  more  slowly  at  the  bottom.  Similar  risings  and  fallings 
were  to  be  found  in  almost  all  the  series  of  temperatures  taken, 
and  the  variations  from  one  month  to  another  were  so  small 
that  at  the  respective  depths  they  often  merely  amounted  to 
the  two-hundredth  part  of  a  degree.  Occasionally  the  temper- 
ature of  the  warm  strata  mounted  even  higher  than  mentioned 
here.  Thus  on  October  17th  at  300  metres  it  was  +0.85°,  at  350 
metres  +0.76°,  at  400  metres  +0.78°,  and  at  500  metres  +0.62°, 
after  which  it  sank  evenly,  until,  towards  the  bottom,  it  again 
rose  as  before. 

We  had  not  expected  to  meet  with  much  bird  life  in  these 
desolate  regions.  Our  surprise,  therefore,  was  not  small  when 
on  Whitsunday,  May  13th,  a  gull  paid  us  a  visit.  After  that 
date  we  regularly  saw  birds  of  different  kinds  in  our  vicinity  till 
at  last  it  became  a  daily  occurrence,  to  which  we  did  not  pay  any 
particular  attention.  For  the  most  part  they  were  ice  mews 
(Lams  eburneus),  kittiwakes  {Rissa  tridactyld),  fulmars  {Procel- 
laria  glacialis),  and  now  and  then  a  blue  gull  (Z.  glaucus)^  a 
herring  gull  (Z.  argentattisf),  or  a  black  guillemot  {Uria grylle) ; 
once  or  twice  we  also  saw  a  skua  (probably  Lestris  parasitica) — 
for  instance,  on  July  14th.  On  July  21st  we  had  a  visit  from  a 
snow-bunting. 

On  August  3d  a  remarkable  occurrence  took  place  :  we  were 
visited  by  the  Arctic  rose  gull  {Rhodostethia  rosea).  I  wrote  as 
follows  about  it  in  my  diary  :  *'  To-day  my  longing  has  at  last 
been  satisfied.  I  have  shot  'Ross's  gull,'*  three  specimens  in 
one  day.  This  rare  and  mysterious  inhabitant  of  the  unknown 
North,  which  is  only  occasionally  seen,  and  of  which  no  one 
knows  whence  it  cometh  or  whither  it  goeth,  which  belongs  ex- 
clusively to  the  world  to  which  the  imagination  aspires,  is  what, 
from  the  first  moment  I  saw  these  tracts,  I  had  always  hoped  to 
discover,  as  my  eyes  roamed  over  the  lonely  plains  of  ice.  And 
now  it  came  when  I  was  least  thinking  of  it.  I  was  out  for  a 
little  walk  on  the  ice  by  the  ship,  and  as  I  was  sitting  down  by 

*  This  gull  is  often  called  by  this  name,  after  its  first  discoverer.  It 
has  acquired  its  other  name,  "rose  gull,"  from  its  pink  color. 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER   OF  1894  247 

a  hummock  my  eyes  wandered  northward  and  lit  on  a  bird  hov- 
ering over  the  great  pressure-mound  away  to  the  northwest. 
At  first  I  took  it  to  be  a  kittiwake,  but  soon  discovered  it  rather 
resembled  the  skua  by  its  swift  flight,  sharp  wings,  and  pointed 
tail.  When  I  had  got  my  gun,  there  were  two  of  them  together 
flying  round  and  round  the  ship.  I  now  got  a  closer  view  of 
them,  and  discovered  that  they  were  too  light  -  colored  to  be 
skuas.  They  were  by  no  means  shy,  but  continued  flying  about 
close  to  the  ship.  On  going  after  them  on  the  ice  I  soon  shot 
one  of  them,  and  was  not  a  little  surprised,  on  picking  it  up,  to 
find  it  was  a  little  bird  about  the  size  of  a  snipe ;  the  mottled 
back,  too,  reminded  me  also  of  that  bird.  Soon  after  this  I  shot 
the  other.  Later  in  the  day  there  came  another,  which  was  also 
shot.  On  picking  this  one  up  I  found  it  was  not  quite  dead,  and 
it  vomited  up  a  couple  of  large  shrimps,  which  it  must  have 
caught  in  some  channel  or  other.  All  three  were  young  birds, 
about  12  inches  in  length,  with  dark,  mottled -gray  plumage  on 
the  back  and  wings ;  the  breast  and  under  side  white,  with  a 
scarcely  perceptible  tinge  of  orange-red,  and  round  the  neck  a 
dark  ring  sprinkled  with  gray."  At  a  somewhat  later  age  this 
mottled  plumage  disappears ;  they  then  become  blue  on  the 
back,  with  a  black  ring  round  the  neck,  while  the  breast  assumes 
a  delicate  pink  hue.  Some  few  days  afterwards  (August  6th 
and  8th)  some  more  of  these  birds  were  shot,  making  eight 
specimens  in  all. 

While  time  was  passing  on,  the  plan  I  had  been  revolving  in 
my  mind  during  the  winter  was  ever  uppermost  in  my  thoughts 
— the  plan,  that  is  to  say,  of  exploring  the  unknown  sea  apart 
from  the  track  in  which  the  Fram  was  drifting.  I  kept  an 
anxious  eye  upon  the  dogs,  for  fear  anything  should  happen  to 
them,  and  also  to  see  that  they  continued  in  good  condition,  for 
all  my  hopes  centred  in  them.  Several  of  them,  indeed,  had 
been  bitten  to  death,  and  two  had  been  killed  by  bears;  but 
there  were  still  twenty-six  remaining,  and  as  a  set-off  against 
our  losses  we  had  the  puppies,  eight  of  which  had  been  per- 
mitted to  live.  As  spring  advanced  they  were  allowed  to  roam 
the  deck,  but  on  May  5th  their  world  was  considerably  extended. 
I  wrote  thus:  "In  the  afternoon  we  let  the  puppies  loose  on 
the  ice,  and  '  Kvik  *  at  once  took  long  expeditions  with  them  to 
familiarize  them  with  their  surroundings.     First  she  introduced 


248  FARTHEST  NORTH 

them  to  our  meteorological  apparatus,  then  to  the  bear-trap, 
and  after  that  to  different  pressure -mounds.  They  were  very 
cautious  at  first,  staring  timidly  all  around,  and  venturing  out 
very  slowly,  a  step  at  a  time,  from  the  ship's  side ;  but  soon  they 
began  to  run  riot  in  their  newly  discovered  world, 

" '  Kvik '  was  very  proud  to  conduct  her  litter  out  into  the 
world,  and  roamed  about  in  the  highest  of  spirits,  though  she  had 
only  just  returned  from  a  long  driving  expedition,  in  which,  as 
usual,  she  had  done  good  work  in  harness.  In  the  afternoon  one 
of  the  black-and-white  puppies  had  an  attack  of  madness.  It  ran 
round  the  ship,  barking  furiously  ;  the  others  set  on  it,  and  it  bit 
at  everything  that  came  in  its  way.  At  last  we  got  it  shut  in  on 
the  deck  forward,  where  it  was  furious  for  a  while,  then  quieted 
down,  and  now  seems  to  be  all  right  again.  This  makes  the 
fourth  that  has  had  a  similar  attack.  What  can  it  possibly  be  ? 
It  cannot  be  hydrophobia,  or  it  would  have  appeared  among  the 
grown-up  dogs.  Can  it  be  toothache,  or  hereditary  epilepsy — or 
some  other  infernal  thing  ?"  Unfortunately,  several  of  them  died 
from  these  strange  attacks.  The  puppies  were  such  fine,  nice  ani- 
mals, that  we  were  all  very  sorry  when  a  thing  like  this  occurred. 

On  June  3d  I  write  :  "Another  of  the  puppies  died  in  the 
forenoon  from  one  of  those  mysterious  attacks,  and  I  cannot 
conceal  from  myself  that  I  take  it  greatly  to  heart,  and  feel  low- 
spirited  about  it,  I  have  been  so  used  to  these  small  polar  creatures 
living  their  sorrowless  life  on  deck,  romping  and  playing  around 
us  from  morning  to  evening,  and  a  little  of  the  night  as  well.  I 
can  watch  them  with  pleasure  by  the  hour  together,  or  play  with 
them  as  with  little  children — have  a  game  at  hide-and-seek  with 
them  round  the  skylight,  the  while  they  are  beside  themselves 
with  glee.  It  is  the  largest  and  strongest  of  the  lot  that  has  just 
died,  a  handsome  dog  ;  I  called  him  '  Lova '  (Lion).  He  was  such 
a  confiding,  gentle  animal,  and  so  affectionate.  Only  yesterday 
he  was  jumping  and  playing  about  and  rubbing  himself  against 
me,  and  to-day  he  is  dead.  Our  ranks  are  thinning,  and  the 
worst  of  it  is  we  try  in  vain  to  make  out  what  it  is  that  ails  them. 
This  one  was  apparently  quite  in  his  normal  condition  and  as 
cheerful  as  ever  until  his  breakfast  was  given  him  ;  then  he 
began  to  cry  and  tear  round,  yelping  and  barking  as  if  dis- 
tracted, just  as  the  others  had  done.  After  this  convulsions  set 
in,  and  the  froth  poured  from  his  mouth.     One  of  these  convul- 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER  OF  1894.  249 

sions  no  doubt  carried  him  off.  Blessing  and  I  held  a  post  mortem 
upon  him  in  the  afternoon,  but  we  could  discover  no  signs  of 
anything  unusual.  It  does  not  seem  to  be  an  infectious  ailment. 
I  cannot  understand  it. 

"*Ulenka/  too,  the  handsomest  dog  in  the  whole  pack,  our 
consolation  and  our  hope,  suddenly  became  ill  the  other  day.  It 
was  the  morning  of  May  24th  that  we  found  it  paralyzed  and 
quite  helpless,  lying  in  its  cask  on  deck.  It  kept  trying  to  get 
up,  but  couldn't,  and  immediately  fell  down  again — just  like  a 
man  who  has  had  a  stroke  and  has  lost  all  power  over  his  limbs. 
It  was  at  once  put  to  bed  in  a  box  and  nursed  most  carefully ; 
except  for  being  unable  to  walk,  it  is  apparently  quite  well."  It 
must  have  been  a  kind  of  apoplectic  seizure  that  attacked  the 
spinal  cord  in  some  spot  or  other,  and  paralyzed  one  side  of  the 
body.  The  dog  recovered  slowly,  but  never  got  the  complete  use 
of  its  legs  again.  It  accompanied  us,  however,  on  our  subsequent 
sledge  expedition. 

The  dogs  did  not  seem  to  like  the  summer,  it  was  so  wet  on 
the  ice,  and  so  warm.  On  June  nth  I  write  :  "To-day  the  pools 
on  the  ice  all  round  us  have  increased  wonderfully  in  size,  and  it 
is  by  no  means  agreeable  to  go  off  the  ship  with  shoes  that  are 
not  water-tight ;  it  is  wetter  and  wetter  for  the  dogs  in  the  day- 
time, and  they  sweat  more  and  more  from  the  heat,  though  it  as 
yet  only  rarely  rises  above  zero  (C).  A  few  days  ago  they  were 
shifted  on  to  the  ice,  where  two  long  kennels  were  set  up  for 
them."*  They  were  made  out  of  boxes,  and  really  consist  of 
only  a  wall  and  a  roof.  Here  they  spend  the  greater  part  of  the 
twenty-four  hours,  and  we  are  now  rid  of  all  uncleanliness  on 
board,  except  for  the  four  puppies  which  still  remain,  and  lead  a 
glorious  life  of  it  up  there  between  sleep  and  play.  "  Ulenka  "  is 
still  on  deck,  and  is  slowly  recovering.  There  is  the  same  daily 
routine  for  the  dogs  as  in  the  winter.  We  let  them  loose  in  the 
morning  about  half-past  eight,  and  as  the  time  for  their  release 
draws  near  they  begin  to  get  very  impatient.  Every  time  any 
one  shows  himself  on  deck  a  wild  chorus  of  howls  issues  from 
twenty-six  throats,  clamoring  for  food  and  freedom. 

After  being  let  loose  they  get  their  breakfast,  consisting  of 
half  a  dried  fish  or  three  biscuits  apiece.     The  rest  of  the  fore- 

*  Up  to  now  they  had  had  their  kennels  on  deck. 


250  FARTHEST  NORTH 

noon  is  spent  in  rooting  round  among  all  the  refuse  heaps  they 
can  find  ;  and  they  gnaw  and  lick  all  the  empty  tin  cases  which 
they  have  ransacked  hundreds  of  times  before.  If  the  cook 
sends  a  fresh  tin  dancing  along  the  ice  a  battle  immediately 
rages  around  the  prize.  It  often  happens  that  one  or  another  of 
them,  trying  to  get  at  a  tempting  piece  of  fat  at  the  bottom  of  a 
deep,  narrow  tin,  sticks  his  head  so  far  down  into  it  that  the  tin 
sits  fast,  and  he  cannot  release  himself  again  ;  so  with  this  ex- 
tinguisher on  his  head  he  sprawls  about  blindly  over  the  ice,  in- 
dulging in  the  most  wonderful  antics  in  the  effort  to  get  rid  of 
it,  to  the  great  amusement  of  us,  the  spectators.  When  tired  of 
their  work  at  the  rubbish  heaps  they  stretch  out  their  round, 
sausage-like  bodies,  panting  in  the  sun,  if  there  is  any,  and  if  it 
is  too  warm  they  get  into  the  shade.  They  are  tied  up  again 
before  dinner ;  but  "  Pan,"  and  others  like-minded,  sneak  away  a 
little  before  that  time,  and  hide  up  behind  a  hummock,  so  that 
one  can  only  see  a  head  or  an  ear  sticking  up  here  and  there. 
Should  any  one  go  to  fetch  him  in  he  will  probably  growl,  show 
his  teeth,  or  even  snap ;  after  which  he  will  lie  flat  down,  and  al- 
low himself  to  be  dragged  off  to  prison.  The  remainder  of  the 
twenty-four  hours  they  spend  sleeping,  puffing  and  panting  in 
the  excessive  heat,  which,  by  the  way,  is  two  degrees  of  cold. 
Every  now  and  then  they  set  up  a  chorus  of  howls  that  certainly 
must  be  heard  in  Siberia,  and  quarrel  among  themselves  till  the 
fur  flies  in  all  directions.  This  removal  of  the  dogs  on  to  the  ice 
has  imposed  upon  the  watch  the  arduous  duty  of  remaining  on 
deck  at  nights,  which  was  not  the  practice  before.  But  a  bear 
having  once  been  on  board  and  taken  off  two  of  our  precious 
animals,  we  don't  want  any  more  such  visitors. 

"On  July  31st  *Kvik'  again  increased  our  population  by  bring- 
ing eleven  puppies  into  the  world,  one  of  which  was  deformed, 
and  was  at  once  killed ;  two  others  died  later,  but  most  of  them 
grew  up  and  became  fine,  handsome  animals.   They  are  still  living. 

"  Few  or  no  incidents  occurred  during  this  time,  except,  nat- 
urally, the  different  red-letter  days  were  celebrated  with  great 
ceremony." 

May  17th*  we  observed  with  special  pomp,  the  following  de- 
scription of  which  I  find  in  my  journal  : 

*  The  anniversary  of  the  Norwegian  Constitution. 


OUR  KENNELS.      SEPTEMBER    27,   1 894 
{From  a  photograph) 


THE   SEVENTEENTH-OF-MAY    PROCESSION,   1 894 
{From  a  photograph) 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER   OF  i8g4.  251 

"  Friday,  May  i8th.  May  17th  was  celebrated  yesterday  with 
all  possible  festivity.  In  the  morning  we  were  awakened  with 
organ  music — the  enlivening  strains  of  the  'College  Hornpipe' 
After  this  a  splendid  breakfast  off  smoked  salmon,  ox  tongues, 
etc.,  etc.  The  whole  ship's  company  wore  bows  of  ribbon  in 
honor  of  the  day  —  even  old  'Suggen'  had  one  round  his  tail. 
The  wind  whistled,  and  the  Norwegian  flag  floated  on  high,  flut- 
tering bravely  at  the  mast-head.  About  1 1  o'clock  the  company 
assembled  with  their  banners  on  the  ice  on  the  port  side  of  the 
ship,  and  the  procession  arranged  itself  in  order.  First  of  all 
came  the  leader  of  the  expedition  with  the  'pure'  Norwegian 
flag  ;*  after  him  Sverdrup  with  the  Pram's  pennant,  which,  with 
its  '  FRAM '  on  a  red  ground,  three  fathoms  long,  looked  splendid. 
Next  came  a  dog-sledge,  with  the  band  (Johansen  with  the  ac- 
cordion), and  Mogstad,  as  coachman  ;  after  them  came  the  mate 
with  rifles  and  harpoons,  Henriksen  carrying  a  long  harpoon  ; 
then  Amundsen  and  Nordahl,  with  a  red  banner.  The  doctor 
followed,  with  a  demonstration  flag  in  favor  of  a  normal  work- 
ing-day. It  consisted  of  a  woollen  jersey,  with  the  letters  '  N. 
A.'t  embroidered  on  the  breast,  and  at  the  top  of  a  very  long 
pole  it  looked  most  impressive.  After  him  followed  our  chef, 
Juell,  with  '  peik's  '|  saucepan  on  his  back  ;  and  then  came  the 
meteorologists,  with  a  curious  apparatus,  consisting  of  a  large 
tin  scutcheon,  across  which  was  fastened  a  red  band,  with  the 
letters  '  Al.  St.,'  signifying  '  almindelig  stemmeret,'  or  'universal 
suffrage.'^ 

"  At  last  the  procession  began  to  move  on.  The  dogs  marched 
demurely,  as  if  they  had  never  done  anything  else  in  all  their 
lives  than  walk  in  procession,  and  the  band  played  a  magnificent 
festive  march,  not  composed  for  the  occasion.  The  stately  cor- 
tege marched  twice  round  the  Pram,  after  which  with  great 
solemnity  it  moved  off  in  the  direction  of  the  large  hummock, 

*  Without  the  mark  of  the  "  union  "  with  Sweden. 

t  "  Normal  Arbeidsdage  "  =  normal  working-days. 

X  The  pet  name  of  the  cooking-range  in  the  galley. 

§  Up  to  this  day  I  am  not  quite  clear  as  to  what  these  emblems  were 
intended  to  signify.  That  the  doctor,  from  want  of  practice,  would  have 
been  glad  of  a  normal  day's  work  ("  normal  Arbeidsdag  ")  can  readily  be 
explained,  but  why  the  meteorologists  should  cry  out  for  universal  suffrage 
passes  my  comprehension.     Did  they  want  to  overthrow  despotism. 


25-2  FARTHEST  NORTH 

and  was  photographed  on  the  way  by  the  photographer  of  the 
expedition.  At  the  hummock  a  hearty  cheer  was  given  for  the 
Fram,  which  had  brought  us  hither  so  well,  and  which  would, 
doubtless,  take  us  equally  well  home  again.  After  this  the  pro- 
cession turned  back,  cutting  across  the  Frames  bow.  At  the 
port  gangway  a  halt  was  called,  and  the  photographer,  mounting 
the  bridge,  made  a  speech  in  honor  of  the  day.  This  was  suc- 
ceeded by  a  thundering  salute,  consisting  of  six  shots,  the  result 
of  which  was  that  five  or  six  of  the  dogs  rushed  off  over  hum- 
mocks and  pressure-ridges,  and  hid  themselves  for  several  hours. 
Meanwhile  we  went  down  into  the  cosey  cabin,  decorated  with 
flags  for  the  occasion  in  a  right  festive  manner,  where  we  par- 
took of  a  splendid  dinner,  preluded  by  a  lovely  waltz.  The  menu 
was  as  follows  :  Minced  fish  with  curried  lobster,  melted  butter, 
and  potatoes  ;  music  ;  pork  cutlets,  with  green  pease,  potatoes, 
mango  chutney,  and  Worcester  sauce  ;  music  ;  apricots  and  cus- 
tard, with  cream  ;  much  music.  After  this  a  siesta  ;  then  coffee, 
currants,  figs,  cakes  ;  and  the  photographer  stood  cigars.  Great 
enthusiasm,  then  more  siesta.  After  supper  the  violinist,  Mog- 
stad,  gave  a  recital,  when  refreshments  were  served  in  the  shape 
of  figs,  sweetmeats,  apricots,  and  gingerbread  (honey  cakes).  On 
the  whole,  a  charming  and  very  successful  Seventeenth  of  May, 
especially  considering  that  we  had  passed  the  8ist  degree  of 
latitude, 

"  Monday,  May  28th.  Ugh  !  I  am  tired  of  these  endless,  white 
plains — cannot  even  be  bothered  snow-shoeing  over  them,  not  to 
mention  that  the  lanes  stop  one  on  every  hand.  Day  and  night 
I  pace  up  and  down  the  deck,  along  the  ice  by  the  ship's  sides, 
revolving  the  most  elaborate  scientific  problems.  For  the  past 
few  days  it  is  especially  the  shifting  of  the  Pole  that  has  fasci- 
nated me.  I  am  beset  by  the  idea  that  the  tidal  wave,  along 
with  the  unequal  distribution  of  land  and  sea,  must  have  a  dis- 
turbing effect  on  the  situation  of  the  earth's  axis.  When  such 
an  idea  gets  into  one's  head,  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  get  it  out 
again.  After  pondering  over  it  for  several  days,  I  have  finally 
discovered  that  the  influence  of  the  moon  on  the  sea  must  be 
sufficient  to  cause  a  shifting  of  the  Pole  to  the  extent  of  one  min- 
ute in  800,000  years.  In  order  to  account  for  the  European 
Glacial  Age,  which  was  my  main  object,  I  must  shift  the  Pole 
at  least  ten  or  twenty  degrees.     This  leaves  an  uncomfortably 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER   OF  1894.  253 

wide  interval  of  time  since  that  period,  and  shows  that  the  hu- 
man race  must  have  attained  a  respectable  age.  Of  course,  it  is 
all  nonsense.  But  while  I  am  indefatigably  tramping  the  deck  in 
a  brown  study,  imagining  myself  no  end  of  a  great  thinker,  I 
suddenly  discover  that  my  thoughts  are  at  home,  where  all  is 
summer  and  loveliness,  and  those  I  have  left  are  busy  building 
castles  in  the  air  for  the  day  when  I  shall  return.  Yes,  yes.  I 
spend  rather  too  much  time  on  this  sort  of  thing ;  but  the  drift 
goes  on  as  slowly  as  ever,  and  the  wind,  the  all-powerful  wind,  is 
still  the  same.  The  first  thing  my  eyes  look  for  when  I  set  foot 
on  deck  in  the  morning  is  the  weathercock  on  the  mizzen-top, 
to  see  how  the  wind  lies  ;  thither  they  are  forever  straying  during 
the  whole  day,  and  there  again  they  rest  the  last  thing  before  I 
turn  in.  But  it  ever  points  in  the  same  direction,  west  and 
southwest,  and  we  drift  now  quicker,  now  more  slowly  westward, 
and  only  a  little  to  the  north.  I  have  no  doubt  now  about  the 
success  of  the  expedition,  and  my  miscalculation  was  not  so 
great,  after  all ;  but  I  scarcely  think  we  shall  drift  higher  than 
85°,  even  if  we  do  that.  It  will  depend  on  how  far  Franz  Josef 
Land  extends  to  the  north.  In  that  case  it  will  be  hard  to  give 
up  reaching  the  Pole  ;  it  is  in  reality  a  mere  matter  of  vanity, 
merely  child's  play,  in  comparison  with  what  we  are  doing  and 
hoping  to  do  ;  and  yet  I  must  confess  that  I  am  fooKsh  enough 
to  want  to  take  in  the  Pole  while  I  am  about  it,  and  shall  prob- 
ably have  a  try  at  it  if  we  get  into  its  neighborhood  within  any 
reasonable  time. 

"  This  is  a  mild  May  ;  the  temperature  has  been  about  zero 
several  times  of  late,  and  one  can  walk  up  and  down  and  almost 
imagine  one's  self  at  home.  There  is  seldom  more  than  a  few 
degrees  of  cold  ;  but  the  summer  fogs  are  beginning,  with  oc- 
casional hoar-frost.  As  a  rule,  however,  the  sky,  with  its  light, 
fleeting  clouds,  is  almost  like  a  spring  sky  in  the  south. 

"We  notice,  too,  that  it  has  become  milder  on  board;  we  no 
longer  need  to  light  a  fire  in  the  stove  to  make  ourselves  warm 
and  cosey ;  though,  indeed,  we  have  never  indulged  in  much 
luxury  in  this  respect.  In  the  store-room  the  rime  frost  and  ice 
that  had  settled  on  the  ceiling  and  walls  are  beginning  to  melt ; 
and  in  the  compartments  astern  of  the  saloon,  and  in  the  hold, 
we  have  been  obliged  to  set  about  a  grand  cleaning-up,  scraping 
off  and  sweeping  away  the  ice  and  rime,  to  save  our  provisions 


254  FARTHEST  NORTH 

from  taking  harm,  through  the  damp  penetrating  the  wrappings 
and  rusting  holes  in  the  tin  cases.  We  have,  moreover,  for  a 
long  time  kept  the  hatchways  in  the  hold  open,  so  that  there  has 
been  a  thorough  draught  through  it,  and  a  good  deal  of  the  rime 
has  evaporated.  It  is  remarkable  how  little  damp  we  have  on 
board.  No  doubt  this  is  due  to  the  Pram's  solid  construction, 
and  to  the  deck  over  the  hold  being  panelled  on  the  under  side. 
I  am  getting  fonder  and  fonder  of  this  ship. 

*'  Saturday,  June  9th.  Our  politician,  Amundsen,  is  celebrating 
the  day  with  a  white  shirt  and  collar.*  To-day  I  have  moved 
with  my  work  up  into  the  deck-house  again,  where  I  can  sit  and 
look  out  of  the  window  in  the  daytime,  and  feel  that  I  am  living 
in  the  world  and  not  in  a  cavern,  where  one  must  have  lamplight 
night  and  day.  I  intend  remaining  here  as  long  as  possible  out 
into  the  winter  :  it  is  so  cosey  and  quiet,  and  the  monotonous  sur- 
roundings are  not  constantly  forcing  themselves  in  upon  me. 

"  I  really  have  the  feeling  that  summer  has  come.  I  can  pace 
up  and  down  the  deck  by  the  hour  together  with  the  sun,  or 
stand  still  and  roast  myself  in  it,  while  I  smoke  a  pipe,  and  my 
eyes  glide  over  the  confused  masses  of  snow  and  ice.  The  snow 
is  everywhere  wet  now,  and  pools  are  beginning  to  form  every 
here  and  there.  The  ice,  too,  is  getting  more  and  more  perme- 
ated with  salt-water  ;  if  one  bores  ever  so  small  a  hole  in  it,  it  is 
at  once  filled  with  water.  The  reason,  of  course,  is  that,  owing  to 
the  rise  in  the  temperature,  the  particles  of  salt  contained  in  the 
ice  begin  to  melt  their  surroundings,  and  more  and  more  water 
is  formed  with  a  good  admixture  of  salt  in  it,  so  that  its  freezing- 
point  is  lower  than  the  temperature  of  the  ice  around  it.  This, 
too,  has  risen  materially:  at  about  4  feet  depth  it  is  only  25.2° 
Fahr.  (—3.8°  C),  at  5  feet  it  is  somewhat  warmer  again,  26.5° 
Fahr.  (-3.1°  C). 

"Sunday,  June  loth.  Oddly  enough  we  have  had  no  cases  of 
snow-blindness  on  board,  with  the  exception  of  the  doctor,  who, 
a  couple  of  days  ago,  after  we  had  been  playing  at  ball,  got  a 
touch  of  it  in  the  evening.  The  tears  poured  from  his  eyes  for 
some  time,  but  he  soon  recovered.  Rather  a  humiliating  trick  of 
fate  that  he  should  be  the  first  to  suffer  from  this  ailment."    Sub- 


*  With  reference   to    the    resolution    of  the   Storthing,  on  June  9» 
880. 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER  OF  1894.         255 

sequently  we  had  a  few  isolated  cases  of  slight  snow-blindness,  so 
that  one  or  two  of  our  men  had  to  go  about  with  dark  spectacles ; 
but  it  was  of  little  importance  and  was  due  to  their  not  thinking 
it  worth  while  to  take  the  necessary  precautions. 

"  Monday,  June  nth.  To-day  I  made  a  joyful  discovery.  I 
thought  I  had  begun  my  last  bundle  of  cigars,  and  calculated  that 
by  smoking  one  a  day  they  would  last  a  month,  but  found  quite 
unexpectedly  a  whole  box  in  my  locker.  Great  rejoicing  !  it  will 
help  to  while  away  a  few  more  months,  and  where  shall  we  be 
then  ?  Poor  fellow,  you  are  really  at  a  low  ebb  !  '  To  while  away 
time  * — that  is  an  idea  that  has  scarcely  ever  entered  your  head 
before.  It  has  always  been  your  great  trouble  that  time  flew 
away  so  fast,  and  now  it  cannot  go  fast  enough  to  please  you. 
And  then  so  addicted  to  tobacco — you  wrap  yourself  in  clouds  of 
smoke  to  indulge  in  your  everlasting  day-dreams.  Hark  to  the 
south  wind,  how  it  whistles  in  the  rigging  ;  it  is  quite  inspiriting 
to  listen  to  it.  On  Midsummer-eve  we  ought,  of  course,  to  have 
had  a  bonfire  as  usual,  but  from  my  diary  it  does  not  seem  to 
have  been  the  sort  of  weather  for  it. 

"  Saturday,  June  23,  1894. 

'"'Mid  the  shady  vales  and  the  leafy  trees, 

How  sweet  the  approach  of  the  summer  breeze! 
When  the  mountain  slopes  in  the  sunlight  gleam, 
And  the  eve  of  St.  John  comes  in  like  a  dream.' 

The  north  wind  continues  with  sleet.  Gloomy  weather.  Drift- 
ing south.  81°  43'  north  latitude  ;  that  is,  9'  southward  since 
Monday. 

"  I  have  seen  many  Midsummer  -  eves  under  different  skies, 
but  never  such  a  one  as  this.  So  far,  far  from  all  that  one  as- 
sociates with  this  evening !  I  think  of  the  merriment  round  the 
bonfires  at  home,  hear  the  scraping  of  the  fiddle,  the  peals  of 
laughter,  and  the  salvoes  of  the  guns,  with  the  echoes  answering 
from  the  purple-tinted  heights.  And  then  I  look  out  over  this 
boundless,  white  expanse  into  the  fog  and  sleet  and  the  driving 
wind.  Here  is  truly  no  trace  of  midsummer  merriment.  It  is  a 
gloomy  lookout  altogether  !  Midsummer  is  past  —  and  now  the 
days  are  shortening  again,  and  the  long  night  of  winter  approach- 
ing, which,  maybe,  will  find  us  as  far  advanced  as  it  left  us. 


256  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  I  was  busily  engaged  with  my  examination  of  the  salinity  of 
the  sea-water  this  afternoon  when  Mogstad  stuck  his  head  in  at 
the  door  and  said  that  a  bear  must  be  prowling  about  in  the 
neighborhood.  On  returning  after  dinner  to  their  work  at  the 
great  hummock,  where  they  were  busy  making  an  ice-cellar  for 
fresh  meat,*  the  men  found  bear-tracks  which  were  not  there  be- 
fore. I  put  on  my  snow-shoes  and  went  after  it.  But  what  ter- 
rible going  it  has  been  the  last  few  days  !  Soft  slush,  in  which 
the  snow-shoes  sink  helplessly.  The  bear  had  come  from  the 
west  right  up  to  the  Frani^  had  stopped  and  inspected  the  work 
that  was  going  on,  had  then  retreated  a  little,  made  a  consider- 
able detour,  and  set  off  eastward  at  its  easy,  shambling  gait, 
without  deigning  to  pay  any  further  attention  to  such  a  trifle  as 
a  ship.  It  had  rummaged  about  in  every  hole  and  corner  where 
there  seemed  to  be  any  chance  of  finding  food,  and  had  rooted  in 
the  snow  after  anything  the  dogs  had  left,  or  whatever  else  it 
might  be.  It  had  then  gone  to  the  lanes  in  the  ice,  and  skirted 
them  carefully,  no  doubt  in  the  hope  of  finding  a  seal  or  two,  and 
after  that  it  had  gone  off  between  the  hummocks  and  over  floes, 
with  a  surface  of  nothing  but  slush  and  water.  Had  the  surface 
been  good  I  should  no  doubt  have  overtaken  Master  Bruin,  but 
he  had  too  long  a  start  in  the  slushy  snow. 

"  A  dismal,  dispiriting  landscape — nothing  but  white  and  gray.# 
No  shadows — merely  half-obliterated  forms  melting  into  the  fog 
and  slush.  Everything  is  in  a  state  of  disintegration,  and  one's 
foothold  gives  way  at  every  step.  It  is  hard  work  for  the  poor 
snow  -  shoer  who  stamps  along  through  the  slush  and  fog  after 
bear  •»  tracks  that  wind  in  and  out  among  the  hummocks,  or 
over  them.  The  snow-shoes  sink  deep  in,  and  the  water  often 
reaches  up  to  the  ankles,  so  that  it  is  hard  work  to  get  them 
up  or  to  force  them  forward ;  but  without  them  one  would  be 
still  worse  off. 

"  Every  here  and  there  this  monotonous  grayish  whiteness  is 
broken  by  the  coal  -  black  water,  which  winds,  in  narrower  or 

*  It  was  seal,  walrus,  and  bear's  flesh  from  last  autumn,  which  was  used 
for  the  dogs.  During  the  winter  it  had  been  hung  up  in  the  ship,  and 
was  still  quite  fresh.  But  henceforth  it  was  stored  on  the  ice  until,  before 
autumn  set  in,  it  was  consumed.  It  is  remarkable  how  well  meat  keeps  in 
these  regions.  On  June  28th  we  had  reindeer-steak  for  dinner  that  we 
had  killed  on  the  Siberian  coast  in  September  of  the  previous  year. 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER  OF  1894  257 

broader  lanes,  in  between  the  high  hummocks.  White,  snow- 
laden  floes  and  lumps  of  ice  float  on  the  dark  surface,  looking 
like  white  marble  on  a  black  ground.  Occasionally  there  is  a 
larger  dark-colored  pool,  where  the  wind  gets  a  hold  of  the  water 
and  forms  small  waves  that  ripple  and  plash  against  the  edge  of 
the  ice,  the  only  signs  of  life  in  this  desert  tract.  It  is  like  an 
old  friend,  the  sound  of  these  playful  wavelets.  And  here,  too, 
they  eat  away  the  floes  and  hollow  out  their  edges.  One  could 
almost  imagine  one's  self  in  more  southern  latitudes.  But  all 
around  is  wreathed  with  ice,  towering  aloft  in  its  ever- varying 
fantastic  forms,  in  striking  contrast  to  the  dark  water  on  which 
a  moment  before  the  eye  had  rested.  Everlastingly  is  this  shift- 
ing ice  modelling,  as  it  were,  in  pure,  gray  marble,  and,  with 
nature's  lavish  prodigality,  strewing  around  the  most  glorious 
statuary,  which  perishes  without  any  eye  having  seen  it.  Where- 
fore ?  To  what  end  all  this  shifting  pageant  of  loveliness  ?  It  is 
governed  by  the  mere  caprices  of  nature,  following  out  those 
everlasting  laws  that  pay  no  heed  to  what  we  regard  as  aims  and 
objects. 

"  In  front  of  me  towers  one  pressure  -  ridge  after  another, 
with  lane  after  lane  between.  It  was  in  June  the  Jeannette  was 
crushed  and  sank ;  what  if  the  Fram  were  to  meet  her  fate 
here?  No,  the  ice  will  not  get  the  better  of  her.  Yet,  if  it 
should,  in  spite  of  everything  !  As  I  stood  gazing  around  me  I 
remembered  it  was  Midsummer-eve.  Far  away  yonder  her  masts 
pointed  aloft,  half  lost  to  view  in  the  snowy  haze.  They  must, 
indeed,  have  stout  hearts,  those  fellows  on  board  that  craft. 
Stout  hearts,  or  else  blind  faith  in  a  man's  word. 

"  It  is  all  very  well  that  he  who  has  hatched  a  plan,  be  it  never 
so  wild,  should  go  with  it  to  carry  it  out ;  he  naturally  does  his 
best  for  the  child  to  which  his  thoughts  have  given  birth.  But 
they — they  had  no  child  to  tend,  and  could,  without  feeling  any 
yearning  balked,  have  refrained  from  taking  part  in  an  expedi- 
tion like  this.  Why  should  any  human  being  renounce  life  to 
be  wiped  out  here  ? 

"  Sunday,  June  24th.  The  anniversary  of  our  departure  from 
home.  Northerly  wind  ;  still  drifting  south.  Observations  to- 
day gave  81°  41'  7"  north  latitude,  so  we  are  not  going  at  a 
breakneck  speed. 

"  It  has  been  a  long  year — a  great  deal  has  been  gone  through 
17 


258  FARTHEST  NORTH 

in  it — though  we  are  quite  as  far  advanced  as  I  had  anticipated. 
I  am  sitting,  and  look  out  of  the  window  at  the  snow  whirl- 
ing round  in  eddies  as  it  is  swept  along  by  the  north  wind. 
A  strange  Midsummer- day  !  One  might  think  we  had  had 
enough  of  snow  and  ice  ;  I  am  not,  however,  exactly  pining  after 
green  fields — at  all  events,  not  always.  On  the  contrary,  I  find 
myself  sitting  by  the  hour  laying  plans  for  other  voyages  into 
the  ice  after  our  return  from  this  one.  .  .  .  Yes,  I  know  what  I 
have  attained,  and,  more  or  less,  what  awaits  me.  It  is  all  very 
well  for  me  to  sketch  plans  for  the  future.  But  those  at  home. 
.  .  .  No,  I  am  not  in  a  humor  for  writing  this  evening ;  I  will 
turn  in. 

*' Wednesday,  July  nth.  Lat.  8i°  i8'  8".  At  last  the  south- 
erly wind  has  returned,  so  there  is  an  end  of  drifting  south  for 
the  present. 

"  Now  I  am  almost  longing  for  the  polar  night,  for  the  ever- 
lasting wonderland  of  the  stars  with  the  spectral  northern  lights, 
and  the  moon  sailing  through  the  profound  silence.  It  is  like  a 
dream,  like  a  glimpse  into  the  realms  of  fantasy.  There  are  no 
forms,  no  cumbrous  reality — only  a  vision  woven  of  silver  and 
violet  ether,  rising  up  from  earth  and  floating  out  into  infinity. 
.  .  .  But  this  eternal  day,  with  its  oppressive  actuality,  interests 
me  no  longer — does  not  entice  me  out  of  my  lair.  Life  is  one 
incessant  hurrying  from  one  task  to  another  ;  everything  must 
be  done  and  nothing  neglected,  day  after  day,  week  after  week ; 
and  the  working-day  is  long,  seldom  ending  till  far  over  mid- 
night. But  through  it  all  runs  the  same  sensation  of  longing 
and  emptiness,  which  must  not  be  noted.  Ah,  but  at  times  there 
is  no  holding  it  aloof,  and  the  hands  sink  down  without  will  or 
strength — so  weary,  so  unutterably  weary. 

"  Ah  !  life's  peace  is  said  to  be  found  by  holy  men  in  the  des- 
ert. Here,  indeed,  there  is  desert  enough  ;  but  peace — of  that  I 
know  nothing.     I  suppose  it  is  the  holiness  that  is  lacking. 

"Wednesday,  July  i8th.  Went  on  excursion  with  Blessing  in 
the  forenoon  to  collect  specimens  of  the  brown  snow  and  ice, 
and  gather  sea-weed  and  diatoms  in  the  water.  The  upper  sur- 
face of  the  floes  is  nearly  everywhere  of  a  dirty  brown  color,  or, 
at  least,  this  sort  of  ice  preponderates,  while  pure  white  floes, 
without  any  traces  of  a  dirty  brown  on  their  surface,  are  rare.  I 
imagined  this  brown  color  must  be  due  to  the  organisms  I  found 


A    SUMMER   EVENING.       JULY    I4,   1 894 
(From  a  photograph) 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER  OF  1894  259 

in  the  newly  -  frozen,  brownish -red  ice  last  autumn  (October); 
but  the  specimens  I  took  to  -  day  consist,  for  the  most  part,  of 
mineral  dust  mingled  with  diatoms  and  other  ingredients  of 
organic  origin.* 

"  Blessing  collected  several  specimens  on  the  upper  surface  of 
the  ice  earlier  in  the  summer,  and  came  to  the  same  conclusions. 
I  must  look  further  into  this,  in  order  to  see  whether  all  this 
brown  dust  is  of  a  mineral  nature,  and  consequently  originates 
from  the  land.f  We  found  in  the  lanes  quantities  of  algae  like 
those  we  had  often  found  previously.  There  were  large  accumu- 
lations of  them  in  nearly  every  little  channel.  We  could  also 
see  that  a  brown  surface  layer  spread  itself  on  the  sides  of  the 
floes  far  down  into  the  water.  This  is  due  to  an  alga  that  grows 
on  the  ice.  There  were  also  floating  in  the  water  a  number  of 
small  viscid  lumps,  some  white,  some  of  a  yellowish  red  color ; 
and  of  these  I  collected  several.  Under  the  microscope  they  all 
appeared  to  consist  of  accumulations  of  diatoms,  among  which, 
moreover,  were  a  number  of  larger  cellular  organisms  of  a  very 
characteristic  appearance.!  All  of  these  diatomous  accumula- 
tions kept  at  a  certain  depth,  about  a  yard  below  the  surface  of 
the  water ;  in  some  of  the  small  lanes  they  appeared  in  large 
masses.  At  the  same  depth  the  above-named  alga  seemed  es- 
pecially to  flourish,  while  parts  of  it  rose  up  to  the  surface.  It 
was  evident  that  these  accumulations  of  diatoms  and  alga  re- 
mained floating  exactly  at  the  depth  where  the  upper  stratum  of 
fresh  water  rests  on  the  sea-water.  The  water  on  the  surface- 
was  entirely  fresh,  and  the  masses  of  diatoms  sank  in  it,  but. 
floated  on  reaching  the  salt-water  below. 

*  The  same  kind  of  dust  that  I  found  on  the  ice  on  the  east  coast  of 
Greenland,  which  is  mentioned  in  the  Introduction  to  this  book,  p.  25. 

t  This  dust,  which  is  to  be  seen  in  summer  on  the  upper  surface  of 
almost  all  polar  ice  of  any  age,  is  no  doubt,  for  the  most  part,  dust  that 
hovers  in  the  earth's  atmosphere.  It  probably  descends  with  the  falling 
snow,  and  gradually  accumulates  into  a  surface  layer  as  the  snow  melts 
during  the  summer.  Larger  quantities  of  mud,  however,  are  also  often 
to  be  found  on  the  ice,  which  strongly  resemble  this  dust  in  color,  but 
are  doubtless  more  directly  connected  with  land,  being  formed  on  floes 
that  have  originally  lain  in  close  proximity  to  it.  (Compare  Wtssensch. 
Ergebnisse  von  Dr.  F.  Nansens  Durchquerung  von  Gronland.  ErgdnzungS" 
heft  No.  10$  zu  Petennanns  Mi'ttheiiungen.) 

X  I  have  not  yet  had  time  to  examine  them  closely. 


26o  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"Thursday,  July  19th.  It  is  as  I  expected.  I  am  beginning 
to  know  the  ways  of  the  wind  up  here  pretty  well  now.  After 
having  blown  a  '  windmill  breeze '  to  -  day  it  falls  calm  in  the 
evening,  and  to-morrow  we  shall  probably  have  wind  from  the 
west  or  northwest. 

"  Yesterday  evening  the  last  cigar  out  of  the  old  box !  .  And 
now  I  have  smoked  the  first  out  of  the  last  box  I  have  got.  We 
were  to  have  got  so  far  by  the  time  that  box  was  finished ;  but 
are  scarcely  any  farther  advanced  than  when  I  began  it,  and 
goodness  knows  if  we  shall  be  that  when  this,  too,  has  disap- 
peared.    But  enough  of  that.     Smoke  away. 

"Sunday,  July  22d.  The  northwest  wind  did  not  come  quite 
up  to  time ;  on  Friday  we  had  northeast  instead,  and  during  the 
night  it  gradually  went  round  to  N.N.E.,  and  yesterday  fore- 
noon it  blew  due  north.  To-day  it  has  ended  in  the  west,  the 
old  well-known  quarter,  of  which  we  have  had  more  than  enough. 
This  evening  the  line*  shows  about  N.W.  to  N.,  and  it  is  strong, 
so  we  are  moving  south  again. 

"  I  pass  the  day  at  the  microscope.  I  am  now  busied  with  the 
diatoms  and  algae  of  all  kinds  that  grow  on  the  ice  in  the  upper- 
most fresh  stratum  of  the  sea.  These  are  undeniably  most  in- 
teresting things,  a  whole  new  world  of  organisms  that  are  carried 
off  by  the  ice  from  known  shores  across  the  unknown  Polar  Sea, 
there  to  awaken  every  summer  and  develop  into  life  and  bloom. 
Yes,  it  is  very  interesting  work,  but  yet  there  is  not  that  same 
burning  interest  as  of  old,  although  the  scent  of  oil  of  cloves, 
Canada  balsam,  and  wood-oil  awakens  many  dear  reminiscences 
of  that  quiet  laboratory  at  home,  and  every  morning  as  I  come 
in  here  the  microscope  and  glasses  and  colors  on  the  table  in- 
vite me  to  work.  But  though  I  work  indefatigably  day  after 
►day  till  late  in  the  night,  it  is  mostly  duty  work,  and  I  am  not 
sorry  when  it  is  finished,  to  go  and  lie  for  some  few  hours  in  my 
berth  reading  a  novel  and  smoking  a  cigar.  With  what  exulta- 
tion would  I  not  throw  the  whole  aside,  spring  up,  and  lay  hold 
of  real  life,  fighting  my  way  over  ice  and  sea  with  sledges,  boats, 
or  kayaks  !     It  is  more  than  true  that  it  is  *  easy  to  live  a  life  of 

V .  *  We  always  had  a  line,  with  a  net  at  the  end,  hanging  out,  in  order 
to  see  the  direction  we  were  drifting,  or  to  ascertain  whether  there  was 
any  perceptible  current  in  the  water. 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER  OF  1894  261 

battle';  but  here  there  is  neither  storm  nor  battle,  and  I  thirst 
after  them.  I  long  to  enlist  titanic  forces  and  fight  my  way 
forward — that  would  be  living !  But  what  pleasure  is  there  in 
strength  when  there  is  nothing  for  it  to  do  ?  Here  we  drift  for- 
ward, and  here  we  drift  back,  and  now  we  have  been  two  months 
on^he  same  spot. 

"  Everything,  however,  is  being  got  ready  for  a  possible  ex- 
pedition, or  for  the  contingency  of  its  becoming  necessary  to 
abandon  the  ship.  All  the  hand-sledges  are  lashed  together,  and 
the  iron  fittings  carefully  seen  to.  Six  dog-sledges  are  also  be- 
ing made,  and  to-morrow  we  shall  begin  building  kayaks  ready 
for  the  men.  They  are  easy  to  draw  on  hand-sledges  in  case  of 
a  retreat  over  the  ice  without  the  ship.  For  a  beginning  we  are 
making  kayaks  to  hold  two  men  each.  I  intend  to  have  them 
about  12  feet  long,  3  feet  wide,  and  18  inches  in  depth.  Six  of 
these  are  to  be  made.  They  are  to  be  covered  with  sealskin  or 
sail-cloth,  and  to  be  decked  all  over,  except  for  two  holes — one 
for  each  man. 

"  I  feel  that  we  have,  or  rather  shall  have,  everything  needful 
for  a  brilliant  retreat.  Sometimes  I  seem  almost  to  be  longing 
for  a  defeat — a  decisive  one — so  that  we  might  have  a  chance  of 
showing  what  is  in  us,  and  putting  an  end  to  this  irksome  in- 
activity. 

"  Monday,  July  30th.  Westerly  wind,  with  northwesterly  by 
way  of  a  pleasant  variety  ;  such  is  our  daily  fare  week  after  week. 
On  coming  up  in  the  morning  I  no  longer  care  to  look  at  the 
weathercock  on  the  mast-head,  or  at  the  line  in  the  water ;  for  I 
know  beforehand  that  the  former  points  east  or  southeast,  and 
the  line  in  the  contrary  direction,  and  that  we  are  ever  bearing 
to  the  southeast.  Yesterday  it  was  81°  7'  north  latitude,  the  day 
before  81°  11',  and  last  Monday,  July  25th,  81°  26'. 

"  But  it  occupies  my  thoughts  no  longer.  I  know  well  enough 
there  will  be  a  change  some  time  or  other,  and  the  way  to  the 
stars  leads  through  adversity.  I  have  found  a  new  world  ;  and 
that  is  the  world  of  animal  and  plant  life  that  exists  in  almost 
every  fresh-water  pool  on  the  ice-floes.  From  morning  till  even- 
ing and  till  late  in  the  night  I  am  absorbed  with  the  microscope, 
and  see  nothing  around  me.  I  live  with  these  tiny  beings  in 
their  separate  universe,  where  they  are  born  and  die,  generation 
after  generation ;  where  they  pursue  each  other  in  the  struggle 


262  FARTHEST  NORTH 

for  life,  and  carry  on  their  love  affairs  with  the  same  feelings, 
the  same  sufferings,  and  the  same  joys  that  permeate  every  liv- 
ing being  from  these  microscopic  animalcules  up  to  man — self- 
preservation  and  propagation — that  is  the  whole  story.  Fiercely 
as  we  human  beings  struggle  to  push  our  way  on  through  the  laby- 
rinth of  life,  their  struggles  are  assuredly  no  less  fierce  than  ours 
— one  incessant,  restless  hurrying  to  and  fro,  pushing  all  others 
aside,  to  burrow  out  for  themselves  what  is  needful  to  them. 
And  as  to  love,  only  mark  with  what  passion  they  seek  each 
other  out.  With  all  our  brain-cells,  we  do  not  feel  more  strongly 
than  they,  never  live  so  entirely  for  a  sensation.  But  what  is 
life?  What  matters  the  individual's  suffering  so  long  as  the 
struggle  goes  on  ? 

"  And  these  are  small,  one  -  celled  lumps  of  viscous  matter, 
teeming  in  thousands  and  millions,  on  nearly  every  single  floe 
over  the  whole  of  this  boundless  sea,  which  we  are  apt  to  regard 
as  the  realm  of  death.  Mother  Nature  has  a  remarkable  power 
of  producing  life  everywhere  —  even  this  ice  is  a  fruitful  soil 
for  her. 

"  In  the  evening  a  little  variety  occurred  in  our  uneventful 
existence,  Johansen  having  discovered  a  bear  to  the  southeast  of 
the  ship,  but  out  of  range.  It  had,  no  doubt,  been  prowling 
about  for  some  time  while  we  were  below  at  supper,  and  had 
been  quite  near  us  ;  but,  being  alarmed  by  some  sound  or  other, 
had  gone  off  eastward.  Sverdrup  and  I  set  out  after  it,  but  to 
no  purpose ;  the  lanes  hindered  us  too  much,  and,  moreover,  a 
fog  came  on,  so  that  we  had  to  return  after  having  gone  a  good 
distance." 

The  world  of  organisms  I  above  alluded  to  was  the  subject  of 
special  research  through  the  short  summer,  and  in  many  respects 
was  quite  remarkable.  When  the  sun's  rays  had  gained  power 
on  the  surface  of  the  ice  and  melted  the  snow,  so  that  pools 
were  formed,  there  was  soon  to  be  seen  at  the  bottom  of  these 
pools  small  yellowish  -  brown  spots,  so  small  that  at  first  one 
hardly  noticed  them.  Day  by  day  they  increased  in  size,  and 
absorbing,  like  all  dark  substances,  the  heat  of  the  sun's  rays, 
they  gradually  melted  the  underlying  ice  and  formed  round  cavi- 
ties, often  several  inches  deep.  These  brown  spots  were  the 
above-mentioned  algae  and  diatoms.  They  developed  speedily 
in  the  summer  light,  and  would  fill  the  bottoms  of  the  cavities 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER   OF  1894  263 

with  a  thick  layer.  But  there  were  not  plants  only,  the  water 
also  teemed  with  swarms  of  animalcules,  mostly  infusoria  and 
flagellata,  which  subsisted  on  the  plants.  I  actually  found  bac- 
teria— even  these  regions  are  not  free  from  them  ! 

But  I  could  not  always  remain  chained  by  the  microscope. 
Sometimes,  when  the  fine  weather  tempted  me  irresistibly,  I  had 
to  go  out  and  bake  myself  in  the  sun,  and  imagine  myself  in 
Norway. 

"Saturday,  August  4th.  Lovely  weather  yesterday  and  to- 
day. Light,  fleecy  clouds  sailing  high  aloft  through  the  spark- 
ling azure  sky — filling  one's  soul  with  longings  to  soar  as  high 
and  as  free  as  they.  I  have  just  been  out  on  deck  this  evening ; 
one  could  almost  imagine  one's  self  at  home  by  the  fjord.  Sat- 
urday evening's  peace  seemed  to  rest  on  the  scene  and  on  one's 
soul. 

"Our  sailmakers,  Sverdrup  and  Amundsen,  have  to-day  fin- 
ished covering  the  first  double  kayak  with  sail-cloth.  Fully 
equipped,  it  weighs  30.5  kilos  (60  lbs.).  I  think  it  will  prove  a 
first-rate  contrivance  Sverdrup  and  I  tried  it  on  a  pool.  It 
carried  us  splendidly,  and  was  so  stiff  that  even  sitting  on  the 
deck  we  could  handle  it  quite  comfortably.  It  will  easily  carry 
two  men  with  full  equipment  for  100  days.  A  handier  or  more 
practical  craft  for  regions  like  this  I  cannot  well  imagine. 

"  Sunday,  August  5th.     81°  7'  north  latitude. 

'•'I  can't  forget  the  sparkling  fjord 

When  the  church  boat  rows  in  the  morning.' 

"  Brilliant  summer  weather.  I  bathe  in  the  sun  and  dream 
I  am  at  home  either  on  the  high  mountains  or — heaven  knows 
why — on  the  fjords  of  the  west  coast.  The  same  white  fleecy 
clouds  in  the  clear  blue  summer  sky  ;  heaven  arches  itself  over- 
head like  a  perfect  dome,  there  is  nothing  to  bar  one's  way,  and 
the  soul  rises  up  unfettered  beneath  it.  What  matters  it  that 
the  world  below  is  different — the  ice  no  longer  single  glittering 
glaciers,  but  spread  out  on  every  hand  ?  Is  it  not  these  same 
fleecy  clouds  far  away  in  the  blue  expanse  that  the  eye  looks  for 
at  home  on  a  bright  summer  day  ?  Sailing  on  these,  fancy  steers 
its  course  to  the  land  of  wistful  longing.  And  it  is  just  at  these 
glittering  glaciers  in  the  distance  that  we  direct  our  longing 
gaze.     Why  should  not  a  summer  day  be  as  lovely  here?    Ah, 


264  FARTHEST  NORTH 

yes !  it  is  lovely,  pure  as  a  dream,  without  desire,  without  sin  ; 
a  poem  of  clear  white  sunbeams  refracted  in  the  cool  crystal  blue 
of  the  ice.  How  unutterably  delightful  does  not  this  world  ap- 
pear to  us  on  some  stifling  summer  day  at  home  ! 

"Have  rested  and  'kept  Sunday.'  I  could  not  remain  in  the 
whole  day,  so  took  a  trip  over  the  ice.  Progress  is  easy  except 
for  the  lanes. 

"  Hansen  practised  kayak-paddling  this  afternoon  on  the  pool 
around  the  ship,  from  which  several  channels  diverge  over  the 
ice  ;  but  he  was  not  content  with  paddling  round  in  them,  but 
must,  of  course,  make  an  experiment  in  capsizing  and  recovering 
himself  as  the  Eskimos  do.  It  ended  by  his  not  coming  up  again, 
losing  his  paddle,  remaining  head  downward  in  the  water,  and 
beating  about  with  his  hands  till  the  kayak  filled,  and  he  got  a 
cold  bath  from  top  to  toe.  Nordahl,  who  was  standing  by  on  the 
ice  to  help  him,  at  last  found  it  necessary  to  go  in  after  him  and 
raise  him  up  on  an  even  keel  again,  to  the  great  amusement  of 
us  others. 

"  One  can  notice  that  it  is  summer.  This  evening  a  game  of 
cards  is  being  played  on  deck,  with  '  Peik's '  *  big  pot  for  a  card- 
table.  One  could  almost  think  it  was  an  August  evening  at 
home;  only  the  toddy  is  wanting,  but  the  pipes  and  cigars  we  have. 

"Sunday,  August  12th.  We  had  a  shooting  competition  in 
the  forenoon. 

"  A  glorious  evening.  I  took  a  stroll  over  the  ice  among  the 
lanes  and  hummocks.  It  was  so  wonderfully  calm  and  still.  Not 
a  sound  to  be  heard  but  the  drip,  drip  of  water  from  a  block  of 
ice,  and  the  dull  sound  of  a  snow-slip  from  some  hummock  in  the 
distance.  The  sun  is  low  down  in  the  north,  and  overhead  is  the 
pale  blue  dome  of  heaven,  with  gold-edged  clouds.  The  profound 
peace  of  the  Arctic  solitudes.  My  thoughts  fly  free  and  far.  If 
one  could  only  give  utterance  to  all  that  stirs  one's  soul  on  such 
an  evening  as  this  !  What  an  incomprehensible  power  one's  sur- 
roundings have  over  one  ! 

"  Why  is  it  that  at  times  I  complain  of  the  loneliness  ?  With 
Nature  around  one,  with  one's  books  arid  studies,  one  can  never 
be  quite  alone. 

"Thursday,  August  i6th.     Yesterday  evening,  as  I  was  lying 

*  The  name  given  to  the  cooking-stove. 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER   OF  1894.  265 

in  my  berth  reading,  and  all  except  the  watch  had  turned  in,  I 
heard  the  report  of  a  gun  on  deck  over  my  head.  Thinking  it 
was  a  bear,  I  hurriedly  put  on  my  sea-boots  and  sprang  on  deck. 
There  I  saw  Johansen  bareheaded,  rifle  in  hand.  '  Was  it  you 
that  fired  the  shot  ?'  *  Yes.  I  shot  at  the  big  hummock  yonder — 
I  thought  something  was  stirring  there,  and  I  wanted  to  see  what 
it  was,  but  it  seems  to  have  been  nothing.'  I  went  to  the  rail- 
ings and  looked  out.  *  I  fancied  it  was  a  bear  that  was  after  our 
meat — but  it  was  nothing.'  As  we  stood  there  one  of  the  dogs 
came  jogging  along  from  the  big  hummock.  'There,  you  see 
what  you  have  shot  at,'  I  said,  laughing.  'I'm  bothered  if  it 
wasn't  a  dog  !'  he  replied.  '  Ice-bear  '  it  was,  true  enough,  for  so 
we  called  this  dog.  It  had  seemed  so  large  in  the  fog,  scratching 
at  the  meat  hummock.  '  Did  you  aim  at  the  dog  and  miss  ? 
That  was  a  lucky  chance !'  '  No  !  I  simply  fired  at  random  in 
that  direction,  for  I  wanted  to  see  what  it  was.'  I  went  below 
and  turned  in  again.  At  breakfast  to-day  he  had,  of  course,  to 
run  the  gantlet  of  some  sarcastic  questions  about  his  'harmless 
thunderbolt,'  but  he  parried  them  adroitly  enough. 

"Tuesday,  August  21st.  North  latitude,  81°  4.2'.  Strange 
how  little  alteration  there  is  :  we  drift  a  little  to  the  north,  then 
a  little  to  the  south,  and  keep  almost  to  the  same  spot.  But  I 
believe,  as  I  have  believed  all  along,  since  before  we  even  set  out, 
that  we  should  be  away  three  years,  or  rather  three  winters  and 
four  summers,  neither  more  nor  less,  and  that  in  about  two 
years'  time  from  this  present  autumn  we  shall  reach  home.* 
The  approaching  winter  will  drift  us  farther,  however  slowly, 
and  it  begins  already  to  announce  itself,  for  there  were  four 
degrees  of  cold  last  night. 

"  Sunday,  August  26th.  It  seems  almost  as  if  winter  had 
come  ;  the  cold  has  kept  on  an  average  between  24.8°  Fahr. 
(-4°  C.)  and  21.2'  Fahr.  (-6°  C.)  since  Thursday.  There  are 
only  slight  variations  in  the  temperature  up  here,  so  we  may  ex- 
pect it  to  fall  regularly  from  this  time  forth,  though  it  is  rather 
early  for  winter  to  set  in.  All  the  pools  and  lanes  are  covered 
with  ice,  thick  enough  to  bear  a  man  even  without  snow-shoes. 

"  I  went  out  on  my  snow-shoes  both  morning  and  afternoon. 

*  It  was  two  years  later  to  a  day  that  the  Fram  put  in  at  Skjervo  on 
the  coast  of  Norway. 


266  FARTHEST  NORTH 

The  surface  was  beautiful  everywhere.  Some  of  the  lanes  had 
opened  out  or  been  compressed  a  little,  so  that  the  new  ice  was 
thin  and  bent  unpleasantly  under  the  snow-shoes  ;  but  it  bore 
me,  though  two  of  the  dogs  fell  through.  A  good  deal  of  snow 
had  fallen,  so  there  was  fine,  soft  new  snow  to  travel  over.  If  it 
keeps  on  as  it  is  now,  there  will  be  excellent  snow-shoeing  in  the 
winter ;  for  it  is  fresh  water  that  now  freezes  on  the  surface,  so 
that  there  is  no  salt  that  the  wind  can  carry  from  the  new  ice  to 
spoil  the  snow  all  around,  as  was  the  case  last  winter.  Such  snow 
with  salt  in  it  makes  as  heavy  a  surface  as  sand. 

"  Monday,  August  27th.  Just  as  Blessing  was  going  below  after 
his  watch  to-night,  and  was  standing  by  the  rail  looking  out,  he 
saw  a  white  form  that  lay  rolling  in  the  snow  a  little  way  off  to 
the  southeast.  Afterwards  it  remained  for  a  while  lying  quite 
still.  Johansen,  who  was  to  relieve  Blessing,  now  joined  him, 
and  they  both  stood  watching  the  animal  intently.  Presently  it 
got  up,  so  there  was  no  longer  any  doubt  as  to  what  it  was.  Each 
got  hold  of  a  rifle  and  crept  stealthily  towards  the  forecastle, 
where  they  waited  quietly  while  the  bear  cautiously  approached 
the  ship,  making  long  tacks  against  the  wind.  A  fresh  breeze 
was  blowing,  and  the  windmill  going  round  at  full  speed ;  but 
this  did  not  alarm  him  at  all ;  very  likely  it  was  this  very  thing 
he  wanted  to  examine.  At  last  he  reached  the  lane  in  front, 
when  they  both  fired  and  he  fell  down  dead  on  the  spot.  It  was 
nice  to  get  fresh  meat  again.  This  was  the  first  bear  we  had  shot 
this  year,  and  of  course  we  had  roast  bear  for  dinner  to-day. 
Regular  winter  with  snow-storms. 

"  Wednesday,  August  29th.  A  fresh  wind  ;  it  rattles  and  pipes 
in  the  rigging  aloft.  An  enlivening  change  and  no  mistake ! 
The  snow  drifts  as  if  it  were  midwinter.  Fine  August  weather  ! 
But  we  are  bearing  north  again,  and  we  have  need  to  !  Yester- 
day our  latitude  was  80°  53.5'.  This  evening  I  was  standing  in 
the  hold  at  work  on  my  new  bamboo  kayak,  which  will  be  the 
very  acme  of  lightness.  Pettersen  happened  to  come  down,  and 
gave  me  a  hand  with  some  lashings  that  I  was  busy  with.  We 
chatted  a  little  about  things  in  general ;  and  he  was  of  opinion 
'  that  we  had  a  good  crib  of  it  on  board  the  Fravt^  because  here 
we  had  everything  we  wanted,  and  she  was  a  devil  of  a  ship — and 
any  other  ship  would  have  been  crushed  flat  long  ago.'  But  for 
all  that  he  would  not  be  afraid,  he  said,  to  leave  her,  when  he 


THE  SPRING  AND  SUMMER  OF  1894  267 

saw  all  the  contrivances,  such  as  these  new  kayaks,  we  had  been 
getting  ready.  He  was  sure  no  former  expedition  had  ever  had 
such  contrivances,  or  been  so  equipped  against  all  possible  emer- 
gencies as  we.  But,  after  all,  he  would  prefer  to  return  home  on 
the  Framy  Then  we  talked  about  what  we  should  do  when  we 
did  get  home. 

" '  Oh,  for  your  part,  no  doubt  you'll  be  off  to  the  South  Pole,' 
he  said. 

"  *  And  you  ?'  I  replied.  '  Will  you  tuck  up  your  sleeves  and 
begin  again  at  the  old  work  ?' 

"  *  Oh,  very  likely  !  but  on  my  word  I  ought  to  have  a  week's 
holiday  first.  After  such  a  trip  I  should  want  it,  before  buckling 
to  at  the  sledge-hammer  again.' " 


CHAPTER    VIII 
SECOND  AUTUMN  IN  THE  ICE 

So  summer  was  over,  and  our  second  autumn  and  winter  was 
beginning.  But  we  were  now  more  inured  to  the  trials  of 
patience  attendant  on  this  life,  and  time  passed  quickly.  Be- 
sides, I  myself  was  now  taken  up  with  new  plans  and  prepara- 
tions. Allusion  has  several  times  been  made  to  the  fact  that  we 
had,  during  the  course  of  the  summer,  got  everything  into  readi- 
ness for  the  possibility  of  having  to  make  our  way  home  across 
the  ice.  Six  double  kayaks  had  been  built,  the  hand  -  sledges 
were  in  good  order,  and  careful  calculation  had  been  made  of  the 
amount  of  food,  clothing,  fuel,  etc.,  that  it  would  be  necessary  to 
carry.  But  I  had  also  quietly  begun  to  make  preparations  for 
my  own  meditated  expedition  north.  In  August,  as  already 
mentioned,  I  had  begun  to  work  at  a  single  kayak,  the  frame- 
work made  of  bamboo.  I  had  said  nothing  about  my  plan  yet, 
except  a  few  words  to  Sverdrup  ;  it  was  impossible  to  tell  how 
far  north  the  drift  would  take  us,  and  so  many  things  might 
happen  before  spring. 

In  the  meantime  life  on  board  went  on  as  usual.  There  were 
the  regular  observations  and  all  sorts  of  occupations,  and  I  my- 
self was  not  so  absorbed  in  my  plans  that  I  did  not  find  time  for 
other  things  too.  Thus  I  see  from  my  diary  that  in  the  end  of 
August  and  in  September  I  must  have  been  very  proud  of  a  new 
invention  that  I  made  for  the  galley.  All  last  year  we  had 
cooked  on  a  particular  kind  of  copper  range,  heated  by  petroleum 
lamps.  It  was  quite  satisfactory,  except  that  it  burned  several 
quarts  of  petroleum  a  day.  I  could  not  help  fearing  sometimes 
that  our  lighting  supply  might  run  short,  if  the  expedition  lasted 
longer  than  was  expected,  and  always  wondered  if  it  would  not 
be  possible  to  construct  an  apparatus  that  would  burn  coal-oil — 
"black-oil,"  as  we  call  it  on  board  —  of  which  we  had  20  tons. 


SECOND  AUTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  269 

originally  intended  for  the  engine.  And  I  succeeded  in  making 
such  an  apparatus.  On  August  30th  I  write  :  "  Have  tried  my 
newly  invented  coal-oil  apparatus  for  heating  the  range,  and  it 
is  beyond  expectation  successful.  It  is  splendid  that  we  shall  be 
able  to  burn  coal-oil  in  the  galley.  Now  there  is  no  fear  of  our 
having  to  cry  ourselves  blind  for  lack  of  light  by-and-by.  This 
adds  more  than  4000  gallons  to  our  stock  of  oil ;  and  we  can 
keep  all  our  fine  petroleum  now  for  lighting  purposes,  and  have 
lamps  for  many  a  year,  even  if  we  are  a  little  extravagant.  The  20 
tons  of  coal-oil  ought  to  keep  the  range  going  for  4  years,  I  think. 

"  The  contrivance  is  as  simple  as  possible.  From  a  reservoir 
of  oil  a  pipe  leads  down  and  into  the  fireplace  ;  the  oil  drips  down 
from  the  end  of  this  pipe  into  an  iron  bowl,  and  is  here  sucked 
up  by  a  sheet  of  asbestos,  or  by  coal  ashes.  The  flow  of  oil  from 
the  pipe  is  regulated  by  a  fine  valve  cock.  To  insure  a  good 
draught,  I  bring  a  ventilating  pipe  from  outside  right  by  the 
range  door.  Air  is  pressed  through  this  by  a  large  wind-sail  on 
deck,  and  blows  straight  on  to  the  iron  bowl,  where  the  oil  burns 
briskly  with  a  clear,  white  flame.  Whoever  lights  the  fire  in  the 
morning  has  only  to  go  on  deck  and  see  that  the  wind-sail  is  set 
to  the  wind,  to  open  the  ventilator,  to  turn  the  cock  so  that  the 
oil  runs  properly,  and  then  set  it  burning  with  a  scrap  of  paper. 
It  looks  after  itself,  and  the  water  is  boiling  in  twenty  minutes 
or  half  an  hour.  One  could  not  have  anything  much  easier  than 
this,  it  seems  to  me.  But  of  course  in  our,  as  in  other  communi- 
ties, it  is  difficult  to  introduce  reforms  ;  everything  new  is  looked 
upon  with  suspicion." 

Somewhat  later  I  write  of  the  same  apparatus  :  **  We  are  now 
using  the  galley  again,  with  the  coal-oil  fire ;  the  moving  down 
took  place  the  day  before  yesterday,*  and  the  fire  was  used  yes- 
terday. It  works  capitally  ;  a  three-foot  wind  is  enough  to  give 
a  splendid  draught.  The  day  before  yesterday,  when  I  was  sit- 
ting with  some  of  the  others  in  the  saloon  in  the  afternoon,  I 
heard  a  dull  report  out  in  the  galley,  and  said  at  once  that  it 
sounded  like  an  explosion.     Presently  Pettersenf  stuck  a  head 

*  During  the  summer  we  had  made  a  kitchen  of  the  chart-room  on 
deck,  because  of  the  good  daylight  there ;  and,  besides,  the  galley  proper 
was  to  be  cleaned  and  painted. 

t  Pettersen  had  been  advanced  from  smith  to  cook,  and  he  and  Juell 
took  turns  of  a  fortnight  each  in  the  galley. 


270  FARTHEST  NORTH 

in  at  the  door  as  black  as  a  sweep's,  great  lumps  of  soot  all  over 
it,  and  said  that  the  stove  had  exploded  right  into  his  face ;  he 
was  only  going  to  look  if  it  was  burning  rightly,  and  the  whole 
fiendish  thing  flew  out  at  him.  A  stream  of  words  not  unmin- 
gled  with  oaths  flowed  like  peas  out  of  a  sack,  while  the  rest  of 
us  yelled  with  laughter.  In  the  galley  it  was  easy  to  see  that 
-something  had  happened ;  the  walls  were  covered  with  soot  in 
lumps  and  stripes  pointing  towards  the  fireplace.  The  explana- 
tion of  the  accident  was  simple  enough.  The  draught  had  been 
insufficient,  and  a  quantity  of  gas  had  formed  which  had  not 
been  able  to  burn  until  air  was  let  in  by  Pettersen  opening  the 
door. 

"  This  is  a  good  beginning.  I  told  Pettersen  in  the  evening 
that  I  would  do  the  cooking  myself  next  day,  when  the  real  trial 
was  to  be  made.  But  he  would  not  hear  of  such  a  thing  ;  he  said 
'  I  was  not  to  think  that  he  minded  a  trifle  like  that ;  I  might 
trust  to  its  being  all  right' — and  it  was  all  right.  From  that  day 
I  heard  nothing  but  praise  of  the  new  apparatus,  and  it  was  used 
until  the  Fram  was  out  in  the  open  sea  again. 

"Thursday,  September  6th.  8i°  13.7'  north  latitude.  Have 
I  been  married  five  years  to-day  ?  Last  year  this  was  a  day  of 
victory — when  the  ice-fetters  burst  at  Taimur  Island — but  there 
is  no  thought  of  victory  now  ;  we  are  not  so  far  north  as  I  had 
expected  ;  the  northwest  wind  has  come  again,  and  we  are  drift- 
ing south.  And  yet  the  future  does  not  seem  to  me  so  long  and 
so  dark  as  it  sometimes  has  done.  Next  September  6th  .  .  .  can 
it  be  possible  that  then  every  fetter  will  have  burst,  and  we  shall 
be  sitting  together  talking  of  this  time  in  the  far  north  and  of 
all  the  longing,  as  of  something  that  once  was  and  that  will 
never  be  again  ?  The  long,  long  night  is  past ;  the  morning  is 
just  breaking,  and  a  glorious  new  day  lies  before  us.  And  what 
is  there  against  this  happening  next  year  ?  Why  should  not  this 
winter  carry  the  Fram  west  to  some  place  north  of  Franz  Josef 
Land  ?  .  .  .  and  then  my  time  has  come,  and  off  I  go  with  dogs 
and  sledges — to  the  north.  My  heart  beats  with  joy  at  the  very 
thought  of  it.  The  winter  shall  be  spent  in  making  every  prep- 
aration for  that  expedition,  and  it  will  pass  quickly. 

"  I  have  already  spent  much  time  on  these  preparations.  I 
think  of  everything  that  must  be  taken,  and  how  it  is  to  be 
arranged,  and  the  more  I  look  at  the  thing  from  all  points  of 


SECOND  AUTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  271 

view,  the  more  firmly  convinced  do  I  become  that  the  attempt 
will  be  successful,  if  only  the  Fravi  can  get  north  in  reasonable 
time,  not  too  late  in  the  spring.  If  she  could  just  reach  84°  or 
85°,  then  I  should  be  off  in  the  end  of  February  or  the  first  days 
of  March,  as  soon  as  the  daylight  comes,  after  the  long  winter 
night,  and  the  whole  would  go  like  a  dance.  Only  four  or  five 
months,  and  the  time  for  action  will  have  come  again.  What 
joy  !  When  I  look  out  over  the  ice  now  it  is  as  if  my  muscles 
quivered  with  longing  to  be  striding  off  over  it  in  real  earnest — 
fatigue  and  privation  will  then  be  a  delight.  It  may  seem  foolish 
that  I  should  be  determined  to  go  off  on  this  expedition,  when, 
perhaps,  I  might  do  more  important  work  quietly  here  on  board. 
But  the  daily  observations  will  be  carried  on  exactly  the  same. 

"  I  have  celebrated  the  day  by  arranging  my  work-room  for 
the  winter.  I  have  put  in  a  petroleum  stove,  and  expect  that 
this  will  make  it  warm  enough  even  in  the  coldest  weather,  with 
the  snowballs  that  I  intend  to  build  round  the  outside  of  it,  and 
a  good  roof-covering  of  snow.  At  least,  double  the  amount  of 
work  will  be  done  if  this  cabin  can  be  used  in  winter,  and  I  can 
sit  up  here  instead  of  in  the  midst  of  the  racket  below,  I  have 
such  comfortable  times  of  it  now,  in  peace  and  quietness,  letting 
my  thoughts  take  their  way  unchecked. 

"Sunday,  September  9th.  81°  4'  north  latitude.  The  mid- 
night sun  disappeared  some  days  ago,  and  already  the  sun  sets 
in  the  northwest;  it  is  gone  by  10  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and 
there  is  once  more  a  glow  over  the  eternal  white.  Winter  is 
coming  fast. 

"  Another  peaceful  Sunday,  with  rest  from  work,  and  a  little 
reading.  Out  snow-shoeing  to-day  I  crossed  several  frozen-over 
lanes,  and  very  slight  packing  has  begun  here  and  there.  I  was 
stopped  at  last  by  a  broad  open  lane  lying  pretty  nearly  north 
and  south  ;  at  places  it  was  400  to  500  yards  across,  and  I  saw 
no  end  to  it  either  north  or  south.  The  surface  was  good  ;  one 
got  along  quickly,  with  no  exertion  at  all  \vhen  it  was  in  the 
direction  of  the  wind. 

"  This  is  undeniably  a  monotonous  life.  Sometimes  it  feels 
to  me  like  a  long  dark  night,  my  life's  '  Ragnarok,'  *  dividing  it 
into  two.  .  .  .  '  The  sun  is  darkened,  the  summers  with  it,  all 

*  "  Twilight  of  the  gods." 


272  FARTHEST  NORTH 

weather  is  weighty  with  woe';  snow  covers  the  earth,  the  wind 
whistles  over  the  endless  plains,  and  for  three  years  this  winter 
lasts,  till  comes  the  time  for  the  great  battle,  and  '  men  tramp 
Hel's  way.'  There  is  a  hard  struggle  between  life  and  death  ; 
but  after  that  comes  the  reign  of  peace.  The  earth  rises  from 
the  sea  again,  and  decks  itself  anew  with  verdure.  *  Torrents 
roar,  eagles  hover  over  them,  watching  for  fish  among  the  rocks,' 
and  then  '  Valhalla,'  fairer  than  the  sun,  and  long  length  of  hap- 
py days. 

"  Pettersen,  who  is  cook  this  week,  came  in  here  this  evening, 
as  usual,  to  get  the  bill  of  fare  for  next  day.  When  his  busi- 
ness was  done,  he  stood  for  a  minute,  and  then  said  that  he  had 
had  such  a  strange  dream  last  night ;  he  had  wanted  to  be  taken 
as  cook  with  a  new  expedition,  but  Dr.  Nansen  wouldn't  have  him. 

" '  And  why  not  ?' 

" '  Well,  this  was  how  it  was :  I  dreamed  that  Dr.  Nansen 
was  going  off  across  the  ice  to  the  Pole  with  four  men,  and  I 
asked  to  be  taken,  but  you  said  that  you  didn't  need  a  cook  on 
this  expedition,  and  I  thought  that  was  queer  enough,  for  you 
would  surely  want  food  on  this  trip  as  well.  It  seemed  to  me 
that  you  had  ordered  the  ship  to  meet  you  at  some  other  place  ; 
anyhow,  you  were  not  coming  back  here,  but  to  some  other  land. 
It's  strange  that  one  can  lie  and  rake  up  such  a  lot  of  nonsense 
in  one's  sleep.' 

"  '  That  was  perhaps  not  such  very  great  nonsense,  Pettersen : 
it  is  quite  possible  that  we  might  have  to  make  such  an  expe- 
dition ;  but  if  we  did,  we  should  certainly  not  come  back  to  the 
Fram.' 

"  '  Well,  if  that  happened,  I  would  ask  to  go,  sure  enough  ;  for 
it's  just  what  I  should  like.  I'm  no  great  snow-shoer,  but  I 
would  manage  to  keep  up  somehow.' 

"  *  That's  all  very  well ;  but  there's  a  great  deal  of  weary, 
hard  work  on  a  journey  like  that ;  you  needn't  think  it's  all 
pleasure.' 

"  '  No,  no  one  would  expect  that ;  but  it  would  be  all  right  if 
I  might  only  go.' 

" '  But  there  might  be  worse  than  hardships,  Pettersen.  It 
would  more  than  likely  mean  risking  your  life.' 

" '  I  don't  care  for  that  either.  A  man  has  got  to  die  some 
time.' 


SECOND  A  UTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  273 

" '  Yes,  but  you  don't  want  to  shorten  your  life.' 

"  '  Oh,  I  would  take  my  chance  of  that.  You  can  lose  your 
life  at  home,  too,  though,  perhaps,  not  quite  so  easily  as  here. 
But  if  a  man  was  always  to  be  thinking  about  that  he  would 
never  do  anything.* 

" '  That's  true.  Anyhow,  he  would  not  need  to  come  on  an 
expedition  like  this.  But  remember  that  a  journey  northward 
over  the  ice  would  be  no  child's  play.' 

"  '  No,  I  know  that  well  enough,  but  if  it  was  with  you  I 
shouldn't  be  afraid.  It  would  never  do  if  we  had  to  manage 
alone.  We'd  be  sure  to  go  wrong  ;  but  it's  quite  a  different 
thing,  you  see,  when  there  is  one  to  lead  that  you  know  has  been 
through  it  all  before.' 

"  It  is  extraordinary  the  blind  faith  such  men  have  in  their 
leader  I  I  believe  they  would  set  off  without  a  moment's  re- 
flection if  they  were  asked  to  join  in  an  expedition  to  the  Pole 
now,  with  black  winter  at  the  door.  It  is  grand  as  long  as  the 
faith  lasts,  but  God  be  merciful  to  him  on  the  day  that  it  fails  ! 

*' Saturday,  September  15th.  This  evening  we  have  seen  the 
moon  again  for  the  first  time — beautiful  full  moon — and  a  few 
stars  were  also  visible  in  the  night  sky,  which  is  still  quite 
light. 

"  Notices  were  posted  up  to-day  in  several  places.  They  ran 
as  follows  ; 

" '  As  fire  here  on  board  might  be  followed  by  the  most  ter- 
rible consequences,  too  great  precaution  cannot  be  taken.  For 
this  reason  every  man  is  requested  to  observe  the  following  rules 
most  conscientiously  : 

1.  No  one  is  to  carry  matches. 

2.  The  only  places  where  matches  may  be  kept  are — 

( 1 )  The  galley,  where  the  cook  for  the  time  being  is  re- 

sponsible for  them. 

(2)  The  four  single  cabins,  where  the  inmate  of  each  is 

responsible  for  his  box. 

(3)  The  work-cabin,  when  work  is  going  on. 

(4)  On  the  mast  in  the  saloon,  from  which  neither  box 

nor  single  matches   must  be  taken  away  under 
any  circumstances. 
18 


274  FARTHEST  NORTH 

3.  Matches   must   not  be  struck   anywhere  except  in  the 

places  above  named. 

4.  The  one  exception  to  the  above  rules  is  made  when  the 

forge  has  to  be  lighted. 

5.  All  the  ship's  holds  are  to  be  inspected  every  evening  at 

8  o'clock  by  the  fire  -  inspector,  who  will  give  in  his 
report  to  the  undersigned.  After  that  time  no  one 
may,  without  special  permission,  take  a  light  into  the 
holds  or  into  the  engine-room. 
6  Smoking  is  only  allowed  in  the  living-rooms  and  on  deck. 
Lighted  pipes  or  cigars  must  on  no  account  be  seen 
elsewhere. 

Fridtjof  Nansen. 
Fram,  September  15th,  1894.* 

"  Some  of  these  regulations  may  seem  to  infringe  on  the 
principle  of  equality  which  I  have  been  so  anxious  to  maintain  ; 
but  these  seem  to  me  the  best  arrangements  I  can  make  to 
insure  the  good  of  all — and  that  must  come  before  everything 
else. 

"  Friday,  September  21st.  We  have  had  tremendously  strong 
wind  from  the  northwest  and  north  for  some  days,  with  a  veloc- 
ity at  times  of  39  and  42  feet.  During  this  time  we  must  have 
drifted  a  good  way  south.  '  The  Radical  Right  *  had  got  hold 
of  the  helm,  said  Amundsen  ;  but  their  time  in  power  was  short ; 
for  it  fell  calm  yesterday,  and  now  we  are  going  north  again,  and 
it  looks  as  if  the  '  Left '  were  to  have  a  spell  at  the  helm,  to  re- 
pair the  wrongs  done  by  the  '  Right.' 

"  Kennels  for  the  dogs  have  been  built  this  week — a  row  of 
splendid  ice-houses  along  the  port  side  of  the  ship  ;  four  dogs  in 
each  house ;  good  warm  winter  quarters.  In  the  meantime  our 
eight  little  pups  are  thriving  on  board  ;  they  have  a  grand  world 
to  wander  round — the  whole  fore-deck,  with  an  awning  over  it. 
You  can  hear  their  little  barks  and  yelps  as  they  rush  about 
among  shavings,  hand  -  sledges,  the  steam  winch,  mill -axle,  and 
other  odds  and  ends.  They  play  a  little  and  they  fight  a  little, 
and  forward  under  the  forecastle  they  have  their  bed  among  the 
shavings — a  very  cosey  corner,  where  '  Kvik '  lies  stretched  out 
like  a  lioness  in  all  her  majesty.  There  they  tumble  over  each 
other  in  a  heap  round  her,  sleep,  yawn,  eat,  and  pull  each  other's 


SECOND  A  UTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  275 

tails.  It  is  a  picture  of  home  and  peace  here  near  the  Pole 
which  one  could  watch  by  the  hour. 

"  Life  goes  its  regular,  even,  uneventful  way,  quiet  as  the  ice 
itself  ;  and  yet  it  is  wonderful  how  quickly  the  time  passes.  The 
equinox  has  come,  the  nights  are  beginning  to  turn  dark,  and  at 
noon  the  sun  is  only  9  degrees  above  the  horizon.  I  pass  the 
day  busily  here  in  the  work-cabin,  and  often  feel  as  if  I  were 
sitting  in  my  study  at  home,  with  all  the  comforts  of  civilization 
round  me.  If  it  weire  not  for  the  separation,  one  could  be  as 
well  off  here  as  there.  Sometimes  I  forget  where  I  am.  Not 
infrequently  in  the  evening,  when  I  have  been  sitting  absorbed 
in  work,  I  have  jumped  up  to  listen  when  the  dogs  barked, 
thinking  to  myself,  who  can  be  coming  ?  Then  I  remember  that 
I  am  not  at  home,  but  drifting  out  in  the  middle  of  the  frozen 
Polar  Sea,  at  the  commencement  of  the  second  long  Arctic  night. 

"The  temperature  has  been  down  to  1.4°  Fahr.  below  zero 
(  — 17°  C.)  to-day  ;  winter  is  coming  on  fast.  There  is  little  drift 
just  now,  and  yet  we  are  in  good  spirits.  It  was  the  same  last 
autumn  equinox ;  but  how  many  disappointments  we  have  had 
since  then  !  How  terrible  it  was  in  the  later  autumn  when 
every  calculation  seemed  to  fail,  as  we  drifted  farther  and  far- 
ther south !  Not  one  bright  spot  on  our  horizon  !  But  such  a 
time  will  never  come  again.  There  may  still  be  great  relapses  ; 
there  may  be  slow  progress  for  a  time  ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  as 
to  the  future ;  we  see  it  dawning  bright  in  the  west,  beyond  the 
Arctic  night. 

"  Sunday,  September  23d.  It  was  a  year  yesterday  since  we 
made  fast  for  the  first  time  to  the  great  hummock  in  the  ice. 
Hansen  improved  the  occasion  by  making  a  chart  of  our  drift 
for  the  year.  It  does  not  look  so  very  bad,  though  the  distance 
is  not  great ;  the  direction  is  almost  exactly  what  I  had  ex- 
pected. But  more  of  this  to-morrow  ;  it  is  so  late  that  I  cannot 
write  about  it  now.  The  nights  are  turning  darker  and  darker  ; 
winter  is  settling  down  upon  us. 

"Tuesday,  September  25th.  I  have  been  looking  more  care- 
fully at  the  calculation  of  our  last  year's  drift.  If  we  reckon 
from  the  place  where  we  were  shut  in  on  the  2  2d  of  September 
last  year  to  our  position  on  the  2  2d  of  September  this  year,  the 
distance  we  have  drifted  is  189  miles,  equal  to  3°  9'  latitude. 
Reckoning  from  the  same  place,  but  to  the  farthest  north  point 


276  FARTHEST  NORTH 

we  reached  in  summer  (July  i6th),  makes  the  drift  225  miles,  3° 
46'.  But  if  we  reckon  from  our  most  southern  point  in  the 
autumn  of  last  year  (November  7th)  to  our  most  northern  point 
this  summer,  then  the  drift  is  305  miles,  or  5°  5'.  We  got  fully 
4°  north,  from  77°  43'  to  81°  53'.  To  give  the  course  of  the  drift 
is  a  difficult  task  in  these  latitudes,  as  there  is  a  perceptible  de- 
viation of  the  compass  with  every  degree  of  longitude  as  one 
passes  east  or  west ;  the  change,  of  course,  given  in  degrees  will 
be  almost  exactly  the  same  as  the  number  of"  degrees  of  longitude 
that  have  been  passed.  Our  average  course  will  be  about  N.  36° 
W.  The  direction  of  our  drift  is  consequently  a  much  more 
northerly  one  than  t\ie./eannette's  was,  and  this  is  just  what  we 
expected ;  ours  cuts  hers  at  an  angle  of  59°.  The  line  of  this  year's 
drift  continued  will  cut  the  Northeast  Island  of  Spitzbergen, 
and  take  us  as  far  north  as  84°  ^\  in  75°  east  longitude,  somewhere 
N.N.E.  of  Franz  Josef  Land.  The  distance  by  this  course  to  the 
Northeast  Island  is  827  miles.  Should  we  continue  to  progress 
only  at  the  rate  of  189  miles  a  year  it  would  take  us  4.4  years  to 
do  this  distance.  But  assuming  our  progress  to  be  at  the  rate  of 
305  miles  a  year,  we  shall  do  it  in  2,7  years.  That  we  should  drift 
at  least  as  quickly  as  this  seems  probable,  because  we  can  hardly 
now  be  driven  back  as  we  were  in  October  last  year,  when  we  had 
the  open  water  to  the  south  and  the  great  mass  of  ice  to  the  north 
of  us. 

"  The  past  summer  seems  to  me  to  have  proved  that  while  the 
ice  is  very  unwilling  to  go  back  south,  it  is  most  ready  to  go 
northwest  as  soon  as  there  is  ever  so  little  easterly,  not  to  men- 
tion southerly,  wind.  I  therefore  believe,  as  I  always  have  be- 
lieved, that  the  drift  will  become  faster  as  we  get  farther  north- 
west, and  the  probability  is  that  the  Fram  will  reach  Norway  in 
two  years,  the  expedition  having  lasted  its  full  three  years,  as  I 
somehow  had  a  feeling  that  it  would.  As  our  drift  is  59°  more 
northerly  than  the  Jeannette's^  and  as  Franz  Josef  Land  must 
force  the  ice  north  (taking  for  granted  that  all  that  comes  from 
this  great  basin  goes  round  to  the  north  of  Franz  Josef  Land),  it 
is  probable  that  our  course  will  become  more  northerly  the  farther 
on  we  go,  until  we  are  past  Franz  Josef  Land,  and  that  we  shall 
consequently  reach  a  higher  latitude  than  our  drift  so  far  would 
indicate.  I  hope  85°  at  least.  Everything  has  come  right  so  far; 
the  direction  of  our  drift  is  exactly  parallel  with  the  course  which 


SECOND  A  UTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  277 

I  conjectured  to  have  been  taken  by  the  floe  with  the  Jeannette 
relics,  and  which  I  pricked  out  on  the  chart  prepared  for  my 
London  address.*  This  course  touched  about  87^°  north  latitude. 
I  have  no  right  to  expect  a  more  northerly  drift  than  parallel  to 
this,  and  have  no  right  to  be  anything  but  happy  if  I  get  as  far. 
Our  aim,  as  I  have  so  often  tried  to  make  clear,  is  not  so  much  to 
reach  the  point  in  which  the  earth's  axis  terminates,  as  to  traverse 
and  explore  the  unknown  Polar  Sea ;  and  yet  I  should  like  to  get 
to  the  Pole,  too,  and  hope  that  it  will  be  possible  to  do  so,  if  only 
we  can  reach  84°  or  85°  by  March.     And  why  should  we  not  ? 

"  Thursday,  September  27th.  Have  determined  that,  beginning 
from  to-morrow,  every  man  is  to  go  out  snow-shoeing  two  hours 
daily,  from  11  to  i,  so  long  as  the  daylight  lasts.  It  is  necessary. 
If  anything  happened  that  obliged  us  to  make  our  way  home  over 
the  ice,  I  am  afraid  some  of  the  company  would  be  a  terrible  hin- 
derance  to  us,  unpractised  as  they  are  now.  Several  of  them  are 
first-rate  snow-shoers,  but  five  or  six  of  them  would  soon  be  feel- 
ing the  pleasures  of  learning ;  if  they  had  to  go  out  on  a  long 
course,  and  without  snow-shoes,  it  would  be  all  over  with  us. 

"After  this  we  used  to  go  out  regularly  in, a  body.  Besides 
being  good  exercise,  it  was  also  a  great  pleasure ;  every  one 
seemed  to  thrive  on  it,  and  they  all  became  accustomed  to  the 
use  of  the  shoes  on  this  ground,  even  though  they  often  got  them 
broken  in  the  unevennesses  of  the  pressure-ridges ;  we  just  patched 
and  riveted  them  together  to  break  them  again. 

"  Monday,  October  ist.  We  tried  a  hand-sledge  to-day  with  a 
load  of  250  pounds.  It  went  along  easily,  and  yet  was  hard  to 
draw,  because  the  snow-shoes  were  apt  to  slip  to  the  side  on  the 
sort  of  surface  we  had.  I  almost  believe  that  Indian  snow-shoes 
would  be  better  on  this  ground,  where  there  are  so  many  knobs 
and  smooth  hillocks  to  draw  the  sledges  over.  When  Amunsden 
first  began  to  pull  the  sledge  he  thought  it  was  nothing  at  all; 
but  when  he  had  gone  on  for  a  time  he  fell  into  a  fit  of  deep  and 
evidently  sad  thought,  and  went  silently  home.  When  he  got  on 
board  he  confided  to  the  others  that  if  a  man  had  to  draw  a  load 
like  that  he  might  just  as  well  lie  down  at  once — it  would  come 

*  See  Geographical  Journal,  London,  1893.  See  also  the  map  in 
Naiuren,  1890,  and  the  Norwegian  Geographical  Society's  Year  Book,  I., 
1890. 


278  FARTHEST  NORTH 

to  the  same  thing  in  the  end.  That  is  how  practice  is  apt  to  go. 
In  the  afternoon  I  yoked  three  dogs  to  the  same  little  sledge  with 
the  250-pound  load,  and  they  drew  it  along  as  if  it  were  nothing 
at  all 

*'  Tuesday,  October  2d.  Beautiful  weather,  but  coldish  ;  49° 
Fahr.  of  frost  (  —  27°  C.)  during  the  night,  which  is  a  good  deal 
for  October,  surely.  It  will  be  a  cold  winter  if  it  goes  on  at  the 
same  rate.  But  what  do  we  care  whether  there  are  90°  of  frost 
or  120^?  A  good  snow-shoeing  excursion  to-day.  They  are  all 
becoming  most  expert  now  :  but  darkness  will  be  on  us  present- 
ly, and  then  there  will  be  no  more  of  it.  It  is  a  pity  ;  this  exer- 
cise is  so  good  for  us — we  must  think  of  something  to  take  its 
place. 

"  I  have  a  feeling  now  as  if  this  were  to  be  my  last  winter  on 
board.  Will  it  really  come  to  my  going  off  north  in  the  spring? 
The  experiment  in  drawing  a  loaded  hand-sledge  over  this  ice 
was  certainly  anything  but  promising  ;  and  if  the  dogs  should 
not  hold  out,  or  should  be  of  less  use  than  we  expect  ;  and  if  we 
should  come  to  worse  ice  instead  of  better — well,  we  should  only 
have  ourselves  to  trust  to.  But  if  we  can  just  get  so  far  on  with 
the  Fram  that  the  distance  left  to  be  covered  is  at  all  a  reason- 
able one,  I  believe  that  it  is  my  duty  to  make  the  venture,  and  I 
cannot  imagine  any  difficulty  that  will  not  be  overcome  when 
our  choice  lies  between  death — and  onward  and  home  ! 

"Thursday,  October  4th.  The  ice  is  rather  impassable  in 
places,  but  there  are  particular  lanes  or  tracts ;  taking  it  alto- 
gether, it  is  in  good  condition  for  sledging  and  snow  -  shoeing, 
though  the  surface  is  rather  soft,  so  that  the  dogs  sink  in  a  little. 
This  is  probably  chiefly  owing  to  there  having  been  no  strong 
winds  of  late,  so  that  the  snow  has  not  been  well  packed  together. 

*'  Life  goes  on  in  the  regular  routine  ;  there  is  always  some 
little  piece  of  work  turning  up  to  be  done.  Yesterday  the 
breaking  in  of  the  young  dogs  began.*  It  was  just  the  three — 
*  Barbara,'  'Freia,'  and  *Susine.'  'Gulabrand'  is  such  a  misera- 
ble, thin  wretch  that  he  is  escaping  for  the  present.  They  were 
unmanageable  at  first,  and  rushed  about  in  all  directions ;  but  in 
a  little  while  they  drew  like  old  dogs,  and  were  altogether  better 

*  These  were  the  puppies  born  on  December  13,  1893;  only  four  of 
them  were  now  alive. 


SECOND  AUTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  279 

than  we  expected.  '  Kvik,'  of  course,  set  them  a  noble  example. 
It  fell  to  Mogstad's  lot  to  begin  the  training,  as  it  was  his  week 
for  looking  after  the  dogs.  This  duty  is  taken  in  turns  now  ; 
each  man  has  his  week  of  attending  to  them  both  morning  and 
afternoon. 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  a  very  satisfactory  state  of  feeling  pre- 
vails on  board  at  present,  when  we  are  just  entering  on  our  sec- 
ond Arctic  night,  which  we  hope  is  to  be  a  longer,  and  probably 
also  a  colder,  one  than  any  people  before  us  have  experienced. 
There  is  appreciably  less  light  every  day  ;  soon  there  will  be 
none ;  but  the  good  spirits  do  not  wane  with  the  light.  It 
seems  to  me  that  we  are  more  uniformly  cheerful  than  we  have 
ever  been.  What  the  reason  of  this  is  I  cannot  tell ;  perhaps 
just  custom.  But  certainly,  too  we  are  well  off — in  clover,  as 
the  saying  is.  We  are  drifting  gently,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  sure- 
ly, on  through  the  dark  unknown  Nivlheim,  where  terrified  fancy 
has  pictured  all  possible  horrors.  Yet  we  are  living  a  life  of  lux- 
ury and  plenty,  surrounded  by  all  the  comforts  of  civilization. 
I  think  we  shall  be  better  off  this  winter  than  last. 

"The  firing  apparatus  in  the  galley  is  working  splendidly,  and 
the  cook  himself  is  now  of  opinion  that  it  is  an  invention  which 
approaches  perfection.  So  we  shall  burn  nothing  but  coal  -  oil 
there  now  ;  it  warms  the  place  well,  and  a  good  deal  of  the  heat 
comes  up  here  into  the  work-room,  where  I  sometimes  sit  and 
perspire  until  I  have  to  take  off  one  garment  after  another,  al- 
though the  window  is  open,  and  there  are  30  odd  degrees  of  cold 
outside.  I  have  calculated  that  the  petroleum  which  this  enables 
us  to  keep  for  lighting  purposes  only  will  last  at  least  10  years, 
though  we  burn  it  freely  300  days  in  the  year.  At  present  we 
are  not  using  petroleum  lamps  at  the  rate  assumed  in  my  calcu- 
lation, because  we  frequently  have  electric  light ;  and  then  even 
here  summer  comes  once  a  year,  or,  at  any  rate,  something  which 
we  must  call  summer.  Even  allowing  for  accidents,  such  as  the 
possibility  of  a  tank  springing  a  leak  and  the  oil  running  out, 
there  is  still  no  reason  whatever  for  being  sparing  of  light,  and 
every  man  can  have  as  much  as  he  wants.  What  this  means  can 
best  be  appreciated  by  one  who  for  a  whole  year  has  felt  the 
stings  of  conscience  every  time  he  went  to  work  or  read  alone  in 
his  cabin,  and  burned  a  lamp  that  was  not  absolutely  necessary, 
because  he  could  have  used  the  general  one  in  the  saloon. 


28o  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  As  yet  the  coals  are  not  being  touched,  except  for  the  stove  in 
the  saloon,  where  they  are  to  be  allowed  to  burn  as  much  as  they 
like  this  winter.  The  quantity  thus  consumed  will  be  a  trifle  in 
comparison  with  our  store  of  about  loo  tons,  for  which  we  can- 
not well  have  any  other  use  until  the  Fram  once  more  forces  her 
way  out  of  the  ice  on  the  other  side.  Another  thing  that  is  of 
no  little  help  in  keeping  us  warm  and  comfortable  is  the  awning 
that  is  now  stretched  over  the  ship.*  The  only  part  1  have  left 
open  is  the  stern,  abaft  the  bridge,  so  as  to  be  able  to  see  round 
over  the  ice  from  there. 

"  Personally  I  must  say  that  things  are  going  well  with  me — 
much  better  than  I  could  have  expected.  Time  is  a  good  teach- 
er ;  that  devouring  longing  does  not  gnaw  so  hard  as  it  did.  Is 
it  apathy  beginning?  Shall  I  feel  nothing  at  all  by  the  time  ten 
years  have  passed  ?  Oh  !  sometimes  it  comes  on  with  all  its  old 
strength,  as  if  it  would  tear  me  in  pieces  !  But  this  is  a  splendid 
school  of  patience.  Much  good  it  does  to  sit  wondering  whether 
they  are  alive  or  dead  at  home  ;  it  alone  almost  drives  one  mad. 

"  All  the  same,  I  never  grow  quite  reconciled  to  this  life.  It  is 
real  ly  neither  life  nor  death,  but  a  state  between  the  two.  It  means 
never  being  at  rest  about  anything  or  in  any  place  —  a  constant 
waiting  for  what  is  coming  ;  a  waiting  in  which,  perhaps,  the 
best  years  of  one's  manhood  will  pass.  It  is  like  what  a  young 
boy  sometimes  feels  when  he  goes  on  his  first  voyage.  The  life 
on  board  is  hateful  to  him ;  he  suffers  cruelly  from  all  the  tor- 
ments of  sea-sickness  ;  and  being  shut  in  within  the  narrow  walls 
of  the  ship  is  worse  than  prison  ;  but  it  is  something  that  has  to 
be  gone  through.  Beyond  it  all  lies  the  South,  the  land  of  his 
youthful  dreams,  tempting  with  its  sunny  smile.  In  time  he 
arises,  half  dead.  Does  he  find  his  South  ?  How  often  it  is  but 
a  barren  desert  he  is  cast  ashore  on  ! 

"Sunday,  October  7th.  It  has  cleared  up  this  evening,  and 
there  is  a  starry  sky  and  aurora  borealis.  It  is  a  little  change 
from  the  constant  cloudy  weather,  with  frequent  snow-showers, 
which  we  have  had  these  last  days. 

*  We  had  no  covering  over  the  ship  the  first  winter,  as  we  thought  it 
would  make  it  so  dark,  and  make  it  difficult  to  find  one's  way  about  on 
deck.  But  when  we  put  it  on  the  second  winter  we  found  that  it  was  an 
improvement. 


SECOND  AUTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  281 

"Thoughts  come  and  thoughts  go.  I  cannot  forget,  and  I 
cannot  sleep.  Everything  is  still  ;  all  are  asleep.  I  only  hear 
the  quiet  step  of  the  watch  on  deck  ;  the  wind  rustling  in  the 
rigging  and  the  canvas,  and  the  clock  gently  hacking  the  time  in 
pieces  there  on  the  wall.  If  I  go  on  deck  there  is  black  night, 
stars  sparkling  high  overhead,  and  faint  aurora  flickering  across 
the  gloomy  vault,  and  out  in  the  darkness  I  can  see  the  glimmer 
of  the  great  monotonous  plain  of  the  ice  :  it  is  all  so  inexpressibly 
forlorn,  so  far,  far  removed  from  the  noise  and  unrest  of  men 
and  all  their  striving.  What  is  life  thus  isolated  ?  A  strange, 
aimless  process  ;  and  man  a  machine  which  eats,  sleeps,  awakes  ; 
eats  and  sleeps  again,  dreams  dreams,  but  never  lives.  Or  is  life 
really  nothing  else  ?  And  is  it  just  one  more  phase  of  the  eter- 
nal martyrdom,  a  new  mistake  of  the  erring  human  soul,  this 
banishing  of  one's  self  to  the  hopeless  wilderness,  only  to  long 
there  for  what  one  has  left  behind  ?  Am  I  a  coward  ?  Am  I 
afraid  of  death  ?  Oh,  no  !  but  in  these  nights  such  longing  can 
come  over  one  for  all  beauty,  for  that  which  is  contained  in  a 
single  word,  and  the  soul  flees  from  this  interminable  and  rigid 
world  of  ice.  When  one  thinks  how  short  life  is,  and  that  one 
came  away  from  it  all  of  one's  own  free  will,  and  remembers,  too, 
that  another  is  suffering  the  pain  of  constant  anxiety  — '  true, 
true  till  death.'  *  O  mankind,  thy  ways  are  passing  strange ! 
We  are  but  as  flakes  of  foam,  helplessly  driven  over  the  toss- 
ing sea.' 

"  Wednesday,  October  loth.  Exactly  33  years  old,  then. 
There  is  nothing  to  be  said  to  that,  except  that  life  is  moving 
on,  and  will  never  turn  back.  They  have  all  been  touchingly 
nice  to  me  to-day,  and  we  have  held  fete.  They  surprised  me  in 
the  morning  by  having  the  saloon  ornamented  with  flags.  They 
had  hung  the  '  Union  '  above  Sverdrup's  place.*  We  accused 
Amundsen  of  having  done  this,  but  he  would  not  confess  to  it. 
Above  my  door  and  on  over  Hansen's  they  had  the  pennant  with 
*  Fram '  in  big  letters.  It  looked  most  festive  when  I  came  into 
the  saloon,  and  they  all  stood  up  and  wished  me  '  Many  happy 
returns.'  When  I  went  on  deck  the  flag  was  waving  from  the 
mizzenmast-head. 

"  We  took  a  snow-shoeing  excursion  south  in  the  morning. 

*  An  allusion,  no  doubt,  to  his  political  opinions  ( Trans). 


282  FARTHEST  NORTH 

It  was  windy,  bitter  weather ;  I  have  not  felt  so  cold  for  long. 
The  thermometer  is  down  to  24°  Fahr.  below  zero  (  —  31°  C.)  this 
evening  ;  this  is  certainly  the  coldest  birthday  I  have  had  yet. 
A  sumptuous  dinner  :  i.  Fish-pudding  ;  2.  Sausages  and  tongue, 
with  potatoes,  haricot  beans,  and  pease  ;  3.  Preserved  strawber- 
ries, with  rice  and  cream  ;  Crown  extract  of  malt.  Then,  to 
every  one's  surprise,  our  doctor  began  to  take  out  of  the  pocket 
of  the  overcoat  he  always  wears  remarkable-looking  little  glasses 
— medicine-glasses,  measuring-glasses,  test-glasses — one  for  each 
man,  and  lastly  a  bottle  of  Lysholmer  liqueur — real  native  Ly- 
sholmer — which  awakened  general  enthusiasm.  Two  drams  of 
that  per  man  was  not  so  bad,  besides  a  quarter  of  a  bottle  of  ex- 
tract of  malt.  Coffee  after  dinner,  with  a  surprise  in  the  shape 
of  apple-cake,  baked  by  our  excellent  cook,  Pettersen,  formerly 
smith  and  engineer.  Then  I  had  to  produce  my  cigars,  which 
were  also  much  enjoyed  ;  and  of  course  we  kept  holiday  all  the 
afternoon.  At  supper  there  was  another  surprise — a  large  birth- 
day cake  from  the  same  baker,  with  the  inscription  '  T.  L.  M.  D.' 
('  Til  lykke  med  dagen,'  the  Norwegian  equivalent  for  '  Wishing  a 
happy  birthday'),  '10.10.94.*  In  the  evening  came  pineapples, 
figs,  and  sweets.  Many  a  worse  birthday  might  be  spent  in 
lower  latitudes  than  81°.  The  evening  is  passing  with  all  kinds 
of  merriment ;  every  one  is  in  good  spirits  ;  the  saloon  resounds 
with  laughter  —  how  many  a  merry  meeting  it  has  been  the 
scene  of  ! 

"  But  when  one  has  said  good-night  and  sits  here  alone,  sad- 
ness comes ;  and  if  one  goes  on  deck  there  are  the  stars  high 
overhead  in  the  clear  sky.  In  the  south  is  a  smouldering  aurora 
arch,  which  from  time  to  time  sends  up  streamers — a  constant, 
restless  flickering. 

"We  have  been  talking  a  little  about  this  expedition,  Sver- 
drup  and  I.  When  we  were  out  on  the  ice  in  the  afternoon  he 
suddenly  said,  '  Yes,  next  October  you  will,  perhaps,  not  be  on 
board  the  Frani'  To  which  I  had  to  answer  that,  unless  the 
winter  turned  out  badly,  I  probably  should  not.  But  still  I  can- 
not believe  in  this  rightly  myself. 

"  Every  night  I  am  at  home  in  my  dreams,  but  when  the 
morning  breaks  I  must  again,  like  Helge,  gallop  back  on  the  pale 
horse  by  the  way  of  the  reddening  dawn,  not  to  the  joys  of  Val- 
halla, but  to  the  realm  of  eternal  ice. 


SECOND  AUTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  283 

" '  For  thee  alone  Sigrun, 
Of  the  Saeva  Mountain, 
Must  Helge  swim 
In  the  dew  of  sorrow.' 

"  Friday,  October  1 2th.  A  regular  storm  has  been  blowing 
from  the  E.S.E.  since  yesterday  evening.  Last  night  the  mill 
went  to  bits ;  the  teeth  broke  off  one  of  the  toothed  wheels, 
which  had  been  considerably  worn  by  a  year's  use.  The  velocity 
of  the  wind  was  over  40  feet  this  morning,  and  it  is  long  since  I 
have  heard  it  blow  as  it  is  doing  this  evening.  We  must  be  mak- 
ing good  progress  north  just  now.  Perhaps  October  is  not  to  be 
such  a  bad  month  as  I  expected  from  our  experiences  of  last 
year.  Was  out  snow  -  shoeing  before  dinner.  The  snow  was 
whistling  about  my  ears.  I  had  not  much  trouble  in  getting 
back  ;  the  wind  saw  to  that.  A  tremendous  snow-squall  is  blowing 
just  now.  The  moon  stands  low  in  the  southern  sky,  sending  a 
dull  glow  through  the  driving  masses.  One  has  to  hold  on  to 
one's  cap.  This  is  a  real  dismal  polar  night,  such  as  one  imag- 
ines it  to  one's  self  sitting  at  home  far  away  in  the  south.  But 
it  makes  me  cheerful  to  come  on  deck,  for  I  feel  that  we  are 
moving  onward. 

"Saturday,  October  13th.  Same  wind  to-day;  velocity  up  to 
39  feet  and  higher,  but  Hansen  has  taken  an  observation  this 
evening  in  spite  of  it.  He  is,  as  always,  a  fine,  indefatigable  fel- 
low. We  are  going  northwest  (81°  32'  8"  north  latitude,  118°  28' 
east  longitude). 

"Sunday,  October  14th,  Still  the  same  storm  going  on.  I 
am  reading  of  the  continual  sufferings  which  the  earlier  Arctic 
explorers  had  to  contend  with  for  every  degree,  even  for  every 
minute,  of  their  northward  course.  It  gives  me  almost  a  feeling 
of  contempt  for  us,  lying  here  on  sofas,  warm  and  comfortable, 
passing  the  time  reading  and  writing  and  smoking  and  dreaming, 
while  the  storm  is  tugging  and  tearing  at  the  rigging  above  us 
and  the  whole  sea  is  one  mass  of  driving  snow,  through  which  we 
are  carried  degree  by  degree  northward  to  the  goal  our  prede- 
cessors struggled  towards,  spending  their  strength  in  vain.  And 
yet  .  .  . 

'"Now  sinks  the  sun,  now  comes  the  night.' 

"Monday,  October  15th.     Went  snow-shoeing  eastward  this 


284  FARTHEST  NORTH 

morning,  still  against  the  same  wind  and  the  same  snowfall. 
You  have  to  pay  careful  attention  to  your  course  these  days,  as 
the  ship  is  not  visible  any  great  distance,  and  if  you  did  not  find 
your  way  back,  well —  But  the  tracks  remain  pretty  distinct, 
as  the  snow-crust  is  blown  bare  in  most  places,  and  the  drifting 
snow  does  not  fasten  upon  it.  We  are  moving  northward,  and 
meanwhile  the  Arctic  night  is  making  its  slow  and  majestic 
entrance.  The  sun  was  low  to-day  ;  I  did  not  see  it  because  of 
banks  of  cloud  in  the  south  ;  but  it  still  sent  its  light  up  over  the 
pale  sky.  There  the  full  moon  is  now  reigning,  bathing  the  great 
ice  plain  and  the  drifting  snow  in  its  bright  light.  How  a  night 
such  as  this  raises  one's  thoughts  !  It  does  not  matter  if  one  has 
seen  the  like  a  thousand  times  before ;  it  makes  the  same  solemn 
impression  when  it  comes  again ;  one  cannot  free  one's  mind 
from  its  power.  It  is  like  entering  a  still,  holy  temple,  where  the 
spirit  of  nature  hovers  through  the  place  on  glittering  silver 
beams,  and  the  soul  must  fall  down  and  adore— adore  the  infinity 
of  the  universe. 

"  Wednesday,  October  1 7th.  We  are  employed  in  taking  deep- 
water  temperatures.  It  is  a  doubtful  pleasure  at  this  time  of 
year.  Sometimes  the  water-lifter  gets  coated  with  ice,  so  that 
it  will  not  close  down  below  in  the  water,  and  has,  therefore,  to 
hang  for  ever  so  long  each  time ;  and  sometimes  it  freezes  tight 
during  the  observation  after  it  is  brought  up,  so  that  the  water 
will  not  run  out  of  it  into  the  sample  bottles,  not  to  mention  all 
the  bother  there  is  getting  the  apparatus  ready  to  lower.  We 
are  lucky  if  we  do  not  require  to  take  the  whole  thing  into  the 
galley  every  time  to  thaw  it.  It  is  slow  work  ;  the  temperatures 
have  sometimes  to  be  read  by  lantern  light.  The  water  samples 
are  not  so  reliable,  because  they  freeze  in  the  lifter.  But  the 
thing  can  be  done,  and  we  must  just  go  on  doing  it.  The  same 
easterly  wind  is  blowing,  and  we  are  drifting  onward.  Our  lati- 
tude this  evening  is  about  81°  47'  N. 

"  Thursday,  October  18th.  I  continue  taking  the  temperatures 
of  the  water,  rather  a  cool  amusement  with  the  thermometer 
down  to  —29°  C.  (20.2°  Fahr.  below  zero)  and  a  wind  blowing. 
Your  fingers  are  apt  to  get  a  little  stiff  and  numb  when  you  have 
to  manipulate  the  wet  or  ice-covered  metal  screws  with  bare 
hands  and  have  to  read  off  the  thermometer  with  a  magnifying- 
glass  in  order  to  insure  accuracy  to  the  hundredth   part  of  a 


SECOND  A  UTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  285 

degree,  and  then  to  bottle  the  samples  of  water,  which  you  have 
to  keep  close  against  your  breast,  to  prevent  the  water  from 
freezing.     It  is  a  nice  business  ! 

*'  There  was  a  lovely  aurora  borealis  at  8  o'clock  this  evening. 
It  wound  itself  like  a  fiery  serpent  in  a  double  coil  across  the 
sky.  The  tail  was  about  10°  above  the  horizon  in  the  north. 
Thence  it  turned  off  with  many  windings  in  an  easterly  direc- 
tion, then  round  again,  and  westward  in  the  form  of  an^  arch  from 
30°  to  40°  above  the  horizon,  sinking  down  again  to  the  west  and 
rolling  itself  up  into  a  ball,  from  which  several  branches  spread 
out  over  the  sky.  The  arches  were  in  active  motion,  while 
pencils  of  streamers  shot  out  swiftly  from  the  west  towards  the 
east,  and  the  whole  serpent  kept  incessantly  undulating  into  fresh 
curves.  Gradually  it  mounted  up  over  the  sky  nearly  to  the 
zenith,  while  at  the  same  time  the  uppermost  bend  or  arch  sepa- 
rated into  several  fainter  undulations,  the  ball  in  the  northeast 
glowed  intensely,  and  brilliant  streamers  shot  upwards  to  the 
zenith  from  several  places  in  the  arches,  especially  from  the  ball 
and  from  the  bend  farthest  away  in  the  northeast.  The  illumi- 
nation was  now  at  its  highest,  the  color  being  principally  a  strong 
yellow,  though  at  some  spots  it  verged  towards  a  yellowish  red, 
while  at  other  places  it  was  a  greenish  white.  When  the  upper 
wave  reached  the  zenith  the  phenomenon  lost  something  of  its 
brilliancy,  dispersing  little  by  little,  leaving  merely  a  faint  indi- 
cation of  an  aurora  in  the  southern  sky.  On  coming  up  again  on 
deck  later  in  the  evening,  I  found  nearly  the  whole  of  the  aurora 
collected  in  the  southern  half  of  the  sky.  A  low  arch,  5°  in 
height,  could  be  seen  far  down  in  the  south  over  the  dark  seg- 
ment of  the  horizon.  Between  this  and  the  zenith  were  four 
other  vague,  wavy  arches,  the  topmost  of  which  passed  right 
across  it ;  here  and  there  vivid  streamers  shot  flaming  upward, 
especially  from  the  undermost  arch  in  the  south.  No  arch  was 
to  be  seen  in  the  northern  part  of  the  sky,  only  streamers  every 
here  and  there.  To-night,  as  usual,  there  are  traces  of  aurora  to 
be  seen  over  the  whole  sky  ;  light  mists  or  streamers  are  often 
plainly  visible,  and  the  sky  seems  to  be  constantly  covered  with 
a  luminous  veil,*  in  which  every  here  and  there  are  dark  holes. 

*  This  luminous  veil,  which  was  always  spread  over  the  sky,  was  less 
distinct  on  the  firmament  immediately  overhead,  but  became  more  and 


286  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"There  is  scarcely  any  night,  or  rather  I  may  safely  say 
there  is  no  night,  on  which  no  trace  of  aurora  can  be  discerned 
as  soon  as  the  sky  becomes  clear,  or  even  when  there  is  simply  a 
rift  in  the  clouds  large  enough  for  it  to  be  seen  ;  and  as  a  rule 
we  have  strong  light  phenomena  dancing  in  ceaseless  unrest 
over  the  firmament.  They  mainly  appear,  however,  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  sky. 

"  Friday,  October  19th.  A  fresh  breeze  from  E.S.E.  Drifting 
northward  at  a  good  pace.  Soon  we  shall  probably  have  passed 
the  long-looked-for  82°,  and  that  will  not  be  far  from  82°  27', 
when  the  Frain  will  be  the  vessel  that  will  have  penetrated  far- 
thest to  the  north  on  this  globe.  But  the  barometer  is  falling ; 
the  wind  probably  will  not  remain  in  that  quarter  long,  but  will 
shift  round  to  the  west.  I  only  hope  for  this  once  the  barometer 
may  prove  a  false  prophet.  I  have  become  rather  sanguine  ; 
things  have  been  going  pretty  well  for  so  long ;  and  October,  a 
month  which  last  year's  experience  had  made  me  dread,  has  been 
a  month  of  marked  advance,  if  only  it  doesn't  end  badly. 

"  The  wind  to-day,  however,  was  to  cost  a  life.  The  mill,  which 
had  been  repaired  after  the  mishap  to  the  cog-wheel  the  other 
day,  was  set  going  again.  In  the  afternoon  a  couple  of  the 
puppies  began  fighting  over  a  bone,  when  one  of  them  fell  un- 
derneath one  of  the  cog-wheels  on  the  axle  of  the  mill,  and  was 
dragged  in  between  it  and  the  deck.  Its  poor  little  body  nearly 
made  the  whole  thing  come  to  a  standstill ;  and,  unfortunately, 
no  one  was  on  the  spot  to  stop  it  in  time.  I  heard  the  noise,  and 
rushed  on  deck  ;  the  puppy  had  just  been  drawn  out  nearly 
dead  ;  the  whole  of  its  stomach  was  torn  open.  It  gave  a  faint 
whine,  and  was  at  once  put  out  of  its  misery.  Poor  little  frolic- 
some creature  !  Only  a  little  while  ago  you  were  gambolling 
around,  enjoying  an  innocent  romp  with  your  brothers  and  sis- 
ters ;  then  came  the  thigh-bone  of  a  bear  trundling  along  the  deck 
from  the  galley  ;  you  and  the  others  make  a  headlong  rush  for 
it,  and  now  there  you  lie,  cruelly  lacerated  and  dead  as  a  herring. 
Fate  is  inexorable  I 

more  conspicuous  near  the  horizon,  though  it  never  actually  reached  down 
to  it;  indeed,  in  the  north  and  south  it  generally  terminated  in  a  low, 
faintly  outlined  arch  over  a  kind  of  dark  segment.  The  luminosity  of 
this  veil  was  so  strong  that  through  it  I  could  never  with  any  certainty 
distinguish  the  Milky  Way. 


SECOND  A  UTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  287 

"Sunday,  October  21st.  North  latitude  82°  0.2';  east  longi- 
tude 114°  9'.  It  is  late  in  the  evening,  and  my  head  is  bewildered, 
as  if  I  had  been  indulging  in  a  regular  debauch,  but  it  was  a  de- 
bauch of  a  very  innocent  nature. 

"  A  grand  banquet  to-day  to  celebrate  the  eighty-second  de- 
gree of  latitude.  The  observation  gave  82°  0.2'  last  night,  and 
we  have  now  certainly  drifted  a  little  farther  north.  Honey- 
cakes  (gingerbread)  were  baked  for  the  occasion — first-class  honey- 
cakes,  too,  you  may  take  my  word  for  it ;  and  then,  after  a  re- 
freshing snow  -  shoe  run,  came  a  festal  banquet.  Notices  were 
stuck  up  in  the  saloon  requesting  the  guests  to  be  punctual  at 
dinner-time,  for  the  cook  had  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost  of 
his  power.  The  following  deeply  felt  lines  by  an  anonymous 
poet  also  appeared  on  a  placard  : 

"'When  dinner  is  punctually  served  at  the  time 
No  fear  that  the  milk  soup  will  surely  be  prime; 
But  the  viands  are  spoiled  if  you  come  to  it  late, 
The  fish-pudding  will  lie  on  your  chest  a  dead  weight ; 
What's  preserved  in  tin  cases,  there  can  be  no  doubt, 
If  you  wait  long  enough  will  force  its  way  out. 
Even  meat  of  the  ox,  of  the  sheep,  or  of  swine. 
Very  different  in  this  from  the  juice  of  the  vine ! 
Ramornie,  and  Armour,  and  Thorne,  and  Herr  Thiis, 
Good  meats  have  preserved,  and  they  taste  not  amiss ; 
So  I'll  just  add  a  word,  friends,  of  warning  to  you : 
If  you  want  a  good  dinner,  come  at  one,  not  at  two.' 

The  lyric  melancholy  which  here  finds  utterance  must  have 
been  the  outcome  of  many  bitter  disappointments,  and  furnishes 
a  valuable  internal  evidence  as  to  the  anonymous  author's  pro- 
fession. Meanwhile  the  guests  assembled  with  tolerable  punctu- 
ality, the  only  exception  being  your  humble  servant,  who  was 
obliged  to  take  some  photographs  in  the  rapidly  waning  day- 
light. The  menu  was  splendid  :  i.  Ox-tail  soup  ;  2.  Fish-pud- 
ding, with  melted  butter  and  potatoes  ;  3.  Turtle,  with  marrow- 
fat pease,  etc.,  etc.  ;  4.  Rice,  with  multer  (cloudberries)  and 
cream ;  Crown  malt  extract.  After  dinner,  coffee  and  honey- 
cakes.  After  supper,  which  also  was  excellent,  there  was  a  call 
for  music,  which  was  liberally  supplied  throughout  the  whole 
evening    by   various    accomplished    performers   on    the   organ. 


288  FARTHEST  NORTH 

among  whom  Bentzen  specially  distinguished  himself,  his  late 
experiences  on  the  ice  with  the  crank-handle*  having  put  him  in 
first-rate  training.  Every  now  and  then  the  music  dragged  a 
bit,  as  though  it  were  being  hauled  up  from  an  abyss  some  looo 
or  1500  fathoms  deep  ;  then  it  would  quicken  and  get  more 
lively,  as  it  came  nearer  to  the  surface.  At  last  the  excitement 
rose  to  such  a  pitch  that  Pettersen  and  I  had  to  get  up  and  have 
a  dance,  a  waltz  and  a  polka  or  two ;  and  we  really  executed 
some  very  tasteful  pas  de  deux  on  the  limited  floor  of  the  saloon. 
Then  Amundsen  also  was  swept  into  the  mazes  of  the  dance, 
while  the  others  played  cards.  Meanwhile  refreshments  were 
served  in  the  form  of  preserved  peaches,  dried  bananas,  figs, 
honey-cakes,  etc.,  etc.  In  short,  we  made  a  jovial  evening  of  it, 
and  why  should  we  not  ?  We  are  progressing  merrily  towards 
our  goal;  we  are  already  half-way  between  the  New  Siberian 
Islands  and  Franz  Josef  Land,  and  there  is  not  a  soul  on  board 
who  doubts  that  we  shall  accomplish  what  we  came  out  to  do  ; 
so  long  live  merriment ! 

"  But  the  endless  stillness  of  the  polar  night  holds  its  sway 
aloft ;  the  moon,  half  full,  shines  over  the  ice,  and  the  stars 
sparkle  brilliantly  overhead ;  there  are  no  restless  northern 
lights,  and  the  south  wind  sighs  mournfully  through  the  rigging. 
A  deep,  peaceful  stillness  prevails  everywhere.  It  is  the  infinite 
loveliness  of  death — Nirvana. 

"  Monday,  October  22d.  It  is  beginning  to  be  cold  now  ;  the 
thermometer  was  —34.6°  (30.2°  Fahr.  below  zero)  last  night, 
and  this  evening  it  is  —36°  C.  (32.8  Fahr.  below  zero). 

"A  lovely  aurora  this  evening  (11.30).  A  brilliant  corona  en- 
circled the  zenith  with  a  wreath  of  streamers  in  several  layers, 
one  outside  the  other ;  then  larger  and  smaller  sheaves  of 
streamers  spread  over  the  sky,  especially  low  down  towards 
S.W.  and  E.S.E.  All  of  them,  however,  tended  upward  tow- 
ards the  corona,  which  shone  like  a  halo.  I  stood  watching  it 
a  long  while.  Every  now  and  then  I  could  discern  a  dark  patch 
in  its  middle,  at  the  point  where  all  the  rays  converged.  It  lay 
a  little  south  of  the  Pole-star,  and  approached  Cassiopeia  in  the 
position  it  then  occupied.  But  the  halo  kept  smouldering  and 
shifting  just  as  if  a  gale  in  the  upper  strata  of  the  atmosphere 

*  Used  in  hoisting  up  the  lead-line. 


SECOND  A  UTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  289 

were  playing  the  bellows  to  it.  Presently  fresh  streamers  shot 
out  of  the  darkness  outside  the  inner  halo,  followed  by  other 
bright  shafts  of  light  in  a  still  wider  circle,  and  meanwhile  the 
dark  space  in  the  middle  was  clearly  visible ;  at  other  times  it 
was  entirely  covered  with  masses  of  light.  Then  it  appeared 
as  if  the  storm  abated,  and  the  whole  turned  pale  and  glowed 
with  a  faint  whitish  hue  for  a  little  while,  only  to  shoot  wildly 
up  once  more  and  to  begin  the  same  dance  over  again.  Then 
the  entire  mass  of  light  around  the  corona  began  to  rock  to  and 
fro  in  large  waves  over  the  zenith  and  the  dark  central  point, 
whereupon  the  gale  seemed  to  increase  and  whirl  the  streamers 
into  an  inextricable  tangle,  till  they  merged  into  a  luminous 
vapor  that  enveloped  the  corona  and  drowned  it  in  a  deluge  of 
light,  so  that  neither  it,  nor  the  streamers,  nor  the  dark  centre 
could  be  seen — nothing,  in  fact,  but  a  chaos  of  shining  mist. 
Again  it  became  paler,  and  I  went  below.  At  midnight  there 
was  hardly  anything  of  the  aurora  to  be  seen. 

"  Friday,  October  26th.  Yesterday  evening  we  were  in  82°  3' 
north  latitude.  To-day  the  Fram  is  two  years  old.  The  sky  has 
been  overcast  during  the  last  two  days,  and  it  has  been  so  dark 
at  mid-day  that  I  thought  we  should  soon  have  to  stop  our  snow- 
shoe  expeditions.  But  this  morning  brought  us  clear,  still  weath- 
er, and  I  went  out  on  a  delightful  trip  to  the  westward,  where 
there  had  been  a  good  deal  of  fresh  packing,  but  nothing  of  any 
importance.  In  honor  of  the  occasion  we  had  a  particularly 
good  dinner,  with  fried  halibut,  turtle,  pork  chops,  with  haricot 
beans  and  green  pease,  plum-pudding  (real,  burning  plum-pud- 
ding for  the  first  time)  with  custard  sauce,  and  wound  up  with 
strawberries.  As  usual,  the  beverages  consisted  of  wine  (that  is 
to  say,  lime-juice,  with  water  and  sugar)  and  Crown  malt  ex- 
tract. I  fear  there  was  a  general  overtaxing  of  the  digestive 
apparatus.  After  dinner,  coffee  and  honey-cakes,  with  which 
Nordahl  stood  cigarettes.     General  holiday. 

"  This  evening  it  has  begun  to  blow  from  the  north,  but  proba- 
bly this  does  not  mean  much  ;  I  must  hope  so,  at  all  events,  and 
trust  that  we  shall  soon  get  a  south  wind  again.  But  it  is  not 
the  mild  zephyr  we  yearn  for,  not  the  breath  of  the  blushing 
dawn.  No,  a  cold,  biting  south  wind,  roaring  with  all  the  force 
of  the  Polar  Sea,  so  that  the  Frain^  the  two-year-old  Fram^  may 
be  buried  in  the  snow-storm,  and  all  around  her  be  but  a  reeking 
19 


290  FARTHEST  NORTH 

frost — it  is  this  we  are  waiting  for,  this  that  will  drift  us  onward 
to  our  goal.  To-day,  then,  Fram,  thou  art  two  years  old.  I  said 
at  the  dinner-table  that  if  a  year  ago  we  were  unanimous  in 
believing  that  the  Fram  was  a  good  ship,  we  had  much  better 
grounds  for  that  belief  to-day,  for  safely  and  surely  she  is  carry- 
ing us  onward,  even  if  the  speed  be  not  excessive,  and  so  we 
drank  the  Fram's  good  health  and  good  progress.  I  did  not  say 
too  much.  Had  I  sajd  all  that  was  in  my  heart,  my  words  would 
not  have  been  so  measured ;  for,  to  say  the  truth,  we  all  of  us 
dearly  love  the  ship,  as  much  as  it  is  possible  to  love  any  im- 
personal thing.  And  why  should  we  not  love  her  ?  No  mother 
can  give  her  young  more  warmth  and  safety  under  her  wings 
than  she  affords  to  us.  She  is  indeed  like  a  home  to  us.  We  all 
rejoice  to  return  to  her  from  out  on  the  icy  plains,  and  when  I 
have  been  far  away  and  have  seen  her  masts  rising  over  the 
everlasting  mantle  of  snow,  how  often  has  my  heart  glowed  with 
warmth  towards  her !  To  the  builder  of  this  home  grateful 
thoughts  often  travel  during  the  still  nights.  He,  I  feel  certain, 
sits  yonder  at  home  often  thinking  of  us  ;  but  he  knows  not 
where  his  thought  can  seek  the  Fram  in  the  great  white  tract 
around  the  Pole.  But  he  knows  his  child  ;  and  though  all  else 
lose  faith  in  her,  he  will  believe  that  she  will  hold  out.  Yes, 
Colin  Archer,  could  you  see  us  now,  you  would  know  that  your 
faith  in  her  is  not  misplaced. 

"  I  am  sitting  alone  in  my  berth,  and  my  thoughts  glide  back 
over  the  two  years  that  have  passed.  What  demon  is  it  that 
weaves  the  threads  of  our  lives,  that  makes  us  deceive  ourselves, 
and  ever  sends  us  forth  on  paths  we  have  not  ourselves  laid  out 
— paths  on  which  we  have  no  desire  to  walk  ?  Was  it  a  mere 
feeling  of  duty  that  impelled  me  ?  Oh  no  !  I  was  simply  a  child 
yearning  for  a  great  adventure  out  in  the  unknown,  who  had 
dreamed  of  it  so  long  that  at  last  I  believed  it  really  awaited  me. 
And  it  has,  indeed,  fallen  to  my  lot,  the  great  adventure  of  the 
ice,  deep  and  pure  as  infinity  ;  the  silent,  starlit  polar  night ; 
nature  itself  in  its  profundity  ;  the  mystery  of  life  ;  the  ceaseless 
circling  of  the  universe ;  the  feast  of  death — without  suffering, 
without  regret — eternal  in  itself.  Here  in  the  great  night  thou 
standest  in  all  thy  naked  pettiness,  face  to  face  with  nature  ;  and 
thou  sittest  devoutly  at  the  feet  of  eternity,  intently  listening  ; 
and  thou  knowest  God  the  all-ruling,  the  centre  of  the  universe. 


SECOND  A  UTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  291 

All  the  riddles  of  life  seem  to  grow  clear  to  thee,  and  thou 
laughest  at  thyself  that  thou  couldst  be  consumed  by  brooding, 
it  is  all  so  little,  so  unutterably  little.  .  .  .  '  Whoso  sees  Jehovah 
dies.' 

"  Sunday,  November  4th.  At  noon  I  had  gone  out  on  a  snow- 
shoe  expedition,  and  had  taken  some  of  the  dogs  with  me.  Pres- 
ently I  noticed  that  those  that  had  been  left  behind  at  the  ship 
began  to  bark.  Those  with  me  pricked  up  their  ears,  and  several 
of  them  started  off  back,  with  '  Ulenka '  at  their  head.  Most  of 
them  soon  stopped,  listening  and  looking  behind  them  to  see  if  I 
were  following.  I  wondered  for  a  little  while  whether  it  could 
be  a  bear,  and  then  continued  on  my  way ;  but  at  length  I  could 
stand  it  no  longer,  and  set  off  homeward,  with  the  dogs  dashing 
wildly  on  in  front.  On  approaching  the  ship  I  saw  some  of  the 
men  setting  off  with  guns  ;  they  were  Sverdrup,  Johansen,  Mog- 
stad,  and  Henriksen,  They  had  got  a  good  start  of  me  in  the  direc- 
tion in  which  the  dogs  were  barking  before  I,  too,  got  hold  of  a 
gun  and  set  off  after  them.  All  at  once  I  saw  through  the  dark- 
ness the  flash  of  a  volley  from  those  in  front,  followed  by  another 
shot ;  then  several  more,  until  at  last  it  sounded  like  regular 
platoon  firing.  What  the  deuce  could  it  be  ?  They  were  standings 
on  the  same  spot,  and  kept  firing  incessantly.  Why  on  earth  did 
they  not  advance  nearer?  I  hurried  on,  thinking  it  was  high 
time  I  came  up  with  my  snow-shoes  to  follow  the  game,  which 
must  evidently  be  in  full  flight.  Meanwhile  they  advanced  a 
little,  and  then  there  was  another  flash  to  be  seen  through  the 
darkness,  and  so  they  went  on  two  or  three  times.  One  of  the 
number  at  last  dashed  forward  over  the  ice  and  fired  straight 
down  in  front  of  him,  while  another  knelt  down  and  fired  towards 
the  east.  Were  they  trying  their  guns  ?  But  surely  it  was  a 
strange  time  for  doing  so,  and  there  were  so  many  shots.  Mean- 
while the  dogs  tore  around  over  the  ice,  and  gathered  in  clumps, 
barking  furiously.  At  length  I  overtook  them,  and.  saw  three 
bears  scattered  over  the  ice,  a  she-bear  and  two  cubs,  while  the 
dogs  lay  over  them,  worrying  them  like  mad  and  tearing  away  at 
paws,  throat,  and  tail.  '  Ulenka '  especially  was  beside  herself. 
She  had  gripped  one  of  the  cubs  by  the  throat,  and  worried  it 
like  a  mad  thing,  so  that  it  was  difficult  to  get  her  away.  The 
bears  had  gone  very  leisurely  away  from  the  dogs,  which  dared 
not  come  to  sufficiently  close  quarters  to  use  their  teeth  till  the 


292  FARTHEST  NORTH 

old  she-bear  had  been  wounded  and  had  fallen  down.  The  bears, 
indeed,  had  acted  in  a  very  suspicious  manner.  It  seemed  just  as 
if  the  she-bear  had  some  deep  design,  some  evil  intent,  in  her 
mind,  if  she  could  only  have  lured  the  dogs  near  enough  to  her. 
Suddenly  she  halted,  let  the  cubs  go  on  in  front,  sniffed  a  little, 
and  then  came  back  to  meet  the  dogs,  who  at  the  same  time,  as  if 
at  a  word  of  command,  all  turned  tail  and  set  off  towards  the 
west.  It  was  then  that  the  first  shot  was  fired,  and  the  old  bear 
tottered  and  fell  headlong,  when  immediately  some  of  the  dogs 
set  to  and  tackled  her.  One  of  the  cubs  then  got  its  quietus, 
while  the  other  one  was  fired  at  and  made  off  over  the  ice  with 
three  dogs  after  it.  They  soon  overtook  it  and  pulled  it  down,  so 
that  when  Mogstad  came  up  he  was  obliged  first  of  all  to  get  the 
dogs  off  before  he  could  venture  to  shoot.  It  was  a  glorious 
slaughter,  and  by  no  means  unwelcome,  for  we  had  that  very  day 
eaten  the  remains  of  our  last  bear  in  the  shape  of  meat-cakes  for 
dinner.     The  two  cubs  made  lovely  Christmas  pork. 

"  In  all  probability  these  were  the  same  bears  whose  tracks  we 
had  seen  before.  Sverdrup  and  I  had  followed  on  the  tracks  of 
three  such  animals  on  the  last  day  of  October,  and  had  lost  them 
to  N.N.W.  of  the  ship.  Apparently  they  had  come  from  that 
quarter  now. 

"  When  they  wanted  to  shoot,  Peter's  gun,  as  usual,  would  not 
go  off ;  it  had  again  been  drenched  with  vaseline,  and  he  kept 
calling  out :  '  Shoot !  shoot !  Mine  won't  go  off.'  Afterwards,  on 
examining  the  gun  I  had  taken  with  me  to  the  fray,  I  found  there 
was  no  cartridge  in  it.  A  nice  account  I  should  have  given  of 
myself  had  I  come  on  the  bears  alone  with  that  weapon  ! 

"  Monday,  November  5th.  As  I  was  sitting  at  work  last  night 
I  heard  a  dog  on  the  deck  howling  fearfully.  I  sprang  up,  and 
m^iajfe^  Jound  it  was  one  of  the  puppies  that  had  touched  an  iron  bolt  with 
its  tongue  and  was  frozen  fast  to  it.  There  the  poor  beast  was, 
straining  to  get  free,  with  its  tongue  stretched  out  so  far  that  it 
looked  like  a  thin  rope  proceeding  out  of  its  throat ;  and  it  was 
howling  piteously.  Bentzen,  whose  watch  it  was,  had  come  up, 
but  scarcely  knew  what  to  do.  He  took  hold  of  it,  however,  by 
the  neck,  and  held  it  close  to  the  bolt,  so  that  its  tongue  was  less 
extended.  After  having  warmed  the  bolt  somewhat  with  his 
hand,  he  managed  to  get  the  tongue  free.  The  poor  little  puppy 
seemed  overjoyed  at  its  release,  and,  to  show  its  gratitude,  licked 


SECOND  A  UTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  293 

Bentzen's  hand  with  its  bloody  tongue,  and  seemed  as  if  it 
could  not  be  grateful  enough  to  its  deliverer.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  it  will  be  some  time  before  this  puppy,  at  any  rate,  gets 
fast  again  in  this  way ;  but  such  things  happen  every  now  and 
then. 

"  Sunday,  November  nth.  I  am  pursuing  my  studies  as  usual 
day  after  day  ;  and  they  lure  me,  too,  deeper  and  deeper  into  the 
insoluble  mystery  that  lies  behind  all  these  inquiries.  Nay  ! 
why  keep  revolving  in  this  fruitless  circuit  of  thought?  Better 
go  out  into  the  winter  night.  The  moon  is  up,  great  and  yellow 
and  placid ;  the  stars  are  twinkling  overhead  through  the  drift- 
ing snow-dust.  .  .  .  Why  not  rock  yourself  into  a  winter-night's 
dream  filled  with  memories  of  summer  ? 

"  Ugh,  no  !  The  wind  is  howling  too  shrilly  over  the  barren 
ice-plains  ;  there  are  33  degrees  of  cold,  and  summer,  with  its 
flowers,  is  far,  far  away.  I  would  give  a  year  of  my  life  to  hold 
them  in  my  embrace  ;  they  loom  so  far  off  in  the  distance,  as  if 
I  should  never  come  back  to  them. 

"  But  the  northern  lights,  with  their  eternally  shifting  love- 
liness, flame  over  the  heavens  each  day  and  each  night.  Look  at 
them  ;  drink  oblivion  and  drink  hope  from  them  :  they  are  even 
as  the  aspiring  soul  of  man.  Restless  as  it,  they  will  wreathe 
the  whole  vault  of  heaven  with  their  glittering,  fleeting  light, 
surpassing  all  else  in  their  wild  loveliness,  fairer  than  even  the 
blush  of  dawn  ;  but,  whirling  idly  through  empty  space,  they 
bear  no  message  of  a  coming  day.  The  sailor  steers  his  course 
by  a  star.  Could  you  but  concentrate  yourselves,  you  too,  O 
northern  lights,  might  lend  your  aid  to  guide  the  wildered  wan- 
derer !  But  dance  on,  and  let  me  enjoy  you  ;  stretch  a  bridge 
across  the  gulf  between  the  present  and  the  time  to  come,  and 
let  me  dream  far,  far  ahead  into  the  future ! 

"O  thou  mysterious  radiance!  what  art  thou,  and  whence 
comest  thou  ?  Yet  why  ask  ?  Is  it  not  enough  to  admire  thy 
beauty  and  pause  there?  Can  we  at  best  get  beyond  the  out- 
ward show  of  things  ?  What  would  it  profit  even  if  we  could 
say  that  it  is  an  electric  discharge  or  currents  of  electricity 
through  the  upper  regions  of  the  air,  and  were  able  to  describe 
in  minutest  detail  how  it  all  came  to  be?  It  would  be  mere 
words.  We  know  no  more  what  an  electric  current  really  is  than 
what  the  aurora  borealis  is.     Happy  is  the  child.  .  .  .  We,  with 


294  FARTHEST  NORTH 

all  our  views  and  theories,  are  not  in  the  last  analysis  a  hair's- 
breath  nearer  the  truth  than  it. 

"Tuesday,  November  13th.  Thermometer  -38°  C.  (-36.4° 
Fahr.).  The  ice  is  packing  in  several  quarters  during  the  day, 
and  the  roar  is  pretty  loud,  now  that  the  ice  has  become  colder. 
It  can  be  heard  from  afar — a  strange  roar,  which  would  sound 
uncanny  to  any  one  who  did  not  know  what  it  was. 

"  A  delightful  snow-shoe  run  in  the  light  of  the  full  moon.  Is 
life  a  vale  of  tears  ?  Is  it  such  a  deplorable  fate  to  dash  off  like 
the  wind,  with  all  the  dogs  skipping  around  one,  over  the  bound- 
less expanse  of  ice,  through  a  light  like  this,  in  the  fresh,  crack- 
ling frost,  while  the  snow-shoes  glide  over  the  smooth  surface, 
so  that  you  scarcely  know  you  are  touching  the  earth,  and  the 
stars  hang  high  in  the  blue  vault  above  ?  This  is  more,  indeed, 
than  one  has  any  right  to  expect  of  life ;  it  is  a  fairy  tale  from 
another  world,  from  a  life  to  come. 

"  And  then  to  return  home  to  one's  cosey  study-cabin,  kindle 
the  stove,  light  the  lamp,  fill  a  pipe,  stretch  one's  self  on  the  sofa, 
and  send  dreams  out  into  the  world  with  the  curling  clouds  of 
smoke — is  that  a  dire  infliction  ?  Thus  I  catch  myself  sitting 
staring  at  the  fire  for  hours  together,  dreaming  myself  away — a 
useful  way  of  employing  the  time.  But  at  least  it  makes  it  slip 
unnoticed  by,  until  the  dreams  are  swept  away  in  an  ice-blast  of 
reality,  and  I  sit  here  in  the  midst  of  desolation  and  nervously 
set  to  work  again. 

"  Wednesday,  November  14th.  How  marvellous  are  these 
snow  -  shoe  runs  through  this  silent  nature  !  The  ice  -  fields 
stretch  all  around,  bathed  in  the  silver  moonlight ;  here  and 
there  dark,  cold  shadows  project  from  the  hummocks,  whose  sides 
faintly  reflect  the  twilight.  Far,  far  out  a  dark  line  marks  the 
horizon,  formed  by  the  packed-up  ice,  over  it  a  shimmer  of  sil- 
very vapor,  and  above  all  the  boundless,  deep  -  blue,  starry  sky, 
where  the  full  moon  sails  through  the  ether.  But  in  the  south 
is  a  faint  glimmer  of  day,  low  down,  of  a  dark,  glowing  red  hue, 
and  higher  up  a  clear  yellow  and  pale-green  arch,  that  loses  itself 
in  the  blue  above.  The  whole  melts  into  a  pure  harmony,  one 
and  indescribable.  At  times  one  longs  to  be  able  to  translate 
such  scenes  into  music.  What  mighty  chords  one  would  require 
to  interpret  them  ! 

"  Silent,  oh,  so  silent !     You  can  hear  the  vibrations  of  your 


SECOND  AUTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  295 

own  nerves.  I  seem  as  if  I  were  gliding  over  and  over  these 
plains  into  infinite  space.  Is  this  not  an  image  of  what  is  to 
come  ?  Eternity  and  peace  are  here.  Nirvana  must  be  cold  and 
bright  as  such  an  eternal  star-night.  What  are  all  our  research 
and  understanding  in  the  midst  of  this  infinity  ? 

"  Friday,  November  i6th.  In  the  forenoon  I  went  out  with 
Sverdrup  on  snow-shoes  in  the  moonlight,  and  we  talked  serious- 
ly of  the  prospects  of  our  drift  and  of  the  proposed  expedition 
northward  over  the  ice  in  the  spring.  In  the  evening  we  went 
into  the  matter  more  thoroughly  in  his  cabin.  I  stated  my  views, 
in  which  he  entirely  coincided.  I  have  of  late  been  meditating  a 
great  deal  on  what  is  the  proper  course  to  pursue,  supposing  the 
drift  does  not  take  us  so  far  north  by  the  month  of  March  as  I 
had  anticipated.  But  the  more  I  think  of  it,  the  more  firmly  am 
I  persuaded  that  it  is  the  thing  to  do.  For  if  it  be  right  to  set  out 
at  85°,  it  must  be  no  less  right  to  set  out  at  82°  or  ^:^°.  In  either 
case  we  should  penetrate  into  more  northerly  regions  than  we 
should  otherwise  reach,  and  this  becomes  all  the  more  desirable 
if  the  Fram  herself  does  not  get  so  far  north  as  we  had  hoped. 
If  we  cannot  actually  reach  the  Pole,  why,  we  must  turn  back 
before  reaching  it.  The  main  consideration,  as  I  must  constantly 
repeat,  is  not  to  reach  that  exact  mathematical  point,  but  to  ex- 
plore the  unknown  parts  of  the  Polar  Sea,  whether  these  be  near 
to  or  more  remote  from  the  Pole.  I  said  this  before  setting  out, 
and  I  must  keep  it  continually  in  mind.  Certainly  there  are 
many  important  observations  to  be  made  on  board  during  the 
further  drift  of  the  ship,  many  which  I  would  dearly  like  to  carry 
on  myself  ;  but  all  the  more  important  of  these  will  be  made 
equally  well  here,  even  though  two  of  our  number  leave  the 
ship  ;  and  there  can  scarcely  be  any  doubt  that  the  observations 
we  shall  make  farther  north  will  not  many  times  outweigh  in 
value  those  I  could  have  made  during  the  remainder  of  the  time 
on  board.     So  far,  then,  it  is  absolutely  desirable  that  we  set  out. 

"  Then  comes  the  question  :  What  is  the  best  time  to  start  ? 
That  the  spring— March,  at  the  latest  — is  the  only  season  for 
such  a  venture  there  can  be  no  doubt  at  all.  But  shall  it  be  next 
spring?  Suppose,  at  the  worst,  we  have  not  advanced  farther 
than  to  83°  north  latitude  and  110°  east  longitude;  then  some- 
thing might  be  said  for  waiting  till  the  spring  of  1896  ;  but  I 
cannot  but  think  that  we  should  thus  in  all  probability  let  slip 


296  FARTHEST  NORTH 

the  propitious  moment.  The  drifting  could  not  be  so  wearingly 
slow  but  that  after  another  year  had  elapsed  we  should  be  far 
beyond  the  point  from  which  the  sledge  expedition  ought  to  set 
out.  If  I  measure  the  distance  we  have  drifted  from  November 
of  last  year  with  the  compasses,  and  mark  off  the  same  distance 
ahead,  by  next  November  we  should  be  north  of  Franz  Josef 
Land,  and  a  little  beyond  it.  It  is  conceivable,  of  course,  that 
we  were  no  farther  advanced  in  February,  1896,  either  ;  but  it  is 
more  likely,  from  all  I  can  make  out,  that  the  drift  will  increase 
rather  than  diminish  as  we  work  westward,  and,  consequently, 
in  February,  1896,  we  should  have  got  too  far  ;  while,  even  if  one 
could  imagine  a  better  starting-point  than  that  which  the  Fram 
will  possibly  offer  us  by  March  i,  1895,  it  will,  at  all  events,  be 
a  possible  one.  It  must,  consequently,  be  the  safest  plan  not  to 
wait  for  another  spring. 

"  Such,  then,  are  the  prospects  before  us  of  pushing  through. 
The  distance  from  this  proposed  starting-point  to  Cape  Fligely, 
which  is  the  nearest  known  land,  I  set  down  at  about  370  miles,* 
consequently  not  much  more  than  the  distance  we  covered  in 
Greenland  ;  and  that  would  be  easy  work  enough  over  this  ice, 
even  if  it  did  become  somewhat  bad  towards  land.  If  once  a 
coast  is  reached,  any  reasonable  being  can  surely  manage  to  sub- 
sist by  hunting,  whether  large  or  small  game,  whether  bears  or 
sandhoppers.  Thus  we  can  always  make  for  Cape  Fligely  or 
Petermann's  Land,  which  lies  north  of  it,  if  our  situation  be- 
comes untenable.  The  distance  will,  of  course,  be  increased  the 
farther  we  advance  northward,  but  at  no  point  whatever  between 
here  and  the  Pole  is  it  greater  than  we  can  and  will  manage,  with 
the  help  of  our  dogs.  '  A  line  of  retreat  *  is  therefore  secured, 
though  there  are  those  doubtless  who  hold  that  a  barren  coast, 
where  you  must  first  scrape  your  food  together  before  you  can 
eat  it,  is  a  poor  retreat  for  hungry  men  ;  but  that  is  really  an 
advantage,  for  such  a  retreat  would  not  be  too  alluring.  A 
wretched  invention,  forsooth,  for  people  who  wish  to  push  on 
is  a  '  line  of  retreat ' — an  everlasting  inducement  to  look  behind, 
when  they  should  have  enough  to  do  in  looking  ahead. 

*■  There  must  be  an  error  here,  as  the  distance  to  Cape  Fligely  from 
the  point  proposed,  83°  north  latitude  and  110°  east  longitude,  is  quite  460 
miles.     I  had  probably  taken  the  longitude  as  100°  instead  of  1 10°. 


SECOND  AUTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  297 

"  But  now  for  the  expedition  itself.  It  will  consist  of  28  dogs, 
two  men,  and  2100  pounds  of  provisions  and  equipments.  The 
distance  to  the  Pole  from  ^^°  is  483  miles.  Is  it  too  much  to  cal- 
culate that  we  may  be  able  to  accomplish  that  distance  in  50 
days  ?  I  do  not  of  course  know  what  the  staying  powers  of  the 
dogs  may  be ;  but  that,  with  two  men  to  help,  they  should  be 
able  to  do  9^  miles  a  day  with  75  pounds  each  for  the  first  few 
days  sounds  sufficiently  reasonable,  even  if  they  are  not  very 
good  ones.  This,  then,  can  scarcely  be  called  a  wild  calculation, 
always,  of  course,  supposing  the  ice  to  be  as  it  is  here,  and  there 
is  no  reason  why  it  should  not  be.  Indeed,  it  steadily  improves 
the  farther  north  we  get ;  and  it  also  improves  with  the  approach 
of  spring.  In  50  days,  then,  we  should  reach  the  Pole  (in  65  days 
we  went  345  miles  over  the  inland  ice  of  Greenland  at  an  eleva- 
tion of  more  than  8000  feet,  without  dogs  and  with  defective  pro- 
visions, and  could  certainly  have  gone  considerably  farther).  In 
50  days  we  shall  have  consumed  a  pound  of  pemmican  a  day  for 
each  dog* — that  is,  1400  pounds  altogether  ;  and  2  pounds  of  pro- 
visions for  each  man  daily  is  200  pounds.  As  some  fuel  also  will 
have  been  consumed  during  this  time,  the  freight  on  the  sledges 
will  have  diminished  to  less  than  500  pounds ;  but  a  burden  like 
this  is  nothing  for  28  dogs  to  draw,  so  that  they  ought  to  go 
ahead  like  a  gale  of  wind  during  the  latter  part  of  the  time,  and 
thus  do  it  in  less  than  the  50  days.  However,  let  us  suppose 
that  it  takes  this  time.  If  all  has  gone  well,  we  shall  now  direct 
our  course  for  the  Seven  Islands,  north  of  Spitzbergen.  That  is 
9°,  or  620  miles.  But  if  we  are  not  in  first-rate  condition  it  will 
be  safer  to  make  for  Cape  Fligely  or  the  land  to  the  north  of  it. 
Let  us  suppose  we  decide  on  this  route.  We  set  out  from  the 
Fram  on  March  ist  (if  circumstances  are  favorable,  we  should 
start  sooner),  and  therefore  arrive  at  the  Pole  April  30th.  We 
shall  have  500  pounds  of  our  provisions  left,  enough  for  another  50 
days ;  but  we  can  spare  none  for  the  dogs.  We  must,  therefore,  be- 
gin killing  some  of  them,  either  for  food  for  the  others  or  for  our- 
selves, to  avoid  giving  them  our  provisions.  Even  if  my  figures 
are  somewhat  too  low,  I  may  assume  that  by  the  time  twenty- 
three  dogs  have  been  killed  we  shall  have  travelled  41  days,  and 

*  During  the  actual  expedition  the  dogs  had  to  be  content  with  a  much 
smaller  daily  ration,  on  an  average  scarcely  more  than  9  or  10  ounces. 


298  FARTHEST  NORTH 

still  have  five  dogs  left.  How  far  south  shall  we  have  advanced 
in  this  time?  The  weight  of  baggage  was,  to  begin  with,  less 
than  500  pounds — that  is  to  say,  less  than  18  pounds  for  each 
dog  to  draw.  After  41  days  this  will  at  least  have  been  reduced 
to  280  pounds  (by  the  consumption  of  provisions  and  fuel  and 
by  dispensing  with  sundry  articles  of  our  equipment,  such  as 
sleeping-bags,  tent,  etc.,  etc.,  which  will  have  become  superflu- 
ous). There  remain,  then,  56  pounds  for  each  of  the  five  dogs,  if 
we  draw  nothing  ourselves  ;  and  should  it  be  desirable,  our  equip- 
ment might  be  still  further  diminished.  With  a  burden  of  from 
18  to  56  pounds  apiece  (the  latter  would  only  be  towards  the 
end),  the  dogs  would  on  an  average  be  able  to  do  13^  miles  a 
day,  even  if  the  snow-surface  should  become  somewhat  more  dif- 
ficult. That  is  to  say,  we  shall  have  gone  565  miles  to  the  south, 
or  we  shall  be  18J  miles  past  Cape  Fligely,  on  June  ist,  with  five 
dogs  and  nine  days'  provisions  left.  But  it  is  probable,  in  the 
first  place,  that  we  shall  long  before  this  have  reached  land  ; 
and,  secondly,  so  early  as  the  first  half  of  April  the  Austrians 
found  open  water  by  Cape  Fligely  and  abundance  of  birds.  Con- 
sequently, in  May  and  June  we  should  have  no  difficulty  as  re- 
gards food,  not  to  mention  that  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  we 
had  not  before  that  time  met  with  a  bear  or  a  seal  or  some  stray 
birds. 

"  That  we  should  now  be  pretty  safe  I  consider  as  certain,  and 
we  can  choose  whichever  route  we  please  :  either  along  the  north- 
west coast  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  by  Gillis  Land  towards  North- 
east Island  and  Spitzbergen  (and,  should  circumstances  prove 
favorable,  this  would  decidedly  be  my  choice),  or  we  can  go  south 
through  Austria  Sound  towards  the  south  coast  of  Franz  Josef 
Land,  and  thence  to  Novaya  Zemlya  or  Spitzbergen,  the  latter 
by  preference.  We  may,  of  course,  find  Englishmen  on  Franz 
Josef  Land,  but  that  we  must  not  reckon  on. 

*'  Such,  then,  is  my  calculation.  Have  I  made  it  recklessly  ? 
No,  I  think  not.  The  only  thing  would  be  if  during  the  latter 
part  of  the  journey,  in  May,  we  should  find  the  surface  like  what 
we  had  here  last  spring,  at  the  end  of  May,  and  should  be  consid- 
erably delayed  by  it.  But  this  would  only  be  towards  the  very 
end  of  our  time,  and  at  worst  it  could  not  be  entirely  impassable. 
Besides,  it  would  be  strange  if  we  could  not  manage  to  average 
\\\  miles  a  day  during  the  whole  of  the  journey,  with  an  average 


SECOND  A  UTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  299 

load  for  each  dog  of  from  30  to  40  pounds — it  would  not  be  more. 
However,  if  our  calculations  should  prove  faulty,  we  can  always, 
as  aforesaid,  turn  back  at  any  moment. 

"  What  unforeseen  obstacles  may  confront  us  ? 

**  I.  The  ice  may  be  more  impracticable  than  was  supposed. 
"  2.  We  may  meet  with  land. 

"  3.  The  dogs  may  fail  us,  may  sicken,  or  freeze  to  death. 
"  4.  We  ourselves  may  suffer  from  scurvy. 

"  I  and  2.  That  the  ice  may  be  more  impracticable  farther 
north  is  certainly  possible,  but  hardly  probable.  I  can  see  no 
reason  why  it  should  be,  unless  we  have  unknown  lands  to  the 
north.  But  should  this  be  so  —  very  well,  we  must  take  what 
chance  we  find.  The  ice  can  scarcely  be  altogether  impassable. 
Even  Markham  was  able  to  advance  with  his  scurvy  -  smitten 
people.  And  the  coasts  of  this  land  may  possibly  be  advanta- 
geous for  an  advance  ;  it  simply  depends  on  their  direction  and 
extent.  It  is  difficult  to  say  anything  beforehand,  except  that  I 
think  the  depth  of  water  we  have  here  and  the  drift  of  the  ice 
render  it  improbable  that  we  can  have  land  of  any  extent  at  all 
close  at  hand.  In  any  case,  there  must,  somewhere  or  other,  be 
a  passage  for  the  ice,  and  at  the  worst  we  can  follow  that  passage. 

*'  3.  There  is  always  a  possibility  that  the  dogs  may  fail  us,  but, 
as  may  be  seen,  I  have  noT:  laid  out  any  scheme  of  excessive  work 
for  them.  And  even  if  one  or  two  of  them  should  prove  failures, 
that  could  not  be  the  case  with  all.  With  the  food  they  have 
hitherto  had  they  have  got  through  the  winter  and  the  cold  with- 
out mishap,  and  the  food  they  will  get  on  the  journey  will  be 
better.  In  my  calculations,  moreover,  I  have  taken  no  account 
of  what  we  shall  draw  ourselves.  And,  even  supposing  all  the 
dogs  to  fail  us,  we  could  manage  to  get  along  by  ourselves  pretty 
well.       • 

"  4.  The  worst  event  would  undeniably  be  that  we  ourselves 
should  be  attacked  by  scurvy  ;  and,  notwithstanding  our  excel- 
lent health,  such  a  contingency  is  quite  conceivable  when  it  is 
borne  in  mind  how  in  the  English  North  Pole  Expedition  all  the 
men,  with  the  exception  of  the  officers,  suffered  from  scurvy  when 
the  spring  and  the  sledge  journeys  began,  although  as  long  as 
they  were  on  board  ship  they  had  not  the  remotest  suspicion  that 


300  FARTHEST  NORTH 

anything  of  the  kind  was  lying  in  wait  for  them.  As  far,  how- 
ever, as  we  are  concerned,  I  consider  this  contingency  very  re- 
mote. In  the  first  place,  the  English  expedition  was  remarkably 
unfortunate,  and  hardly  any  others  can  show  a  similar  experi- 
ence, although  they  may  have  undertaken  sledge  journeys  of 
equal  lengths — for  example,  M'Clintock's.  During  the  retreat  of 
the  Jeannette  party,  so  far  as  is  known,  no  one  was  attacked  with 
scurvy ;  Peary  and  Astrup  did  not  suffer  from  scurvy  either. 
Moreover,  our  supply  of  provisions  has  been  more  carefully  se- 
lected, and  offers  greater  variety  than  has  been  the  case  in  for- 
mer expeditions,  not  one  of  which  has  enjoyed  such  perfect  health 
as  ours.  I  scarcely  think,  therefore,  that  we  should  take  with  us 
from  the  Frarn  any  germs  of  scurvy  ;  and  as  regards  the  provi- 
sions for  the  sledge  journey  itself,  I  have  taken  care  that  they 
shall  consist  of  good  all-round,  nutritious  articles  of  food,  so  that 
I  can  scarcely  believe  that  they  would  be  the  means  of  develop- 
ing an  attack  of  this  disease.  Of  course,  one  must  run  some  risk  ; 
but  in  my  opinion  all  possible  precautions  have  been  taken,  and, 
when  that  is  done,  it  is  one's  duty  to  go  ahead. 

"  There  is  yet  another  question  that  must  be  taken  into  con- 
sideration. Have  I  the  right  to  deprive  the  ship  and  those  who 
remain  behind  of  the  resources  such  an  expedition  entails  ?  The 
fact  that  there  will  be  two  men  less  is  of  little  importance,  for  the 
Fram  can  be  handled  quite  as  well  with  eleven  men.  A  more  im- 
portant point  is  that  we  shall  have  to  take  with  us  all  the  dogs  ex- 
cept the  seven  puppies  ;  but  they  are  amply  supplied  with  sledge 
provisions  and  first-class  sledge  equipments  on  board,  and  it  is 
inconceivable  that  in  case  anything  happened  to  the  Fram  they 
should  be  unable  to  reach  Franz  Josef  Land  or  Spitzbergen.  It 
is  scarcely  likely  that  in  case  they  had  to  abandon  her  it  would  be 
farther  north  than  85° ;  probably  not  even  so  far  north.  But 
suppose  they  were  obliged  to  abandon  her  at  85°,  it  would  prob- 
ably be  about  north  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  when  they  \yould  be 
207  miles  from  Cape  Fligely  ;  or  if  farther  to  the  east  it  would 
be  some  276  miles  from  the  Seven  Islands,  and  it  is  hard  to  be- 
lieve that  they  could  not  manage  a  distance  like  that  with  our 
equipments.  Now,  as  before,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  Fram  will 
in  all  probability  drift  right  across  the  polar  basin  and  out  on 
the^  other  side  without  being  stopped,  and  without  being  de- 
stroyed ;  but  even  if  any  accident  should  occur,  I  do  not  see  why 


SECOND  AUTUMN  IN  THE  ICE  301 

the  crew  should  not  be  able  to  make  their  way  home  in  safety, 
provided  due  measures  of  precaution  are  observed.  Consequently, 
I  think  there  is  no  reason  why  a  sledge  expedition  should  not 
leave  the  Pram,  and  I  feel  that  as  it  promises  such  good  results 
it  ought  certainly  to  be  attempted." 


CHAPTER   IX 
WE  PREPARE  FOR  THE    SLEDGE  EXPEDITION 

Who  are  to  be  the  two  members  of  the  expedition  ?  Sverdrup 
.  and  I  have  tested  each  other  before  at  this  sort  of  work,  and  we 
could  manage  very  well  ;  but  we  cannot  both  leave  the  Frayn  : 
that  is  perfectly  clear  without  further  argument.  One  of  us 
must  remain  behind  to  take  on  himself  the  responsibility  of 
bringing  the  others  home  in  safety ;  but  it  is  equally  clear  that 
one  of  us  two  must  conduct  the  sledge  expedition,  as  it  is  we 
who  have  the  necessary  experience.  Sverdrup  has  a  great  desire 
to  go  ;  but  I  cannot  think  otherwise  than  that  there  is  more 
risk  in  leaving  the  Fram  than  in  remaining  on  board  her.  Con- 
sequently, if  I  were  to  let  him  go,  I  should  be  transferring  to 
him  the  more  dangerous  task,  while  keeping  the  easier  one  to 
myself.  If  he  perished,  should  I  ever  be  able  to  forgive  myself 
for  letting  him  go,  even  if  it  was  at  his  own  desire  ?  He  is  nine 
years  older  than  I  am  ;  I  should  certainly  feel  it  to  be  a  very 
uncomfortable  responsibility.  And  as  regards  our  comrades, 
which  of  them  would  it  be  most  to  our  interest  to  keep  on  board  ? 
I  think  they  have  confidence  in  both  of  us,  and  I  think  either  of 
us  would  be  able  to  take  them  home  in  safety,  whether  with  or 
without  the  Fram.  But  the  ship  is  his  especial  charge,  while  on 
me  rests  the  conduct  of  the  whole,  and  especially  of  the  scientific 
investigations ;  so  that  I  ought  to  undertake  the  task  in  which 
important  discoveries  are  to  be  made.  Those  who  remain  with 
the  ship  will  be  able,  as  aforesaid,  to  carry  on  the  observations 
which  are  to  be  made  on  board.  It  is  my  duty,  therefore,  to  go, 
and  his  to  remain  behind.     He,  too,  thinks  this  reasonable. 

I  have  chosen  Johansen  to  be  my  companion,  and  he  is  in  all 
respects  well  qualified  for  that  work.  He  is  an  accomplished 
snow-shoer,  and  few  can  equal  his  powers  of  endurance — a  fine 
fellow,  physically  and  mentally.     I  have  not  yet  asked  him,  but 


HJALMAR   JOHANSEN 
{From  a  photograph  taken  in  Deceinber,  1893) 


WE  PREPARE  FOR   THE  SLEDGE  EXPEDITION  303 

think  of  doing  so  soon,  in  order  that  he  may  be  prepared  be- 
times. Blessing  and  Hansen  also  would  certainly  be  all  eager- 
ness to  accompany  me  ;  but  Hansen  must  remain  behind  to  take 
charge  of  the  observations,  and  Blessing  cannot  desert  his  post 
as  doctor.  Several  of  the  others,  too,  would  do  quite  well,  and 
would,  I  doubt  not,  be  willing  enough. 

This  expedition  to  the  north,  then,  is  provisionally  decided 
on.  I  shall  see  what  the  winter  will  bring  us.  Light  permitting, 
I  should  prefer  to  start  in  February. 

"  Sunday,  November  i8th.  It  seems  as  if  I  could  not  properly 
realize  the  idea  that  I  am  really  to  set  out,  and  that  in  three 
months'  time.  Sometimes  I  delude  myself  with  charming  dreams 
of  my  return  home  after  toil  and  victory,  and  then  all  is  clear 
and  bright.  Then  these  are  succeeded  by  thoughts  of  the  un- 
certainty and  deceptiveness  of  the  future  and  what  may  be  lurk- 
ing in  it,  and  my  dreams  fade  away  like  the  northern  lights, 
pale  and  colorless. 

-"•Ihr  naht  euch  wieder,  schwankende  Gestalten.' 

"  Ugh  !  These  everlasting  cold  fits  of  doubt !  Before  every 
decisive  resolution  the  dice  of  death  must  be  thrown.  Is  there 
too  much  to  venture,  and  too  little  to  gain  ?  There  is  more  to 
be  gained,  at  all  events,  than  there  is  here.  Then  is  it  not  my 
duty  ?  Besides,  there  is  only  one  to  whom  I  am  responsible,  and 
she  .  .  .  ?  I  shall  come  back,  I  know  it.  I  have  strength  enough 
for  the  task.  '  Be  thou  true  unto  death,  and  thou  shalt  inherit 
the  crown  of  life.' 

"We  are  oddly  constructed  machines.  At  one  moment  all 
resolution,  at  the  next  all  doubt.  .  .  .  To-day  our  intellect,  our 
science,  all  our  '  Leben  und  Treiben,'  seem  but  a  pitiful  Philis- 
tinism, not  worth  a  pipe  of  tobacco  ;  to-morrow  we  throw  our- 
selves heart  and  soul  into  these  very  researches,  consumed  with 
a  burning  thirst  to  absorb  everything  into  ourselves,  longing  to 
spy  out  fresh  paths,  and  fretting  impatiently  at  our  inability  to 
solve  the  problem  fully  and  completely.  Then  down  we  sink 
again  in  disgust  at  the  worthlessness  of  it  all. 

"  '  As  a  grain  of  dust  on  the  balance  is  the  whole  world ;  as  a 
drop  of  morning  dew  that  falls  on  the  ground.'  If  man  has  two 
souls,  which,  then,  is  the  right  one  ? 

"  It  is  nothing  new  to  suffer  from  the  fact  that  our  knowledge 


304  FARTHEST  NORTH 

can  be  but  fragmentary,  that  we  can  never  fathom  what  lies 
behind.  But  suppose,  now,  that  we  could  reckon  it  out,  that 
the  inmost  secret  of  it  all  lay  as  clear  and  plain  to  us  as  a  rule- 
of-three  sum,  should  we  be  any  the  happier  ?  Possibly  just  the 
reverse.  Is  it  not  in  the  struggle  to  attain  knowledge  that  hap- 
piness consists?  I  am  very  ignorant,  consequently  the  condi- 
tions of  happiness  are  mine. 

"  Let  me  fill  a  soothing  pipe  and  be  happy. 

"  No,  the  pipe  is  not  a  success.  Twist  tobacco  is  not  delicate 
enough  for  airy  dreams.  Let  me  get  a  cigar.  Oh,  if  one  had  a 
real  Havana  ! 

"  H'm  !  as  if  dissatisfaction,  longing,  suffering,  were  not  the 
very  basis  of  life.  Without  privation  there  would  be  no  struggle, 
and  without  struggle  no  life,  that  is  as  certain  as  that  two  and 
two  make  four.  And  now  the  struggle  is  to  begin  ;  it  is  looming 
yonder  in  the  north.  Oh,  to  drink  delight  of  battle  in  long, 
deep  draughts  !  Battle  means  life,  and  behind  it  victory  beckons 
us  on. 

"  I  close  my  eyes.     I  hear  a  voice  singing  to  me  : 

"  •  In  amongst  the  fragrant  birch, 

In  amongst  the  flowers'  perfume. 
Deep  into  the  pine-wood's  church.' 

"Monday,  November  19th.  Confounded  affectation  all  this 
Weltschmerz  ;  you  have  no  right  to  be  anything  but  a  happy 
man.  And  if  you  feel  out  of  spirits,  it  ought  to  cheer  you  up 
simply  to  go  on  deck  and  look  at  those  seven  puppies  that  come 
frisking  and  springing  about  you,  and  are  ready  to  tear  you  to 
pieces  in  sheer  enjoyment  of  life.  Life  is  sunshine  to  them, 
though  the  sun  has  long  since  gone,  and  they  live  on  deck  be- 
neath a  tent,  so  that  they  cannot  even  see  the  stars.  There  is 
*  Kvik,'  the  mother  of  the  family,  among  them,  looking  so  plump 
and  contented  as  she  wags  her  tail.  Have  you  not  as  much  reason 
to  be  happy  as  they  ?  Yet  they  too  have  their  misfortunes.  The 
afternoon  of  the  day  before  yesterday,  as  I  was  sitting  at  work, 
I  heard  the  mill  going  round  and  round,  and  Peter  taking  food 
to  the  puppies,  which,  as  usual,  had  a  bit  of  a  fight  over  the  meat- 
pan  ;  and  it  struck  me  that  the  axle  of  the  mill  whirling  un- 
guarded on  the  deck  was  an  extremely  dangerous  affair  for  them. 
Ten  minutes  later  I  heard  a  dog  howling,  a  more  long-drawn. 


WE  PREPARE  FOR  THE  SLEDGE  EXPEDITION  305 

uncomfortable  kind  of  howl  than  was  usual  when  they  were  fight- 
ing, and  at  the  same  moment  the  mill  slowed  down.  I  rushed 
out.  There  I  saw  a  puppy  right  on  the  axle,  whirling  round  with 
it  and  howling  piteously,  so  that  it  cut  one  to  the  soul.  Bentzen 
was  hanging  on  to  the  brake-rope,  hauling  at  it  with  all  his  might 
and  main  ;  but  still  the  mill  went  round.  My  first  idea  was  to 
seize  an  axe  that  was  lying  there  to  put  the  dog  out  of  its  misery, 
its  cries  were  so  heartrending  ;  but  on  second  thoughts  I  hurried 
on  to  help  Bentzen,  and  we  got  the  mill  stopped.  At  the  same 
moment  Mogstad  also  came  up,  and  while  we  held  the  mill  he 
managed  to  set  the  puppy  free.  Apparently  there  was  still  some 
life  in  it,  and  he  set  to  work  to  rub  it  gently  and  coax  it.  The 
hair  of  its  coat  had  somehow  or  other  got  frozen  on  to  the  smooth 
steel  axle,  and  the  poor  beast  had  been  swung  round  and  bumped 
on  the  deck  at  every  revolution  of  the  wheel.  At  last  it  actually 
raised  its  head,  and  looked  round  in  a  dazed  way.  It  had  made 
a  good  many  revolutions,  so  that  it  is  no  wonder  if  it  found  some 
difficulty  in  getting  its  bearings  at  first.  Then  it  raised  itself  on 
its  fore-paws,  and  I  took  it  aft  to  the  half-deck  and  stroked  and 
patted  it.  Soon  it  got  on  all  four  legs  again,  and  began  shambling 
about,  without  knowing  where  it  was  going. 

"  *  It  is  a  good  thing  it  was  caught  by  the  hair,'  said  Bentzen ; 
*  I  thought  it  was  hanging  fast  by  its  tongue,  as  the  other  one 
did.'  Only  think  of  being  fixed  by  the  tongue  to  a  revolving 
axle — the  mere  notion  makes  one  shudder  !  I  took  the  poor  thing 
down  into  the  saloon  and  did  all  I  could  for  it.  It  soon  got  all 
right  again,  and  began  playing  with  its  companions  as  before. 
A  strange  life  to  rummage  about  on  deck  in  the  dark  and  cold ; 
but  whenever  one  goes  up  with  a  lantern  they  come  tearing 
round,  stare  at  the  light,  and  begin  bounding  and  dancing  and 
gambolling  with  each  other  round  it,  like  children  round  a 
Christmas  tree.  This  goes  on  day  after  day,  and  they  have 
never  seen  anything  else  than  this  deck  with  a  tarpaulin  over 
it,  not  even  the  clear  blue  sky  ;  and  we  men  have  never  seen 
anything  else  than  this  earth  ! 

"The  last  step  over  the  bridge  of  resolution  has  now  been 
taken.  In  the  forenoon  I  explained  the  whole  matter  to  Johansen 
in  pretty  much  the  same  terms  as  I  have  used  above  ;  and  then 
I  expatiated  on  the  difficulties  that  might  occur,  and  laid  strong 
emphasis  on  the  dangers  one  must  be  prepared  to  encounter.     It 


3o6  FARTHEST  NORTH 

was  a  serious  matter — a  matter  of  life  or  death — this  one  must 
not  conceal  from  one's  self.  He  must  think  the  thing  well  over 
before  determining  whether  he  would  accompany  me  or  not.  If 
he  was  willing  to  come  I  should  be  glad  to  have  him  with  me ; 
but  I  would  rather,  I  said,  he  should  take  a  day  or  two  to  think 
it  well  over  before  he  gave  me  his  answer.  He  did  not  need  any 
time  for  reflection,  he  said  ;  he  was  quite  willing  to  go.  Sverdrup 
had  long  ago  mentioned  the  possibility  of  such  an  expedition,  and 
he  had  thought  it  well  over,  and  made  up  his  mind  that  if  my 
choice  should  fall  on  him  he  would  take  it  as  a  great  favor  to  be 
permitted  to  accompany  me.  '  I  don't  know  whether  you'll  be 
satisfied  with  this  answer,  or  whether  you  would  like  me  still  to 
think  it  over ;  but  I  should  certainly  never  change  my  mind.' 
*  No,  if  you  have  already  thought  it  seriously  over — thought  what 
risks  you  expose  yourself  to  —  the  chance,  for  instance,  that 
neither  of  us  may  ever  see  the  face  of  man  again — and  if  you 
have  reflected  that  even  if  we  get  through  safe  and  sound  you 
must  necessarily  face  a  great  deal  of  hardship  on  an  expedition 
like  this — if  you  have  made  up  your  mind  to  all  this  I  don't  insist 
on  your  reflecting  any  longer  about  it.'  'Yes,  that  I  have.' 
'Well,  then,  that  is  settled.  To-morrow  we  shall  begin  our 
preparations  for  the  trip.  Hansen  must  see  about  appointing 
another  meteorological  assistant.' 

"  Tuesday,  November  20th.  This  evening  I  delivered  an  ad- 
dress to  the  whole  ship's  company,  in  which  I  announced  the 
determination  that  had  been  arrived  at,  and  explained  to  them 
the  projected  expedition.  First  of  all,  I  briefly  went  through 
the  whole  theory  of  our  undertaking,  and  its  history  from  the 
beginning,  laying  stress  on  the  idea  on  which  my  plans  had  been 
built  up  —  namely,  that  a  vessel  which  got  frozen  in  north  of 
Siberia  must  drift  across  the  Polar  Sea  and  out  into  the  Atlantic, 
and  must  pass  somewhere  or  other  north  of  Franz  Josef  Land 
and  between  it  and  the  Pole.  The  object  of  the  expedition  was 
to  accomplish  this  drift  across  the  unknown  sea,  and  to  pursue 
investigations  there.  I  pointed  out  to  them  that  these  investi- 
gations would  be  of  equal  importance  whether  the  expedition 
actually  passed  across  the  Pole  itself  or  at  some  distance  from  it. 
Judging  from  our  experiences  hitherto,  we  could  not  entertain 
any  doubt  that  the  expedition  would  solve  the  problem  it  had  set 
before  itself ;  everything  had  up  to  the  present  gone  according  to 


WE  PREPARE  FOR  THE  SLEDGE  EXPEDITION  307 

our  anticipations,  and  it  was  to  be  hoped  and  expected  that  this 
would  continue  to  be  the  case  for  the  remainder  of  the  voyage. 
We  had,  therefore,  every  prospect  of  accomplishing  the  principal 
part  of  our  task  ;  but  then  the  question  arose  whether  more  could 
not  be  accomplished,  and  thereupon  I  proceeded  to  explain,  in 
much  the  same  terms  as  I  have  used  above,  how  this  might  be 
effected  by  an  expedition  northward. 

"  I  had  the  impression  that  every  one  was  deeply  interested  in 
the  projected  expedition,  and  that  they  all  thought  it  most  de- 
sirable that  it  should  be  attempted.  The  greatest  objection,  I 
think,  they  would  have  urged  against  it,  had  they  been  asked, 
would  have  been  that  they  themselves  could  not  take  part  in  it. 
I  impressed  on  them,  however,  that  while  it  was  unquestionably  a 
fine  thing  to  push  on  as  far  as  possible  towards  the  north,  it  was 
no  whit  less  honorable  an  undertaking  to  bring  the  Frani  safe 
and  sound  right  through  the  Polar  Sea  and  out  on  the  other 
side ;  or  if  not  the  Frain,  at  all  events  themselves  without  any 
loss  of  life.  This  done,  we  might  say,  without  fear  of  contradic- 
tion, that  it  was  well  done.  I  think  they  all  saw  the  force  of 
this,  and  were  satisfied.  So  now  the  die  is  cast,  and  I  must  be- 
lieve that  this  expedition  will  really  take  place." 

So  we  set  about  our  preparations  for  it  in  downright  earnest. 
I  have  already  mentioned  that  at  the  end  of  the  summer  I  had 
begun  to  make  a  kayak  for  a  single  man,  the  frame  of  which  was 
of  bamboo  carefully  lashed  together.  It  was  rather  slow  work, 
and  took  several  weeks,  but  it  turned  out  both  light  and  strong. 
When  completed  the  frame- work  weighed  16  pounds.  It  was  af- 
terwards covered  with  sail-cloth  by  Sverdrup  and  Blessing,  when 
the  whole  boat  weighed  30  pounds.  After  finishing  this  I  had 
intrusted  Mogstad  with  the  task  of  building  a  similar  one.  Johan- 
sen  and  I  now  set  to  work  to  riake  a  cover  for  it.  These  kayaks 
were  3.70  metres  (12  feet)  long,  about  0.7  metre  (28  inches)  wide  in 
the  middle,  and  one  was  30  centimetres  (12  inches)  and  the  other 
38  centimetres  (15  inches)  deep.  This  is  considerably  shorter  and 
wider  than  an  ordinary  Eskimo  kayak,  and  consequently  these 
boats  were  not  so  light  to  propel  through  the  water.  But  as  they 
were  chiefly  intended  for  crossing  over  channels  and  open  spaces 
in  the  ice,  and  coasting  along  possible  land,  speed  was  not  of 
much  importance.  The  great  thing  was  that  the  boats  should 
be  strong  and  light,  and  should  be  able  to  carry,  in  addition  to 


308  FARTHEST  NORTH 

ourselves,  provisions  and  equipments  for  a  considerable  time.  If 
we  had  made  them  longer  and  narrower,  besides  being  heavier 
they  would  have  been  more  exposed  to  injury  in  the  course  of 
transport  over  the  uneven  ice.  As  they  were  built  they  proved 
admirably  adapted  for  our  purpose.  When  we  loaded  them  with 
care  we  could  stow  away  in  them  provisions  and  equipment  for 
three  months  at  least  for  ourselves,  besides  a  good  deal  of  food 
for  the  dogs ;  and  we  could,  moreover,  carry  a  dog  or  two  on 
the  deck.  In  other  respects  they  were  essentially  like  the  Eski- 
mo kayaks,  full  decked,  save  for  an  aperture  in  the  middle  for  a 
man  to  sit  in.  This  aperture  was  encircled  by  a  wooden  ring, 
after  the  Eskimo  fashion,  over  which  we  could  slip  the  lower  part 
of  our  sealskin  jackets,  specially  adjusted  for  this  purpose,  so 
that  the  junction  between  boat  and  jacket  was  water-tight. 
When  these  jackets  were  drawn  tight  round  the  wrists  and  face 
the  sea  might  sweep  right  over  us  without  a  drop  of  water  com- 
ing into  the  kayak.  We  had  to  provide  ourselves  with  such 
boats  in  case  of  having  to  cross  open  stretches  of  sea  on  our  way 
to  Spitzbergen,  or,  if  we  chose  the  other  route,  between  Franz 
Josef  Land  and  Novaya  Zemlya.  Besides  this  aperture  in  the 
middle,  there  were  small  trap-doors  fore  and  aft  in  the  deck,  to 
enable  us  to  put  our  hands  in  and  stow  the  provisions,  and  also 
get  things  out  more  readily,  without  having  to  take  out  all  the 
freight  through  the  middle  aperture,  in  case  what  we  wanted  lay 
at  either  extremity.  These  trap-doors,  however,  could  be  closed 
so  as  to  be  quite  water-tight.  To  make  the  canvas  quite  im- 
pervious to  water,  the  best  plan  would  have  been  to  have  sized 
it,  and  then  painted  it  externally  with  ordinary  oil  paint ;  but, 
on  the  one  hand,  it  was  very  difficult  to  do  this  work  in  the  ex- 
treme cold  (in  the  hold  the  temperature  was  —20°  C,  —4° 
Fahr.),  and,  on  the  other  hand,  I  was  afraid  the  paint  might 
render  the  canvas  too  hard  and  brittle,  and  apt  to  have  holes 
knocked  in  it  during  transport  over  the  ice.  Therefore  I  pre- 
ferred to  steep  it  in  a  mixture  of  paraffin  and  tallow,  which  added 
somewhat  to  the  weight  of  the  kayaks,  so  that  altogether  they 
came  to  weigh  about  36  pounds  apiece. 

I  had,  moreover,  some  hand-sledges  made  especially  for  this 
expedition  ;  they  were  supple  and  strong,  designed  to  withstand 
the  severe  tests  to  which  an  expedition  with  dogs  and  heavy 
freights  over   the   uneven   drift  -  ice   would   necessarily   expose 


WE  PREPARE  FOR   THE  SLEDGE  EXPEDITION  309 

them.  Two  of  these  sledges  were  about  the  same  length  as  the 
kayaks— that  is,  12  feet.  I  also  made  several  experiments  with 
respect  to  the  clothes  we  should  wear,  and  was  especially  anxious 
to  ascertain  whether  it  would  do  to  go  in  our  thick  wolfskin  gar- 
ments, but  always  came  to  the  conclusion  that  they  were  too 
warm.  Thus,  on  November  29th  I  write  :  "  Took  another  walk 
northward  in  my  wolfskin  dress  ;  but  it  is  still  too  mild  (—37.6° 
C).  I  sweated  like  a  horse,  though  I  went  fasting  and  quite  gen- 
tly. It  is  rather  heavy  going  now  in  the  dark  when  one  cannot 
use  snow-shoes.  I  wonder  when  it  will  be  cold  enough  to  use 
this  dress." 

On  December  9th  again  we  went  out  on  snow-shoes.  "  It  was 
—  41°  C.  (—41.8°  Fahr.).  Went  in  wolfskin  dress,  but  the  perspi- 
ration poured  down  our  backs  enough  to  turn  a  mill.  Too  warm 
yet ;  goodness  knows  if  it  ever  will  be  cold  enough." 

Of  course,  we  made  some  experiments  with  the  tent  and  with 
the  cooking  apparatus.  On  December  7th  I  write :  "  I  pitched 
the  silk  tent  we  are  going  to  take,  and  used  our  cooking  appa- 
ratus in  it.  From  repeated  trials  it  appeared  that  from  ice  of 
—35°  C.  (  —  31°  Fahr.)  we  boiled  3  litres  of  water  (5J  pints),  and 
at  the  same  time  melted  5  litres  (8J  pints)  in  an  hour  and  a 
half,  with  a  consumption  of  about  120  grammes  of  snowflake 
petroleum.  Next  day  we  boiled  2J  litres  of  water  (over  4  pints), 
and  melted  2J  litres  in  one  hour  with  100  grammes  of  snowflake 
petroleum.  Yesterday  we  made  about  two  litres  of  excellent 
oatmeal  porridge,  and  at  the  same  time  got  some  half-melted  ice 
and  a  little  water  in  little  over  half  an  hour,  with  50  grammes 
of  snowflake  petroleum.  Thus  there  will  be  no  very  great  con- 
sumption of  fuel  in  the  daytime." 

Then  I  made  all  kinds  of  calculations  and  computations  in 
order  to  find  out  what  would  be  the  most  advantageous  kind  of 
provisions  for  our  expedition,  where  it  was  of  the  greatest  mo- 
ment that  the  food,  both  for  dogs  and  men,  should  be  nutritious, 
and  yet  should  not  weigh  more  than  was  absolutely  necessary. 
Later  on,  in  the  list  of  our  equipments,  I  shall  give  the  final  re- 
sult of  my  deliberations  on  this  matter.  Besides  all  this,  we  had, 
of  course,  to  consider  and  test  the  instruments  to  be  taken  with  us, 
and  to  go  into  many  other  matters,  which,  though  perhaps  trifles 
in  themselves,  were  yet  absolutely  necessary.  It  is  on  the  felici- 
tous combination  of  all  these  trifles  that  ultimate  success  depends. 


3IO  FARTHEST  NORTH 

We  two  passed  the  greater  portion  of  our  time  in  these  prep- 
arations, which  also  kept  many  of  the  others  pretty  busy  dur- 
ing the  winter.  Mogstad,  for  instance,  found  steady  employ- 
ment in  making  sledges  and  fitting  them  with  runners,  etc. 
Sverdrup  busied  himself  in  making  sleeping  -  bags  and  many 
other  things.  Juell  was  appointed  dog-tailor,  and  when  he  was 
not  busy  in  the  galley  his  time  was  devoted  to  taking  the  meas- 
urements of  the  dogs,  making  harness  for  them  and  testing  it. 
Blessing,  too,  fitted  up  for  us  a  small,  light  medicine-chest,  con- 
taining selected  drugs,  bandages,  and  such  other  things  as  might 
be  of  use.  One  man  was  constantly  employed  in  copying  out  all 
our  journals  and  scientific  observations,  etc.,  etc.,  on  thin  paper 
in  a  contracted  form,  as  I  wanted,  by  way  of  doubly  assuring 
their  preservation,  to  take  a  copy  of  them  along  with  me.  Han- 
sen was  occupied  in  preparing  tabular  forms  necessary  for  our 
observations,  curves  of  the  movement  of  our  chronometers,  and 
other  such  things.  Besides  this,  he  was  to  make  a  complete 
chart  of  our  voyage  and  drifting  up  to  the  present  time. 

I  could  not,  however,  lay  too  great  a  claim  on  his  valuable 
time,  as  it  was  necessary  that  he  should  continue  his  scientific 
observations  without  interruption.  During  this  autumn  he  had 
greatly  increased  the  comfort  of  his  work  by  building,  along 
with  Johansen,  an  observation-hut  of  snow,  not  unlike  an  Eski- 
mo cabin.  He  found  himself  very  much  at  his  ease  in  it,  with  a 
petroleum  lamp  hanging  from  the  roof,  the  light  of  which,  being 
reflected  by  the  white  snow  walls,  made  quite  a  brilliant  show. 
Here  he  could  manipulate  his  instruments  quietly  and  com- 
fortably, undisturbed  by  the  biting  wind  outside.  He  thought 
it  quite  warm  there,  too,  when  he  could  get  the  temperature  up 
to  something  like  20°  below  freezing-point,  so  that  he  was  able 
without  much  inconvenience  to  adjust  his  instruments  with  bare 
hands.  Here  he  worked  away  indefatigably  at  his  observations 
day  after  day,  watching  the  often  mysterious  movements  of  the 
magnetic  needle,  which  would  sometimes  give  him  no  end  of 
trouble.  One  day — it  was  November  24th — he  came  into  supper 
a  little  after  6  o'clock  quite  alarmed  and  said,  "There  has  just 
been  a  singular  inclination  of  the  needle  to  24°,  and,  remarkably 
enough,  its  northern  extremity  pointed  to  the  east.  I  cannot 
remember  ever  having  heard  of  such  an  inclination."  He  also 
had  several  others  of  about  15°.     At  the  same  time,  through  the 


WE  PREPARE  FOR  THE  SLEDGE  EXPEDITION  31 1 

opening  into  his  observatory  he  noticed  that  it  was  unusually 
light  out-of-doors,  and  that  not  only  the  ship,  but  the  ice  in  the 
distance,  was  as  plainly  visible  as  if  it  had  been  full  moonlight. 
No  aurora,  however,  could  be  discerned  through  the  thick  clouds 
that  covered  the  sky.  It  would  appear,  then,  that  this  unusual 
inclination  was  in  some  way  connected  with  the  northern  lights, 
though  it  was  to  the  east  and  not  to  the  west,  as  usual.  There 
could  be  no  question  of  any  disturbance  of  the  floe  on  which  we 
were  lying ;  for  everything  had  been  perfectly  still  and  quiet, 
and  it  is  inconceivable  that  a  disturbance  which  could  cause 
such  a  remarkable  oscillation  of  two  points  and  back  again  in 
so  short  a  space  of  time  should  not  have  been  noticed  and  heard 
on  board.  This  theory,  therefore,  is  entirely  excluded,  and  the 
whole  matter  seems  to  me,  for  the  present,  to  be  incomprehen- 
sible. Blessing  and  I  at  once  went  on  deck  to  look  at  the  sky. 
Certainly  it  was  so  light  that  we  could  see  the  lanes  in  the  ice 
astern  quite  plainly  ;  but  there  was  nothing  remarkable  in  that, 
it  happened  often  enough. 

"  Friday,  November  30th.  I  found  a  bear's  track  on  the  ice 
in  front  of  our  bow.  The  bear  had  come  from  the  east,  trotting 
very  gently  along  the  lane,  on  the  newly  frozen  ice,  but  he  must 
have  been  scared  by  something  or  other  ahead  of  the  vessel,  as 
he  had  gone  off  again  with  long  strides  in  the  same  direction  in 
which  he  had  come.  Strange  that  living  creatures  should  be 
roaming  about  in  this  desert.  What  can  they  have  to  do  here  ? 
If  only  one  had  such  a  stomach  one  could  at  least  stand  a  jour- 
ney to  the  Pole  and  back  without  a  meal.  We  shall  probably 
have  him  back  again  soon — that  is,  if  I  understand  his  nature 
aright — and  then  perhaps  he  will  come  a  little  closer,  so  that  we 
may  have  a  good  look  at  him.* 

"I  paced  the  lane  in  front  of  the  port.  It  was  348  paces 
across,  and  maintained  the  same  width  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance eastward  ;  nor  can  it  be  much  narrower  for  a  great  dis- 
tance to  the  west.  Now,  when  one  bears  in  mind  that  the  lane 
behind  us  is  also  of  considerable  width,  it  is  rather  consoling, 
after  all,  to  think  that  the  ice  does  permit  of  such  large  open- 
ings. There  must  be  room  enough  to  drift,  if  we  only  get  wind 
— wind  which  will  never  come.     On  the  whole,  November  has 

*  He  did  not  return,  after  all. 


312  FARTHEST  NORTH 

been  an  uncommonly  wretched  month.  Driven  back  instead  of 
forward — and  yet  this  month  was  so  good  last  year.  But  one 
can  never  rely  on  the  seasons  in  this  dreadful  sea  ;  taking  all  in 
all,  perhaps,  the  winter  will  not  be  a  bit  better  than  the  summer. 
Yet,  it  surely  must  improve — I  cannot  believe  otherwise. 

"  The  skies  are  clouded  with  a  thick  veil,  through  which  the 
stars  barely  glisten.  It  is  darker  than  usual,  and  in  this  eternal 
night  we  drift  about,  lonely  and  forsaken, '  for  the  whole  world 
was  filled  with  a  shining  light  and  undisturbed  activity.  Above 
those  men  alone  brooded  nought  but  depressing  night — an  image 
of  that  gloom  which  was  soon  to  swallow  them  up.' 

"  This  dark,  deep,  silent  void  is  like  the  mysterious,  unfathom- 
able well  into  which  you  look  for  that  something  which  you 
think  must  be  there,  only  to  meet  the  reflection  of  your  own 
eyes.  Ugh  !  the  worn  -  out  thoughts  you  can  never  get  rid  of 
become  in  the  end  very  wearisome  company.  Is  there  no  means 
of  fleeing  from  one's  self,  to  grasp  one  single  thought — only  a 
single  one,  which  lies  outside  one's  self — is  there  no  way  except 
death  ?  But  death  is  certain ;  one  day  it  will  come,  silent  and 
majestic ;  it  will  open  Nirvana's  mighty  portal,  and  we  shall  be 
swept  away  into  the  sea  of  eternity. 

"  Sunday,  December  2d.  Sverdrup  has  now  been  ill  for  some 
days ;  during  the  last  day  or  two  he  has  been  laid  up  in  his 
berth,  and  is  still  there.  I  trust  it  is  nothing  serious ;  he  him- 
self thinks  nothing  of  it,  nevertheless  it  is  very  disquieting. 
Poor  fellow,  he  lives  entirely  on  oatmeal  gruel.  It  is  an  intesti- 
nal catarrh,  which  he  probably  contracted  through  catching  cold 
on  the  ice.  I  am  afraid  he  has  been  rather  careless  in  this  re- 
spect. However,  he  is  now  improving,  so  that  probably  it  will 
soon  pass  off  ;  but  it  is  a  warning  not  to  be  over-confident.  I 
went  for  a  long  walk  this  morning  along  the  lane ;  it  is  quite  a 
large  one,  extending  a  good  way  to  the  east,  and  being  of  con- 
siderable breadth  at  some  points.  It  is  only  after  walking  for  a 
while  on  the  newly  frozen  ice,  where  walking  is  as  easy  and  com- 
fortable as  on  a  well-trodden  path,  and  then  coming  up  to  the 
snow-covered  surface  of  the  old  ice  again,  that  one  thoroughly 
appreciates  for  the  first  time  what  it  means  to  go  without  snow- 
shoes  ;  the  difference  is  something  marvellous.  Even  if  I  have 
not  felt  warm  before,  I  break  out  into  a  perspiration  after  going 
a  short  distance  over  the  rough  ice.     But  what  can  one  do  ?   One 


IVE  PREPARE  FOR   THE  SLEDGE  EXPEDITION  3^ 

cannot  use  snow-shoes  ;  it  is  so  dark  that  it  is  difficult  enough 
to  grope  one's  way  about  with  ordinary  boots,  and  even  then 
one  stumbles  about  or  slips  down  between  great  blocks  of  ice. 

"  I  am  now  reading  the  various  English  stories  of  the  polar 
expeditions  during  the  Franklin  period,  and  the  search  for  him, 
and  I  must  admit  I  am  filled  with  admiration  for  these  men  and 
the  amount  of  labor  they  expended.  The  English  nation,  truly, 
has  cause  to  be  proud  of  them.  I  remember  reading  these  stories 
as  a  lad,  and  all  my  boyish  fancies  were  strangely  thrilled  with 
longing  for  the  scenery  and  the  scenes  which  were  displayed  be- 
fore me.  I  am  reading  them  now  as  a  man,  after  having  had  a 
little  experience  myself ;  and  now,  when  my  mind  is  uninflu- 
enced by  romance,  I  bow  in  admiration.  There  was  grit  in  men 
like  Parry,  Franklin,  James  Ross,  Richardson,  and  last,  but  not 
least,  in  M'Clintock,  and,  indeed,  in  all  the  rest.  How  well  was 
their  equipment  thought  out  and  arranged,  with  the  means  they 
had  at  their  disposal !  Truly,  there  is  nothing  new  under  the 
sun.  Most  of  what  I  prided  myself  upon,  and  what  I  thought  to 
be  new,  I  find  they  have  anticipated.  M'Clintock  used  the  same 
things  forty  years  ago.  It  was  not  their  fault  that  they  were 
born  in  a  country  where  the  use  of  snow-shoes  is  unknown,  and 
where  snow  is  scarcely  to  be  found  throughout  the  whole  winter. 
Nevertheless,  despite  the  fact  that  they  had  to  gain  their  expe- 
rience of  snow  and  snow  travel  during  their  sojourn  up  here ; 
despite  the  fact  that  they  were  without  snow-shoes  and  had  to 
toil  on  as  best  they  could  with  sledges  with  narrow  runners  over 
uneven  snow -covered  drift-ice — what  distances  did  they  not 
cover,  what  fatigues  and  trials  did  they  not  endure  !  No  one  has 
surpassed  and  scarcely  any  one  approached  them,  unless,  perhaps, 
the  Russians  on  the  Siberian  coast ;  but  then  they  have  the 
great  advantage  of  being  natives  of  a  country  where  snow  is  not 
uncommon. 

"  Friday,  December  14th.  Yesterday  we  held  a  great  festivity 
in  honor  of  the  Pram  as  being  the  vessel  which  has  attained  the 
highest  latitude  (the  day  before  yesterday  we  reached  82°  30' 
north  latitude). 

"  The  bill  of  fare  at  dinner  was  boiled  mackerel,  with  parsley- 
butter  sauce  ;  pork  cutlets  and  French  pease  ;  Norwegian  wild 
strawberries,  with  rice  and  milk  ;  Crown  malt  extract ;  after- 
wards coffee.    For  supper  :  new  bread  and  ourrant  cake,  etc.,  etc. 


314  FARTHEST  NORTH 

Later  in  the  evening,  a  grand  concert.  Sweets  and  preserved 
pears  were  handed  round.  The  culminating-point  of  the  enter- 
tainment was  reached  when  a  steaming  hot  and  fragrant  bowl 
of  cherry-punch  was  carried  in  and  served  round  amidst  general 
hilarity.  Our  spirits  were  already  very  high,  but  this  gave  color 
to  the  whole  proceedings.  The  greatest  puzzle  to  most  of  them 
was  where  the  ingredients  for  the  punch,  and  more  particularly 
the  alcohol,  had  come  from.* 

"  Then  followed  the  toasts.  First,  a  long  and  festive  one  to 
*  The  Fram^  which  had  now  shown  what  she  was  capable  of.  It 
ran  somewhat  to  this  effect :  'There  were  many  wise  men  who 
shook  their  heads  when  we  started,  and  sent  us  ominous  farewell 
greetings.  But  their  headshakings  would  have  been  less  vigorous 
and  their  evil  forebodings  milder  if  they  could  have  seen  us  at 
this  moment,  drifting  quietly  and  at  our  ease  across  the  most 
northerly  latitudes  ever  attained  by  any  vessel,  and  still  farther 
northv/ard.  And  the  Fram  is  now  not  only  the  most  northerly 
vessel  on  the  globe,  but  has  already  passed  over  a  large  expanse 
of  hitherto  unknown  regions,  many  degrees  farther  north  than 
have  ever  been  reached  in  this  ocean  on  this  side  of  the  Pole. 
But  we  hope  she  will  not  stop  here  ;  concealed  behind  the  mist 
of  the  future  there  are  many  triumphs  in  store  for  us — triumphs 
which  will  dawn  upon  us  one  by  one  when  their  time  has  come. 
But  we  will  not  speak  of  this  now  ;  we  will  be  content  with  what 
has  hitherto  been  achieved,  and  I  believe  that  the  promise  im- 
plied in  Bjornson's  greeting  to  us  and  to  the  Fram^  when  she 
was  launched,  has  already  been  fulfilled,  and  with  him  we  can 
exclaim  : 

" ' "  Hurrah  for  the  ship  and  her  voyage  dread ! 
Where  never  before  a  keel  has  sped, 
Where  never  before  a  name  was  spoken, 
By  Norway's  name  is  the  silence  broken.'" 

" '  We  could  not  help  a  peculiar  feeling,  almost  akin  to  shame, 
when  comparing  the  toil  and  privation,  and  frequently  incredible 
sufferings,  undergone  by  our  predecessors  in  earlier  expeditions 
with  the  easy  manner  in  which  we  are  drifting  across  unknown 
expanses  of  our  globe  larger  than  it  has  been  the  lot  of  most,  if 

*  We  had  used  for  this  purpose  our  pure  grape-spirit. 


WB  PREPARE  FOR  THE  SLEDGE  EXPEDITION  3i5 

not  all,  of  the  former  polar  explorers  to  travel  over  at  a  stretch. 
Yes,  truly,  I  think  we  have  every  reason  to  be  satisfied  with  our 
voyage  so  far  and  with  the  Fram^  and  I  trust  we  shall  be  able  to 
bring  something  back  to  Norway  in  return  for  the  trust,  the  sym- 
pathy, and  the  money  which  she  has  expended  on  us.  But  let  us 
not  on  this  account  forget  our  predecessors  ;  let  us  admire  them 
for  the  way  in  which  they  struggled  and  endured ;  let  us  remem- 
ber that  it  is  only  through  their  labors  and  achievements  that 
the  way  has  been  prepared  for  the  present  voyage.  It  is  owing  to 
their  collective  experience  that  man  has  now  got  so  far  as  to  be 
able  to  cope  to  some  extent  with  what  has  hitherto  been  his  most 
dangerous  and  obstinate  enemy  in  the  Arctic  regions — viz.,  the 
drift-ice  —  and  to  do  so  by  the  very  simple  expedient  of  going 
with  it  and  not  against  it  and  allowing  one's  self  to  be  hemmed 
in  by  it,  not  involuntarily,  but  intentionally,  and  preparing  for 
it  beforehand.  On  board  this  vessel  we  try  to  cull  the  fruits  of 
all  our  predecessors'  experiences.  It  has  taken  years  to  collect 
them ;  but  I  felt  that  with  these  I  should  be  enabled  to  face  any 
vicissitude  of  fate  in  unknown  waters.  I  think  we  have  been 
fortunate.  I  think  we  are  all  of  the  opinion  that  there  is  no  im- 
aginable difficulty  or  obstacle  before  us  that  we  ought  not  to  be 
able  to  overcome  with  the  means  and  resources  we  possess  on 
board,  and  be  thus  enabled  to  return  at  last  to  Norway  safe  and 
sound,  with  a  rich  harvest.  Therefore  let  us  drink  a  bumper 
to  the  Fram  !' 

"  Next  there  followed  some  musical  items  and  a  performance 
by  Lars,  the  smith,  who  danced  2i  pas  seul^  to  the  great  amuse- 
ment of  the  company.  Lars  assured  us  that  if  he  ever  reached 
home  again  and  were  present  at  a  gathering  similar  to  those  held 
at  Christiania  and  Bergen  on  our  departure,  his  legs  should  be 
taxed  to  their  uttermost.  This  was  followed  by  a  toast  to  those 
at  home  who  were  waiting  for  us  year  after  year,  not  knowing 
where  to  picture  us  in  thought,  who  were  vainly  yearning  for 
tidings  of  us,  but  whose  faith  in  us  and  our  voyage  was  still  firm 
— to  those  who  consented  to  our  departure,  and  who  may  well  be 
said  to  have  made  the  greatest  sacrifice. 

"  The  festivity  continued  with  music  and  merriment  through- 
out the  evening,  and  our  good  humor  was  certainly  not  spoiled 
when  our  excellent  doctor  came  forward  with  cigars  —  a  com- 
modity which  is  getting  highly  valued  up  here,  as,  unfortunately. 


3i6  FARTHEST  NORTH 

it  is  becoming  very  scarce.  The  only  cloud  in  our  existence  is 
that  Sverdrup  has  not  yet  quite  recovered  from  his  catarrh.  He 
must  keep  strict  diet,  and  this  does  not  at  all  suit  him,  poor  fel- 
low !  He  is  only  allowed  wheaten  bread,  milk,  raw  bear's  flesh, 
and  oatmeal  porridge ;  whereas  if  he  had  his  own  way  he  would 
eat  everything,  including  cake,  preserves,  and  fruit.  But  he  has 
returned  to  duty  now,  and  has  already  been  out  for  a  turn  on 
the  ice. 

"  It  was  late  at  night  when  I  retired  to  my  cabin,  but  I  was 
not  yet  in  a  fit  mood  to  go  to  sleep.  I  felt  I  must  go  out  and 
saunter  in  the  wonderful  moonlight.  Around  the  moon  there 
was,  as  usual,  a  large  ring,  and  above  it  there  was  an  arc,  which 
just  touched  it  at  the  upper  edge,  but  the  two  ends  of  which 
curved  downward  instead  of  upward.  It  looked  as  if  it  were  part 
of  a  circle  whose  centre  was  situated  far  below  the  moon.  At  the 
lower  edge  of  the  ring  there  was  a  large  mock  moon,  or,  rather, 
a  large  luminous  patch,  which  was  most  pronounced  at  the  upper 
part,  where  it  touched  the  ring,  and  had  a  yellow  upper  edge,  from 
which  it  spread  downward  in  the  form  of  a  triangle.  It  looked  as 
if  it  might  be  an  arc  of  a  circle  on  the  lower  side  of,  and  in  con- 
tact with,  the  ring.  Right  across  the  moon  there  were  drifting 
several  luminous  cirrhus  streaks.  The  whole  produced  a  fantas- 
tic effect. 

"  Saturday,  December  22d.  The  same  southeasterly  wind  has 
turned  into  a  regular  storm,  howling  and  rattling  cheerily  through 
the  rigging,  and  we  are  doubtless  drifting  northward  at  a  good 
rate.  If  I  go  outside  the  tent  on  deck,  the  wind  whistles  round 
my  ears,  and  the  snow  beats  into  my  face,  and  I  am  soon  covered 
with  it.  From  the  snow-hut  observatory,  or  even  at  a  lesser 
distance,  the  Fram  is  invisible,  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  keep 
one's  eyes  open,  owing  to  the  blinding  snow.  I  wonder  whether 
we  have  not  passed  83°  ?  But  I  am  afraid  this  joy  will  not  be  a 
lasting  one ;  the  barometer  has  fallen  alarmingly,  and  the  wind 
has  generally  been  up  to  13  or  14  metres  (44  or  50  feet)  per  sec- 
ond. About  half-past  twelve  last  night  the  vessel  suddenly  re- 
ceived a  strong  pressure,  rattling  everything  on  board.  I  could 
feel  the  vibration  under  me  for  a  long  time  afterwards  while  ly- 
ing in  my  berth.  Finally,  I  could  hear  the  roaring  and  grating 
caused  by  the  ice-pressure.  I  told  the  watch  to  listen  carefully, 
and  ascertain  where  the  pressure  was,  and  to  notice  whether  the 


W£  PREPARE  FOR   THE  SLEDGE  EXPEDITION  3^7 

floe  on  which  we  were  lying  was  likely  to  crack,  and  whether  any 
part  of  our  equipment  was  in  danger.  He  thought  he  could  hear 
the  noise  of  ice-pressure  both  forward  and  aft,  but  it  was  not  easy 
to  distinguish  it  from  the  roar  of  the  tempest  in  the  rigging.  To- 
day about  12.30  P.M.  the  Fram  received  another  violent  shock, 
even  stronger  than  that  we  had  experienced  during  the  night. 
There  was  another  shake  a  little  later  ;  I  suppose  there  has  been 
a  pressure  aft,  but  could  hear  nothing  for  the  storm.  It  is  odd 
about  this  pressure  :  one  would  think  that  the  wind  was  the  pri- 
mary cause  ;  but  it  recurs  pretty  regularly,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  the  spring  tide  has  not  yet  set  in  ;  indeed,  when  it  com-* 
menced  a  few  days  ago  it  was  almost  a  neap  tide.  In  addition  to 
the  pressure  of  yesterday  and  last  night,  we  had  pressure  on 
Thursday  morning  at  half-past  nine  and  again  at  half-past  eleven. 
It  was  so  strong  that  Peter,  who  was  at  the  sounding-hole,  jumped 
up  repeatedly,  thinking  that  the  ice  would  burst  underneath  him. 
It  is  very  singular ;  we  have  been  quiet  for  so  long  now  that  we 
feel  almost  nervous  when  the  Fram  receives  those  shocks  ;  every- 
thing seems  to  tremble  as  if  in  a  violent  earthquake. 

"  Sunday,  December  23d.  Wind  still  unchanged,  and  blowing 
equally  fresh,  up  to  13  or  14  metres  (44  or  47  feet).  The  snow  is 
drifting  and  sweeping  so  that  nothing  can  be  distinguished  ;  the 
darkness  is  intense.  Abaft  on  the  deck  there  are  deep  mounds 
of  snow  lying  round  the  wheel  and  the  rails,  so  that  when  we  go 
up  on  deck  we  get  a  genuine  sample  of  an  Arctic  winter.  The 
outlook  is  enough  to  make  you  shudder,  and  feel  grateful  that 
instead  of  having  to  turn  out  in  such  weather  you  may  dive  back 
again  into  the  tent  and  down  the  companion-way  into  your  warm 
bunk ;  but  soon,  no  doubt,  Johansen  and  I  will  have  to  face  it 
out,  day  and  night,  even  in  such  weather  as  this,  whether  we  like 
it  or  not.  This  morning  Pettersen,  who  has  had  charge  of  the 
dogs  this  week,  came  down  to  the  saloon  and  asked  whether  some 
one  would  come  out  with  him  on  the  ice  with  a  rifle,  as  he  was 
sure  there  was  a  bear.  Peter  and  I  went,  but  we  could  not  find 
anything.  The  dogs  left  off  barking  when  we  arrived  on  the 
scene,  and  commenced  to  play  with  each  other.  But  Pettersen 
was  right  in  saying  that  it  was  '  horrid  weather,'  it  was  almost 
enough  to  take  away  one's  breath  to  face  the  wind,  and  the  drift- 
ing snow  forced  its  way  into  the  mouth  and  nostrils.  The  vessel 
could  not  be  distinguished  beyond  a  few  paces,  so  that  it  was  not 


3i8  FARTHEST  NORTH 

advisable  to  go  any  distance  away  from  her,  and  it  was  very  diffi- 
cult to  walk  ;  for,  what  with  snow-drifts  and  ice-mounds,  at  one 
moment  you  stumbled  against  the  frozen  edge  of  a  snow-drift,  at 
another  you  tumbled  into  a  hole.  It  was  pitch-dark  all  round. 
The  barometer  had  been  falling  steadily  and  rapidly,  but  at  last 
it  has  commenced  to  rise  slightly.  It  now  registers  about  726 
mm.  (28.6  inches).  The  thermometer,  as  usual,  is  describing  the 
inverse  curve.  In  the  afternoon  it  rose  steadily  until  it  regis- 
tered —  21.3°  C.  Now  it  appears  to  be  falling  again  a  little,  but 
the  wind  still  keeps  exactly  in  the  same  quarter.  It  has  surely 
shifted  us  by  now  a  good  way  to  the  north,  well  beyond  the  83d 
degree.  It  is  quite  pleasant  to  hear  the  wind  whistling  and  rat- 
tling in  the  rigging  overhead.  Alas  !  we  know  that  all  terrestrial 
bliss  is  short-lived. 

''About  midnight  the  mate,  who  has  the  watch,  comes  down 
and  reports  that  the  ice  has  cracked  just  beyond  the  thermometer 
house,  between  it  and  the  sounding-hole.  This  is  the  same  crack 
that  we  had  in  the  summer,  and  it  has  now  burst  open  again,  and 
probably  the  whole  floe  in  which  we  are  lying  is  split  from  the 
lane  ahead  to  the  lane  astern  of  us.  The  thermograph  and  other 
instruments  are  being  brought  on  board,  so  that  we  may  run  no 
risk  of  losing  them  in  the  event  of  pressure  of  ice.  But  other- 
wise there  is  scarcely  anything  that  could  be  endangered.  The 
sounding  apparatus  is  at  some  distance  from  the  open  channel, 
on  the  other  side.  The  only  thing  left  there  is  the  shears  with 
the  iron  block  standing  over  the  hole. 

"  Thursday,  December  27th.  Christmas  has  come  round  again, 
and  we  are  still  so  far  from  home.  How  dismal  it  all  is  !  Never- 
theless, I  am  not  melancholy.  I  might  rather  say  I  am  glad  ;  I 
feel  as  if  awaiting  something  great  which  lies  hidden  in  the  future; 
after  long  hours  of  uncertainty  I  can  now  discern  the  end  of  this 
dark  night  ;  I  have  no  doubt  all  will  turn  out  successfully,  that 
the  voyage  is  not  in  vain  and  the  time  not  wasted,  and  that  our 
hopes  will  be  realized.  An  explorer's  lot  is,  perhaps,  hard  and 
his  life  full  of  disappointments,  as  they  all  say  ;  but  it  is  also  full 
of  beautiful  moments — moments  when  he  beholds  the  triumphs  of 
human  faith  and  human  will,  when  he  catches  sight  of  the  haven 
of  success  and  peace. 

"  I  am  in  a  singular  frame  of  mind  just  now,  in  a  state  of  sheer 
unrest.     I  have  not  felt  inclined  for  writing  during  the  last  few 


WE  PREPARE  FOR   THE  SLEDGE  EXPEDITION  319 

days  ;  thoughts  come  and  go,  and  carry  me  irresistibly  ahead.  I 
can  scarcely  make  myself  out — but  who  can  fathom  the  depths  of 
the  human  mind  ?  The  brain  is  a  puzzling  piece  of  mechanism  : 
'  We  are  such  stuff  as  dreams  are  made  of.'  Is  it  so  ?  I  almost 
believe  it  —  a  microcosm  of  eternity's  infinite  'stuff  that  dreams 
are  made  of.' 

"  This  is  the  second  Christmas  spent  far  away  in  the  solitude 
of  night,  in  the  realm  of  death,  farther  north  and  deeper  into  the 
midst  of  it  than  any  one  has  been  before.  There  is  something 
strange  in  the  feeling ;  and  then  this,  too,  is  our  last  Christmas 
on  board  the  Fram.  It  makes  one  almost  sad  to  think  of  it. 
The  vessel  is  like  a  second  home,  and  has  become  dear  to  us. 
Perhaps  our  comrades  may  spend  another  Christmas  here,  pos- 
sibly several,  without  us  who  will  go  forth  from  them  into  the 
midst  of  the  solitude.  This  Christmas  passed  off  quietly  and 
pleasantly,  and  every  one  seems  to  be  well  content.  By  no  means 
the  least  circumstance  that  added  to  our  enjoyment  was  that  the 
wind  brought  us  the  83d  degree  as  a  Christmas-box.  Our  luck 
was,  this  time,  more  lasting  than  I  had  anticipated ;  the  wind 
continued  fresh  on  Monday  and  Tuesday,  but  little  by  little  it 
lulled  down  and  veered  round  to  the  north  and  northeast.  Yes- 
terday and  to-day  it  has  been  in  the  northwest.  Well,  we  must 
put  up  with  it ;  one  cannot  help  having  a  little  contrary  wind  at 
times,  and  probably  it  will  not  last  long. 

"  Christmas-eve  was,  of  course,  celebrated  with  great  feasting. 
The  table  presented  a  truly  imposing  array  of  Christmas  con- 
fectionery :  '  Poor  man's '  pastry,  *  Staghorn  '  pastry,  honey-cakes, 
macaroons,  '  Sister '  cake,  and  what  not,  besides  sweets  and  the 
like  ;  many  may  have  fared  worse.  Moreover,  Blessing  and  I  had 
worked  during  the  day  in  the  sweat  of  our  brow  and  produced 
a  '  Polar  Champagne  83d  Degree,'  which  made  a  sensation,  and 
which  we  two,  at  least,  believed  we  had  every  reason  to  be  proud 
of,  being  a  product  derived  from  the  noble  grape  of  the  polar 
regions— viz.,  the  cloudberry  (multer).  The  others  seemed  to 
enjoy  it  too,  and,  of  course,  many  toasts  were  drunk  in  this  no- 
ble beverage.  Quantities  of  illustrated  books  were  then  brought 
forth  ;  there  was  music  and  stories  and  songs  and  general  merri- 
ment. 

"  On  Christmas-day,  of  course,  we  had  a  special  dinner.  After 
dinner  coffee  and  curagoa  made  here  on  board,  and  Nordahl  then 


320  FARTHEST  NORTH 

came  forward  with  Russian  cigarettes.  At  night  a  bowl  of  cloud- 
berry-punch was  served  out,  which  did  not  seem  by  any  means 
unwelcome.  Mogstad  played  the  violin,  and  Pettersen  was 
electrified  thereby  to  such  a  degree  that  he  sang  and  danced  to 
us.  He  really  exhibits  considerable  talent  as  a  comedian,  and 
has  a  decided  bent  towards  the  ballet.  It  is  astonishing  what 
versatility  he  displays :  engineer,  blacksmith,  tinsmith,  cook, 
master  of  ceremonies,  comedian,  dancer,  and,  last  of  all,  he  has 
come  out  in  the  capacity  of  a  first-class  barber  and  hair-dresser. 
There  was  a  grand  '  ball '  at  night ;  Mogstad  had  to  play  till  the 
perspiration  poured  from  him  ;  Hansen  and  I  had  to  figure  as 
ladies.  Pettersen  was  indefatigable.  He  faithfully  and  solemnly 
vowed  that  if  he  has  a  pair  of  boots  to  his  feet  when  he  gets 
home  he  will  dance  as  long  as  the  soles  hold  together. 

"  Day  after  day,  as  we  progressed  with  a  rattling  wind,  first 
from  S.E.  and  later  on  E.S.E.  and  E.,  we  felt  more  anxious  to 
know  how  far  we  had  got ;  but  there  had  always  been  a  snow- 
storm or  a  cloudy  sky,  so  that  we  could  not  make  any  observa- 
tions. We  were  all  confident  that  we  must  have  got  a  long  way 
up  north,  but  how  far  beyond  the  83d  degree  no  one  could  tell. 
Suddenly  Hansen  was  called  on  deck  this  afternoon  by  the  news 
that  the  stars  were  visible  overhead.  All  were  on  the  tiptoe  of 
expectation.  But  when  he  came  down  he  said  he  had  only  ob- 
served one  star,  which,  however,  was  so  near  the  meridian  that 
he  could  calculate  that,  at  any  rate,  we  were  north  of  83°  20'  north 
latitude,  and  this  communication  was  received  with  shouts  of  joy. 
If  we  were  not  yet  in  the  most  northerly  latitude  ever  reached 
by  man,  we  were,  at  all  events,  not  far  from  it.  This  was  more 
than  we  had  expected,  and  we  were  in  high  spirits.  Yesterday 
being  'the  Second  Christmas-day,'  of  course,  both  on  this  account 
and  because  it  was  Juell's  birthday,  we  had  a  special  dinner,  with 
ox-tail  soup,  pork  cutlets,  red  whortleberry  preserve,  cauliflowers, 
fricandeau,  potatoes,  preserved  currants,  also  pastry,  and  a  won- 
derful iced  almond  cake  with  the  words  '  Glaedelig  Jul '  (A  Merry 
Christmas)  on  it,  from  Hansen,  baker,  Christiania,  and  then  malt 
extract.  We  cannot  complain  that  we  are  faring  badly  here. 
About  4  o'clock  this  morning  the  vessel  received  a  violent  shock 
which  made  everything  tremble,  but  no  noise  of  ice-packing  was 
to  be  heard.  At  about  half-past  five  I  heard  at  intervals  the 
crackling  and  crunching  of  the  pack-ice  which  was  surging  in 


WE  PREPARE  FOR  THE  SLEDGE  EXPEDITION  321 

the  lane  ahead.  At  night  similar  noises  were  also  heard  ;  other- 
wise the  ice  was  quiet,  and  the  crack  on  the  port  side  has  closed 
up  tight  again. 

"  Friday,  December  28th.  I  went  out  in  the  morning  to  have 
a  look  at  the  crack  on  the  port  side,  which  has  now  widened  out 
so  as  to  form  an  open  lane.  Of  course,  all  the  dogs  followed  me, 
and  I  had  not  got  far  when  I  saw  a  dark  form  disappear.  This 
was  '  Pan,'  who  rolled  down  the  high  steep  edge  of  the  ice  and 
fell  into  the  water.  In  vain  he  struggled  to  get  out  again  ;  all 
around  him  there  was  nothing  but  snow  slush,  which  afforded 
no  foothold.  I  could  scarcely  hear  a  sound  of  him,  only  just  a 
faint  whining  noise  now  and  then.  I  leaned  down  over  the  edge 
in  order  to  get  near  him,  but  it  was  too  high,  and  I  very  nearly 
went  after  him  headfirst ;  all  that  I  could  get  hold  of  was  loose 
fragments  of  ice  and  lumps  of  snow.  I  called  for  a  seal-hook, 
but  before  it  was  brought  to  me  '  Pan '  had  scrambled  out  him- 
self, and  was  leaping  to  and  fro  on  the  floe  with  all  his  might  to 
keep  himself  warm,  followed  by  the  other  dogs,  who  loudly  barked 
and  gambolled  about  with  him,  as  though  they  wished  to  demon- 
strate their  joy  at  his  rescue.  When  he  fell  in  they  all  rushed 
forward,  looking  at  me  and  whining  ;  they  evidently  felt  sorry  for 
him  and  wished  me  to  help  him.  They  said  nothing,  but  just 
ran  up  and  down  along  the  edge  until  he  got  out.  At  another 
moment,  perhaps,  they  may  all  unite  in  tearing  him  to  pieces ; 
such  is  canine  and  human  nature.  'Pan'  was  allowed  to  dry 
himself  in  the  saloon  all  the  afternoon. 

"  A  little  before  half-past  nine  to-night  the  vessel  received  a 
tremendous  shock.  I  went  out,  but  no  noise  of  ice-packing  could 
be  heard.  However,  the  wind  howled  so  in  the  rigging  that  it 
was  not  easy  to  distinguish  any  other  sound.  At  half-past  ten 
another  shock  followed  ;  later  on,  from  time  to  time,  vibrations 
were  felt  in  the  vessel,  and  towards  half-past  eleven  the  shocks 
became  stronger.  It  was  clear  that  the  ice  was  packing  at  some 
place  or  other  about  us,  and  I  was  just  on  the  point  of  going 
out  when  Mogstad  came  to  announce  that  there  was  a  very  ugly 
pressure -ridge  ahead.  We  went  out  with  lanterns.  Fifty -six 
paces  from  the  bow  there  extended  a  perpendicular  ridge  stretch- 
ing along  the  course  of  the  lane,  and  there  was  a  terrible  press- 
ure going  on  at  the  moment.  It  roared  and  crunched  and 
crackled  all  along ;  then  it  abated  a  little  and  recurred  at  inter- 


322  FARTHEST  NORTH 

vals,  as  though  in  a  regular  rhythm ;  finally  it  passed  over  into 
a  continuous  roar.  It  seemed  to  be  mostly  newly  frozen  ice 
from  the  channels  which  had  formed  this  ridge ;  but  there  were 
also  some  ponderous  blocks  of  ice  to  be  seen  among  it.  It  pressed 
slowly  but  surely  forward  towards  the  vessel ;  the  ice  had  given 
way  before  it  to  a  considerable  distance  and  was  still  being  borne 
down  little  by  little.  The  floe  around  us  has  cracked,  so  that 
the  block  of  ice  in  which  the  vessel  is  embedded  is  smaller  than 
it  was.  I  should  not  like  to  have  that  pressure-ridge  come  in 
right  under  the  nose  of  the  Fram ,  as  it  might  soon  do  some 
damage.  Although  there  is  hardly  any  prospect  of  its  getting 
so  far,  nevertheless  I  have  given  orders  to  the  watch  to  keep  a 
sharp  lookout ;  and  if  it  comes  very  near,  or  if  the  ice  should 
crack  under  us,  he  is  to  call  me.  Probably  the  pressure  will  soon 
abate,  as  it  has  now  kept  up  for  several  hours.  At  this  moment 
(12.45  A.M.)  there  have  just  been  some  violent  shocks,  and  above 
the  howling  of  the  wind  in  the  rigging  I  can  hear  the  roar  of 
the  ice-pressure  as  I  lie  in  my  berth." 


CHAPTER   X 
THE  NEW   YEAR,    1 895 

"Wednesday,  January  2,  1895.  Never  before  have  I  had 
such  strange  feelings  at  the  commencement  of  the  new  year. 
It  cannot  fail  to  bring  some  momentous  events,  and  will  possi- 
bly become  one  of  the  most  remarkable  years  in  my  life,  whether 
it  lead  me  to  success  or  to  destruction.  Years  come  and  go 
unnoticed  in  this  world  of  ice,  and  we  have  no  more  knowledge 
here  of  what  these  years  have  brought  to  humanity  than  we 
know  of  what  the  future  ones  have  in  store.  In  this  silent  nature 
no  events  ever  happen  ;  all  is  shrouded  in  darkness ;  there  is 
nothing  in  view  save  the  twinkling  stars,  immeasurably  far  away 
in  the  freezing  night,  and  the  flickering  sheen  of  the  aurora, 
borealis.  I  can  just  discern  close  by  the  vague  outline  of  the 
Fram,  dimly  standing  out  in  the  desolate  gloom,  with  her  rigging 
showing  dark  against  the  host  of  stars.  Like  an  infinitesimal 
speck,  the  vessel  seems  lost  amidst  the  boundless  expanse  of  this 
realm  of  death.  Nevertheless,  under  her  deck  there  is  a  snug^ 
and  cherished  home  for  thirteen  men  undaunted  by  the  majesty 
of  this  realm.  In  there,  life  is  freely  pulsating,  while  far  away- 
outside  in  the  night  there  is  nothing  save  death  and  silence,, 
only  broken  now  and  then,  at  long  intervals,  by  the  violent  press- 
ure of  the  ice  as  it  surges  along  in  gigantic  masses.  It  sounds 
most  ominous  in  the  great  stillness,  and  one  cannot  help  an  un- 
canny feeling,  as  if  supernatural  powers  were  at  hand,  the  Jotuns 
and  Rimturser  (frost-giants)  of  the  Arctic  regions,  with  whom 
we  may  have  to  engage  in  deadly  combat  at  any  moment ;  but 
we  are  not  afraid  of  them. 

"  I  often  think  of  Shakespeare's  Viola,  who  sat  *  like  Patience 
on  a  monument'  Could  we  not  pass  as  representatives  of  this 
marble  Patience,  imprisoned  here  on  the  ice  while  the  years  roll 
by,  awaiting  our  time  ?   I  should  like  to  design  such  a  monument, 


324  FARTHEST  NORTH 

It  should  be  a  lonely  man  in  shaggy  wolfskin  clothing,  all  cov- 
ered with  hoar-frost,  sitting  on  a  mound  of  ice,  and  gazing  out 
into  the  darkness  across  these  boundless,  ponderous  masses  of 
ice,  awaiting  the  return  of  daylight  and  spring. 

"  The  ice-pressure  was  not  noticeable  after  i  o'clock  on  Fri- 
day night  until  it  suddenly  recommenced  last  night.  First  I  heard 
a  rumbling  outside,  and  some  snow  fell  down  from  the  rigging 
upon  the  tent  roof  as  I  sat  reading ;  I  thought  it  sounded  like 
packing  in  the  ice,  and  just  then  the  Fram  received  a  violent 
shock,  such  as  she  had  not  received  since  last  winter.  I  was 
rocked  backward  and  forward  on  the  chest  on  which  I  was 
sitting.  Finding  that  the  trembling  and  rumbling  continued,  I 
went  out.  There  was  a  loud  roar  of  ice-packing  to  the  west  and 
northwest,  which  continued  uniformly  for  a  couple  of  hours  or 
so.     Is  this  the  New-year's  greeting  from  the  ice  ? 

"We  spent  New-year's  eve  cosily,  with  a  cloudberry  punch- 
bowl, pipes,  and  cigarettes.  Needless  to  say,  there  was  an  abun- 
dance of  cakes  and  the  like,  and  we  spoke  of  the  old  and  the  new 
year  and  days  to  come.  Some  selections  were  played  on  the 
organ  and  violin.  Thus  midnight  arrived.  Blessing  produced 
from  his  apparently  inexhaustible  store  a  bottle  of  genuine  'linje 
akkevit'  (line  eau-de-vie),  and  in  this  Norwegian  liquor  we 
drank  the  old  year  out  and  the  new  year  in.  Of  course  there 
was  many  a  thought  that  would  obtrude  itself  at  the  change  of 
the  year,  being  the  second  which  we  had  seen  on  board  the  Fram^ 
and  also,  in  all  probability,  the  last  that  we  should  all  spend  to- 
gether. Naturally  enough,  one  thanked  one's  comrades,  individ- 
ually and  collectively,  for  all  kindness  and  good  -  fellowship. 
Hardly  one  of  us  had  thought,  perhaps,  that  the  time  would  pass 
so  well  up  here.  Sverdrup  expressed  the  wish  that  the  journey 
which  Johansen  and  I  were  about  to  make  in  the  coming  year 
might  be  fortunate  and  bring  success  in  all  respects.  And  then 
we  drank  to  the  health  and  well-being  in  the  coming  year  of 
those  who  were  to  remain  behind  on  board  the  Fram.  It  so 
happened  that  just  now  at  the  turn  of  the  year  we  stood  on  the 
verge  of  an  entirely  new  world.  The  wind  which  whistled  up  in 
the  rigging  overhead  was  not  only  wafting  us  on  to  unknown 
regions,  but  also  up  into  higher  latitudes  than  any  human  foot 
had  ever  trod.  We  felt  that  this  year,  which  was  just  commenc- 
ing, would  bring  the  culminating-point  of  the  expedition,  when 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  1895  325 

it  would  bear  its  richest  fruits.  Would  that  this  year  might 
prove  a  good  year  for  those  on  board  the  Fram  ;  that  the  Fram 
might  go  ahead,  fulfilling  her  task  as  she  has  hitherto  done  ;  and 
in  that  case  none  of  us  could  doubt  that  those  on  board  would 
also  prove  equal  to  the  task  intrusted  to  them. 

"New-year's  day  was  ushered  in  with  the  same  wind,  the 
same  stars,  and  the  same  darkness  as  before.  Even  at  noon  one 
cannot  see  the  slightest  glimmer  of  twilight  in  the  south.  Yes- 
terday I  thought  I  could  trace  something  of  the  kind  ;  it  extend- 
ed like  a  faint  gleam  of  light  over  the  sky,  but  it  was  yellowish- 
white,  and  stretched  too  high  up ;  hence  I  am  rather  inclined  to 
think  that  it  was  an  aurora  borealis.  Again  to-day  the  sky  looks 
lighter  near  the  edge,  but  this  can  scarcely  be  anything  except 
the  gleam  of  the  aurora  borealis,  which  extends  all  round  the 
sky,  a  little  above  the  fog-banks  on  the  horizon,  and  which  is 
strongest  at  the  edge.  Exactly  similar  lights  may  be  observed 
at  other  times  in  other  parts  of  the  horizon.  The  air  was  par- 
ticularly clear  yesterday,  but  the  horizon  is  always  somewhat 
foggy  or  hazy.  During  the  night  we  had  an  uncommonly  strong 
aurora  borealis ;  wavy  streamers  were  darting  in  rapid  twists 
over  the  southern  sky,  their  rays  reaching  to  the  zenith,  and  be- 
yond it  there  was  to  be  seen  for  a  time  a  band  in  the  form  of  a 
gorgeous  corona,  casting  a  reflection  like  moonshine  across  the 
ice.  The  sky  had  lit  up  its  torch  in  honor  of  the  new  year — a 
fairy  dance  of  darting  streamers  in  the  depth  of  night.  I  cannot 
help  often  thinking  that  this  contrast  might  be  taken  as  typical 
of  the  Northman's  character  and  destiny.  In  the  midst  of  this 
gloomy,  silent  nature,  with  all  its  numbing  cold,  we  have  all  these 
shooting,  glittering,  quivering  rays  of  light.  Do  they  not  typify 
our  impetuous  'spring-dances,'  our  wild  mountain  melodies,  the  au- 
roral gleams  in  our  souls,  the  rushing,  surging,  spiritual  forces  be- 
hind the  mantle  of  ice  ?  There  is  a  dawning  life  in  the  slumbering 
night,  if  it  could  only  reach  beyond  the  icy  desert,  out  over  the  world. 

"Thus  1895  comes  in  : 

"'Turn,  Fortune,  turn  thy  wheel  and  lower  the  proud; 
Turn  thy  wild  wheel  thro'  sunshine,  storm,  and  cloud ; 
Thy  wheel  and  thee  we  neither  love  nor  hate. 

'"Smile  and  we  smile,  the  lords  of  many  lands; 
Frown  and  we  frown,  the  lords  of  our  own  hands ; 
For  man  is  man  and  master  of  his  fate.' 


326  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  Thursday,  January  3d.  A  day  of  unrest,  a  changeful  life, 
notwithstanding  all  its  monotony.  But  yesterday  we  were  full 
of  plans  for  the  future,  and  to  -  day  how  easily  might  we  have 
been  left  on  the  ice  without  a  roof  over  our  heads  !  At  half-past 
four  in  the  morning  a  fresh  rush  of  ice  set  in  in  the  lane  aft,  and 
at  five  it  commenced  in  the  lane  on  our  port  side.  About  8 
o'clock  I  awoke,  and  heard  the  crunching  and  crackling  of  the 
ice,  as  if  ice -pressure  was  setting  in.  A  slight  trembling  was 
felt  throughout  the  Fram,  and  I  heard  the  roar  outside.  When 
I  came  out  I  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  find  a  large  pressure- 
ridge  all  along  the  channel  on  the  port  side  scarcely  thirty  paces 
from  the  Frain ;  the  cracks  on  this  side  extended  to  quite  eigh- 
teen paces  from  us.  All  loose  articles  that  were  lying  on  the  ice 
on  this  side  were  stowed  away  on  board  ;  the  boards  and  planks 
which,  during  the  summer,  had  supported  the  meteorological  hut 
and  the  screen  for  the  same  were  chopped  up,  as  we  could  not 
afford  to  lose  any  materials  ;  but  the  line,  which  had  been  left 
out  in  the  sounding -hole  with  the  bag  -  net  attached  to  it,  was 
caught  in  the  pressure.  Just  after  I  had  come  on  board  again 
shortly  before  noon  the  ice  suddenly  began  to  press  on  again.  I 
went  out  to  have  a  look  ;  it  was  again  in  the  lane  on  the  port 
side  ;  there  was  a  strong  pressure,  and  the  ridge  was  gradually 
approaching.  A  little  later  on  Sverdrup  went  up  on  deck,  but 
soon  after  came  below  and  told  us  that  the  ridge  was  quickly 
bearing  down  on  us,  and  a  few  hands  were  required  to  come  up 
and  help  to  load  the  sledge  with  the  sounding  apparatus,  and 
bring  it  round  to  the  starboard  side  of  the  Fram,  as  the  ice  had 
cracked  close  by  it.  The  ridge  began  to  come  alarmingly  near, 
and,  should  it  be  upon  us  before  the  Fram  had  broken  loose  from 
the  ice,  matters  might  become  very  unpleasant.  The  vessel  had 
now  a  greater  list  to  the  port  side  than  ever. 

"  During  the  afternoon  various  preparations  were  made  to 
leave  the  ship  if  the  worst  should  happen.  All  the  sledges  were 
placed  ready  on  deck,  and  the  kayaks  were  also  made  clear ;  25 
cases  of  dog-biscuits  were  deposited  on  the  ice  on  the  starboard 
side,  and  19  cases  of  bread  were  brought  up  and  placed  forward  ; 
also  4  drums,  holding  altogether  22  gallons  of  petroleum,  were 
put  on  deck.  Ten  smaller-sized  tins  had  previously  been  filled 
with  100  litres  of  snowflake  oil,  and  various  vessels  containing 
gasoline  were  also  standing  on  deck.     As  we  were  sitting  at  sup- 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  iSgs  327 

per  we  again  heard  the  same  crunching  and  crackling  noise  in 
the  ice  as  usual,  coming  nearer  and  nearer,  and  finally  we  heard 
a  crash  proceeding  right  underneath  where  we  sat.  I  rushed  up. 
There  was  a  pressure  of  ice  in  the  lane  a  little  way  off,  almost  on 
our  starboard  beam.  I  went  down  again,  and  continued  my 
meal.  Peter,  who  had  gone  out  on  the  ice,  soon  after  came  down 
and  said,  laughing  as  usual,  that  it  was  no  wonder  we  heard 
some  crackling,  for  the  ice  had  cracked  not  a  sledge-length  away 
from  the  dog-biscuit  cases,  and  the  crack  was  extending  abaft  of 
the  Fram.  I  went  out,  and  found  the  crack  was  a  very  consid- 
erable one.  The  dog-biscuit  cases  were  now  shifted  a  little  more 
forward  for  greater  safety.  We  also  found  several  minor  cracks 
in  the  ice  around  the  vessel.  I  then  went  down  and  had  a  pipe 
and  a  pleasant  chat  with  Sverdrup  in  his  cabin.  After  we  had 
been  sitting  a  good  while  the  ice  again  began  to  crack  and  jam. 
I  did  not  think  that  the  noise  was  greater  than  usual ;  neverthe- 
less, I  asked  those  in  the  saloon,  who  sat  playing  Halma,  whether 
there  was  any  one  on  deck ;  if  not,  would  one  of  them  be  kind 
enough  to  go  and  see  where  the  ice  was  packing.  I  heard  hurried 
steps  above  ;  Nordahl  came  down  and  reported  that  it  was  on  the 
port  side,  and  that  it  would  be  best  for  us  to  be  on  deck.  Peter 
and  I  jumped  up,  and  several  followed.  As  I  went  down  the  lad- 
der Peter  called  out  to  me  from  above  :  '  We  must  get  the  dogs 
out ;  see,  there  is  water  on  the  ice  !'  It  was  high  time  that  we 
came ;  the  water  was  rushing  in  and  already  stood  high  in  the 
kennel.  Peter  waded  into  the  water  up  to  his  knees  and  pushed 
the  door  open.  Most  of  the  dogs  rushed  out  and  jumped  about, 
splashing  in  the  water  ;  but  some,  being  frightened,  had  crept 
back  into  the  innermost  corner  and  had  to  be  dragged  out,  al- 
though they  stood  in  water  reaching  high  up  their  legs.  Poor 
brutes,  it  must  have  been  miserable  enough,  in  all  conscience, 
to  be  shut  up  in  such  a  place  while  the  water  was  steadily  rising 
about  them,  yet  they  are  not  more  noisy  than  usual. 

"  The  dogs  having  been  put  in  safety,  I  walked  round  the  FraiJi 
to  see  what  else  had  happened.  The  ice  had  cracked  along  her 
to  the  fore,  near  the  starboard  bow  ;  from  this  crack  the  water 
had  poured  aft  along  the  port  side,  which  was  weighed  down  by 
the  weight  of  the  ridge  steadily  pressing  on  towards  us.  The 
crack  had  just  passed  under  the  middle  of  the  portable  forge, 
which  was  thus  endangered,  and  it  was  therefore  put  on  a  sledge 


328  FARTHEST  NORTH 

and  removed  to  the  great  hummock  on  the  starboard  quarter. 
The  pemmican — altogether  ii  cases — the  cases  of  dog-biscuits, 
and  19  cases  of  bread  were  conveyed  to  the  same  place.  Thus 
we  have  now  a  complete  depot  lying  over  there,  and,  I  trust,  in 
entire  safety,  the  ice  being  so  thick  that  it  is  not  likely  to  give 
way.  This  has  brought  life  into  the  lads  ;  they  have  all  turned 
out.  We  took  out  4  more  tin  cans  of  petroleum  to  the  hum- 
mock, then  proceeded  to  bring  up  from  the  hold  and  place  on 
deck  ready  for  removal  21  cases  of  bread,  and  a  supply  of  pem- 
mican, chocolate,  butter, '  vril-food,'  soup,  etc.,  calculated  to  last 
us  200  days.  Also' tents,  cooking  apparatus,  and  the  like,  were 
got  ready,  so  that  now  all  is  clear  up  there,  and  we  may  sleep 
securely ;  but  it  was  past  midnight  before  we  had  done.  I  still 
trust  that  it  is  all  a  false  alarm,  and  that  we  shall  have  no  occa- 
sion for  these  supplies  now,  at  any  rate  ;  nevertheless,  it  is  our 
duty  to  keep  everything  ready  in  case  the  unthinkable  should 
happen.  Moreover,  the  watch  has  been  enjoined  to  mind  the 
dogs  on  the  ice  and  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  in  case  the  ice  should 
crack  underneath  our  cases  or  the  ice-pressure  should  recom- 
mence ;  if  anything  should  happen  we  are  to  be  called  out  at 
once,  too  early  rather  than  too  late.  While  I  sit  here  and  write 
I  hear  the  crunching  and  crackling  beginning  again  outside,  so 
that  there  must  still  be  a  steady  pressure  on  the  ice.  All  are  in 
the  best  spirits  ;  it  almost  appears  as  if  they  looked  upon  this  as 
a  pleasant  break  in  the  monotony  of  our  existence.  Well,  it  is 
half-past  one ;  I  had  better  turn  into  my  bunk ;  I  am  tired,  and 
goodness  knows  how  soon  I  may  be  called  up. 

"  Friday,  January  4th.  The  ice  kept  quiet  during  the  night, 
but  all  day,  with  some  intervals,  it  has  been  crackling  and  set- 
tling, and  this  evening  there  have  been  several  fits  of  pressure 
from  9  o'clock  onward.  For  a  time  it  came  on,  sometimes  rather 
lightly,  at  regular  intervals  ;  sometimes  with  a  rush  and  a  regu- 
lar roar  ;  then  it  subsided  somewhat,  and  then  it  roared  anew. 
Meanwhile  the  pressure-ridge  towers  higher  and  higher  and  bears 
right  down  upon  us  slowly,  while  the  pressure  comes  on  at  inter- 
vals only,  and  more  quickly  when  the  onset  continues  for  a  time. 
One  can  actually  see  it  creeping  nearer  and  nearer  ;  and  now,  at 
I  o'clock  at  night,  it  is  not  many  feet — scarcely  five — away  from 
the  edge  of  the  snow-drift  on  the  port  side  near  the  gangway, 
and  thence  to  the  vessel  is  scarcely  more  than  ten  feet,  so  that 


THE  NEW   YEAR,  i8gs  329 

it  will  not  be  long  now  before  it  is  upon  us.  Meanwhile  the  ice 
continues  to  split,  and  the  solid  mass  in  which  we  are  embedded 
grows  less  and  less,  both  to  port  and  starboard.  Several  fissures 
extend  right  up  to  the  Fram.  As  the  ice  sinks  down  under  the 
weight  of  the  ridge  on  the  port  side  and  the  Fram  lists  more 
that  way,  more  water  rushes  up  over  the  new  ice  which  has 
frozen  on  the  water  that  rose  yesterday.  This  is  like  dying  by 
inches.  Slowly  but  surely  the  baleful  ridge  advances,  and  it 
looks  as  if  it  meant  going  right  over  the  rail ;  but  if  the  Fram 
will  only  oblige  by  getting  free  of  the  ice  she  will,  I  feel  confi- 
dent, extricate  herself  yet,  even  though  matters  look  rather  awk- 
ward at  present.  We  shall  probably  have  a  hard  time  of  it,  how- 
ever, before  she  can  break  loose  if  she  does  not  do  so  at  once.  I 
have  been  out  and  had  a  look  at  the  ridge,  and  seen  how  surely 
it  is  advancing!  I  have  looked  at  the  fissures  in  the  ice  and 
noted  how  they  are  forming  and  expanding  round  the  vessel ;  I 
have  listened  to  the  ice  crackling  and  crunching  underfoot,  and 
I  do  not  feel  much  disposed  to  turn  into  my  berth  before  I  see 
the  Fram  quite  released.  As  I  sit  here  now  I  hear  the  ice 
making  a  fresh  assault,  and  roaring  and  packing  outside,  and  I 
can  tell  that  the  ridge  is  coming  nearer.  This  is  an  ice-pressure 
with  a  vengeance,  and  it  seems  as  if  it  would  never  cease.  I  do 
not  think  there  is  anything  more  that  we  can  do  now.  All  is  in 
readiness  for  leaving  the  vessel,  if  need  be.  To-day  the  clothing, 
etc.,  was  taken  out  and  placed  ready  for  removal  in  separate  bags 
for  each  man. 

"  It  is  very  strange ;  there  is  certainly  a  possibility  that  all 
our  plans  may  be  crossed  by  unforeseen  events,  although  it  is  not 
very  probable  that  this  will  happen.  As  yet  I  feel  no  anxiety  in 
that  direction,  only  I  should  like  to  know  whether  we  are  really 
to  take  everything  on  to  the  ice  or  not.  However,  it  is  past 
I  o'clock,  and  I  think  the  most  sensible  thing  to  do  would  be 
to  turn  in  and  sleep.  The  watch  has  orders  to  call  me  when  the 
hummock  reaches  the  Fram.  It  is  lucky  it  is  moonlight  now, 
so  that  we  are  able  to  see  something  of  all  this  abomination. 

"The  day  before  yesterday  we  saw  the  moon  for  the  first 
time  just  above  the  horizon.  Yesterday  it  was  shining  a  little, 
and  now  we  have  it  both  day  and  night.  A  most  favorable  state 
of  things.  But  it  is  nearly  2  o'clock,  and  I  must  go  to  sleep  now. 
The  pressure  of  the  ice,  1  can  hear,  is  stronger  again. 


330  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"Saturday,  January  5th.  To-night  everybody  sleeps  fully 
dressed,  and  with  the  most  indispensable  necessaries  either  by 
his  side  or  secured  to  his  body,  ready  to  jump  on  the  ice  at  the 
first  warning.  All  other  requisites,  such  as  provisions,  clothing, 
sleeping-bags,  etc.,  etc.,  have  been  brought  out  on  the  ice.  We 
have  been  at  work  at  this  all  day,  and  have  got  everything  into 
perfect  order,  and  are  now  quite  ready  to  leave  if  necessary, 
which,  however,  I  do  not  believe  will  be  the  case,  though  the 
ice-pressure  has  been  as  bad  as  it  could  be. 

"  I  slept  soundly,  woke  up  only  once,  and  listened  to  the 
crunching  and  jamming  and  grinding  till  I  fell  asleep  again. 
I  was  called  at  5.30  in  the  morning  by  Sverdrup,  who  told  me 
that  the  hummock  had  now  reached  the  Fram^  and  was  bearing 
down  on  us  violently,  reaching  as  high  as  the  rail.  I  was  not 
left  in  doubt  very  long,  as  hardly  had  I  opened  my  eyes  when  I 
heard  a  thundering  and  crashing  outside  in  the  ice,  as  if  dooms- 
day had  come.  I  jumped  up.  There  was  nothing  left  for  it  but 
to  call  all  hands,  to  put  all  the  remaining  provisions  on  the  ice, 
and  then  put  all  our  furs  and  other  equipment  on  deck,  so  that 
they  could  be  thrown  overboard  at  a  moment's  notice  if  neces- 
sary. Thus  the  day  passed,  but  the  ice  kept  quiet.  Last  of  all, 
the  petroleum  launch,  which  was  hanging  in  the  davits  on  the 
port  side,  was  lowered,  and  was  dragged  towards  the  great  hum- 
mock. At  about  8  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  we  thought  the 
ice-pressure  had  subsided,  it  started  thundering  and  crashing 
again  worse  than  ever.  I  hurried  up.  Masses  of  snow  and  ice 
rushed  on  us,  high  above  the  rail  amidships  and  over  the  tent. 
Peter,  who  also  came  up,  seized  a  spade  and  rushed  forward  out- 
side the  awning  as  far  as  the  forepart  of  the  half-deck,  and  stood 
in  the  midst  of  the  ice,  digging  away,  and  I  followed  to  see  how 
matters  stood.  I  saw  more  than  I  cared  to  see ;  it  was  hopeless 
to  fight  that  enemy  with  a  spade.  I  called  out  to  Peter  to  come 
back,  and  said,  '  We  had  better  see  to  getting  everything  out  on 
to  the  ice.'  Hardly  had  I  spoken,  when  it  pressed  on  again  with 
renewed  strength,  and  thundered  and  crashed,  and,  as  Peter  said, 
and  laughed  till  he  shook  again,  '  nearly  sent  both  me  and  the 
spade  to  the  deuce.'  I  rushed  back  to  the  main-deck  ;  on  the 
way  I  met  Mogstad,  who  hurried  up,  spade  in  hand,  and  sent  him 
back.  Running  forward  under  the  tent  towards  the  ladder,  I  saw 
that  the  tent-roof  was  bent  down  under  the  weight  of  the  masses 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  i8gs  33 1 

of  ice,  which  were  rushing  over  it  and  crashing  in  over  the  rail 
and  bulwarks  to  such  an  extent  that  I  expected  every  moment 
to  see  the  ice  force  its  way  through  and  block  up  the  passage. 
When  I  got  below,  I  called  all  hands  on  deck ;  but  told  them 
when  going  up  not  to  go  out  through  the  door  on  the  port  side, 
but  through  the  chart-room  and  out  on  the  starboard  side.  In 
the  first  place,  all  the  bags  were  to  be  brought  up  from  the 
saloon,  and  then  we  were  to  take  those  lying  on  deck.  I  was 
afraid  that  if  the  door  on  the  port  side  was  not  kept  closed  the 
ice  might,  if  it  suddenly  burst  through  the  bulwarks  and  tent, 
rush  over  the  deck  and  in  through  the  door,  fill  the  passage  and 
rush  down  the  ladder,  and  thus  imprison  us  like  mice  in  a  trap. 
True,  the  passage  up  from  the  engine-room  had  been  cleared  for 
this  emergency,  but  this  was  a  very  narrow  hole  to  get  through 
with  heavy  bags,  and  no  one  could  tell  how  long  this  hole  would 
keep  open  when  the  ice  once  attacked  us  in  earnest.  I  ran  up 
again  to  set  free  the  dogs,  which  were  shut  up  in  *  Castle-garden ' — 
an  enclosure  on  the  deck  along  the  port  bulwark.  They  whined 
and  howled  most  dolefully  under  the  tent  as  the  snow  masses 
threatened  at  any  moment  to  crush  it  and  bury  them  alive.  I 
cut  away  the  fastening  with  a  knife,  pulled  the  door  open,  and 
out  rushed  most  of  them  by  the  starboard  gangway  at  full  speed.* 

Meantime  all  hands  started  bringing  up  the  bags.  It  was 
quite  unnecessary  to  ask  them  to  hurry  up — the  ice  did  that, 
thundering  against  the  ship's  sides  in  a  way  that  seemed  irresis- 
tible. It  was  a  fearful  hurly-burly  in  the  darkness ;  for,  to  cap 
all,  the  mate  had,  in  the  hurry,  let  the  lanterns  go  out.  I  had  to 
go  down  again  to  get  something  on  my  feet ;  my  Finland  shoes 
were  hanging  up  to  dry  in  the  galley.  When  I  got  there  the  ice 
was  at  its  worst,  and  the  half-deck  beams  were  creaking  overhead, 
so  that  I  really  thought  they  were  all  coming  down. 

"  The  saloon  and  the  berths  were  soon  cleared  of  bags,  and  the 
deck  as  well,  and  we  started  taking  them  along  the  ice.  The  ice 
roared  and  crashed  against  the  ship's  side,  so  that  we  could  hard- 
ly hear  ourselves  speak  ;  but  all  went  quickly  and  well,  and  before 
long  everything  was  in  safety. 

*  The  word  svalkelem,  which  has  throughout  been  translated  "gang- 
way," means  rather  a  sort  of  port-hole.  As  the  svalkelem,  however,  was 
the  means  of  exit  from  and  entrance  to  the  ship,  "  gangway  "  seemed  the 
most  convenient  expression  for  it. 


332  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  While  we  were  dragging  the  bags  along,  the  pressure  and 
jamming  of  the  ice  had  at  last  stopped,  and  all  was  quiet  again  as 
before. 

"  But  what  a  sight !  The  Fram's  port  side  was  quite  buried 
under  the  snow ;  all  that  could  be  seen  was  the  top  of  the  tent 
projecting.  Had  the  petroleum  launch  been  hanging  in  the  davits, 
as  it  was  a  few  hours  previously,  it  would  hardly  have  escaped 
destruction.  The  davits  were  quite  buried  in  ice  and  snow.  It 
is  curious  that  both  fire  and  water  have  been  powerless  against 
that  boat ;  and  it  has  now  come  out  unscathed  from  the  ice,  and 
lies  there  bottom  upward  on  the  floe.  She  has  had  a  stormy  ex- 
istence and  continual  mishaps  ;  I  wonder  what  is  next  in  store 
for  her? 

"  It  was,  I  must  admit,  a  most  exciting  scene  when  it  was  at 
its  worst,  and  we  thought  it  was  imperative  to  get  the  bags  up 
from  the  saloon  with  all  possible  speed.  Sverdrup  now  tells  me 
that  he  was  just  about  to  have  a  bath,  and  was  as  naked  as  when 
he  was  born,  when  he  heard  me  call  all  hands  on  deck.  As  this  had 
not  happened  before,  he  understood  there  was  something  serious 
the  matter,  and  he  jumped  into  his  clothes  anyhow.  Amundsen, 
apparently,  also  realized  that  something  was  amiss.  He  says  he 
was  the  first  who  came  up  with  his  bag.  He  had  not  understood, 
or  had  forgotten  in  the  confusion,  the  order  about  going  out 
through  the  starboard  door ;  he  groped  his  way  out  on  the  port 
side  and  fell  in  the  dark  over  the  edge  of  the  half-deck.  '  Well, 
that  did  not  matter,'  he  said ;  *  he  was  quite  used  to  that  kind  of 
thing';  but  having  pulled  himself  together  after  the  fall,  and  as 
he  was  lying  there  on  his  back,  he  dared  not  move,  for  it  seemed 
to  him  as  if  tent  and  all  were  coming  down  on  him,  and  it  thun- 
dered and  crashed  against  the  gunwale  and  the  hull  as  if  the  last 
hour  had  come.  It  finally  dawned  on  him  why  he  ought  to  have 
gone  out  on  the  starboard  and  not  on  the  port  side. 

"  All  that  could  possibly  be  thought  to  be  of  any  use  was  taken 
out.  The  mate  was  seen  dragging  along  a  big  bag  of  clothes  with 
a  heavy  bundle  of  cups  fastened  outside  it.  Later  he  was  stalking 
about  with  all  sorts  of  things,  such  as  mittens,  knives,  cups,  etc., 
fastened  to  his  clothes  and  dangling  about  him,  so  that  the  rat- 
tling noise  could  be  heard  afar  off.     He  is  himself  to  the  last. 

'*  In  the  evening  the  men  all  started  eating  their  stock  of  cakes, 
sweetmeats,  and  such-like,  smoked  tobacco,  and  enjoyed  them- 


THE  NEW   YEAR,  i8gs  333 

selves  in  the  most  animated  fashion.  They  evidently  thought  it 
was  uncertain  when  they  should  next  have  such  a  time  on  board 
the  Fram,  and  therefore  they  thought  it  was  best  to  avail  them- 
selves of  the  opportunity.  We  are  now  living  in  marching  order 
on  an  empty  ship. 

"  By  way  of  precaution  we  have  now  burst  open  again  the  pas- 
sage on  the  starboard  side  which  was  used  as  a  library  and  had 
therefore  been  closed,  and  all  doors  are  now  kept  always  open,  so 
that  we  can  be  sure  of  getting  out,  even  if  anything  should  give 
way.  We  do  not  want  the  ice-pressure  to  close  the  doors  against 
us  by  jamming  the  door-posts  together.  But  she  certainly  is  a 
strong  ship.  It  is  a  mighty  ridge  that  we  have  in  our  port  side, 
and  the  masses  of  ice  are  tremendous.  The  ship  is  listing  more 
than  ever,  nearly  7° ;  but  since  the  last  pressure  she  has  righted 
herself  a  little  again,  so  that  she  must  surely  have  broken  away 
from  the  ice  and  begun  to  rise,  and  all  danger  is  doubtless  over. 
So,  after  all,  it  has  been  a  case  of  *  Much  ado  about  nothing.' 

"  Sunday,  January  6th.  A  quiet  day  ;  no  jamming  since  last 
night.  Most  of  the  fellows  slept  well  on  into  the  morning.  This 
afternoon  all  have  been  very  busy  digging  the  Pram  out  of  the 
ice  again,  and  we  have  now  got  the  rail  clear  right  aft  to  the 
half-deck  ;  but  a  tremendous  mass  had  fallen  over  the  tent.  It 
was  above  the  second  ratline  in  the  fore-shrouds,  and  fully  six 
feet  over  the  rail.  It  is  a  marvel  that  the  tent  stood  it ;  but  it 
was  a  very  good  thing  that  it  did  do  so,  for  otherwise  it  is  hard 
to  say  what  might  have  become  of  many  of  the  dogs.  This  after- 
noon Hansen  took  a  meridian  observation,  which  gave  83°  34' 
north  latitude.  Hurrah !  We  are  getting  on  well  northward — 
thirteen  minutes  since  Monday — and  the  most  northern  latitude 
is  now  reached.  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  occasion  was 
duly  celebrated  with  a  bowl  of  punch,  preserved  fruits,  cakes,  and 
the  doctor's  cigars. 

"  Last  night  we  were  running  with  the  bags  for  our  lives  ; 
to-night  we  are  drinking  punch  and  feasting  :  such  are,  indeed, 
the  vicissitudes  of  fate.  All  this  roaring  and  crashing  for  the 
last  few  days  has  been,  perhaps,  a  cannonade  to  celebrate  our 
reaching  such  a  high  latitude.  If  that  be  so,  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  ice  has  done  full  honor  to  the  occasion.  Well,  never 
mind,  let  it  crash  on  so  long  as  we  only  get  northward.  The 
Pram  will,  no  doubt,  stand  it  now :  she  has  lifted  fully  one  foot 


334  FARTHEST  NORTH 

forward  and  fully  six  inches  aft,  and  she  has  slipped  a  little 
astern.  Moreover,  we  cannot  find  so  much  as  a  single  stanchion 
in  the  bulwarks  that  has  started,  yet  to-night  every  man  will 
sleep  fully  prepared  to  make  for  the  ice. 

"  Monday,  January  7th.  There  was  a  little  jamming  of  the 
ice  occasionally  during  the  day,  but  only  of  slight  duration,  then 
all  was  quiet  again.  Evidently  the  ice  has  not  yet  settled,  and 
we  have  perhaps  more  to  expect  from  our  friend  to  port,  whom  I 
would  willingly  exchange  for  a  better  neighbor. 
'  "  It  seems,  however,  as  if  the  ice-pressure  had  altered  its  di- 
rection since  the  wind  has  changed  to  S.E.  It  is  now  confined 
to  the  ridges  fore  and  aft  athwart  the  wind  ;  while  our  friend 
to  port,  lying  almost  in  the  line  of  the  wind,  has  kept  somewhat 
quieter. 

"  Everything  has  an  end,  as  the  boy  said  when  he  was  in  for  a 
birching.  Perhaps  the  growth  of  this  ridge  has  come  to  an  end 
now,  perhaps  not ;  the  one  thing  is  just  as  likely  as  the  other. 

"  To-day  the  work  of  extricating  the  Fram  is  proceeding  ;  we 
will  at  all  events  get  the  rails  clear  of  the  ice.  It  presents  a 
most  imposing  sight  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  and,  however  con- 
scious of  one's  own  strength,  one  cannot  help  respecting  an 
antagonist  who  commands  such  powers,  and  who,  in  a  few  mo- 
ments, is  capable  of  putting  mighty  machinery  into  action.  It  is 
rather  an  awkward  battering-ram  to  face.  The  Fram  is  equal 
to  it,  but  no  other  ship  could  have  resisted  such  an  onslaught. 
In  less  than  an  hour  this  ice  will  build  up  a  wall  alongside  us 
and  over  us  which  it  might  take  us  a  month  to  get  out  of,  and 
possibly  longer  than  that.  There  is  something  gigantic  about 
it ;  it  is  like  a  struggle  between  dwarfs  and  an  ogre,  in  which  the 
pygmies  have  to  resort  to  cunning  and  trickery  to  get  out  of 
the  clutches  of  one  who  seldom  relaxes  his  grip.  The  Fram  is 
the  ship  which  the  pygmies  have  built  with  all  their  cunning  in 
order  to  fight  the  ogre ;  and  on  board  this  ship  they  work  as 
busily  as  ants,  while  the  ogre  only  thinks  it  worth  while  to  roll 
over  and  twist  his  body  about  now  and  then,  but  every  time  he 
turns  over  it  seems  as  though  the  nutshell  would  be  smashed 
and  buried,  and  would  disappear  ;  but  the  pygmies  have  built 
their  nutshell  so  cleverly  that  it  always  keeps  afloat  and  wrig- 
gles itself  free  from  the  deadly  embrace.  The  old  traditions 
and  legends  about  giants,  about  Thor's  battles  in  the  Jotunheim, 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  189s  335 

when  rocks  were  split  and  crags  were  hurled  about,  and  the  val- 
leys were  filled  with  falling  boulders,  all  come  back  to  me  when 
I  look  at  these  mighty  ridges  of  ice  winding  their  way  far  off  in 
the  moonlight ;  and  when  I  see  the  men  standing  on  the  ice- 
heap  cutting  and  digging  to  remove  a  fraction  of  it,  then  they 
seem  to  me  smaller  than  pygmies,  smaller  than  ants  ;  but  al- 
though each  ant  carries  only  a  single  fir-needle,  yet  in  course  of 
time  they  build  an  ant  -  hill,  where  they  can  live  comfortably, 
sheltered  from  storm  and  winter. 

"  Had  this  attack  on  the  Pram  been  planned  by  the  aid  of  all 
the  wickedness  in  the  world,  it  could  not  have  been  a  worse  one. 
The  floe,  seven  feet  thick,  has  borne  down  on  us  on  the  port 
side,  forcing  itself  up  on  the  ice,  in  which  we  are  lying,  and  crush- 
ing it  down.  Thus  the  Pram  was  forced  down  with  the  ice,  while 
the  other  floe,  packed  up  on  the  ice  beneath,  bore  down  on  her, 
and  took  her  amidships  while  she  was  still  frozen  fast.  As  far 
as  I  can  judge,  she  could  hardly  have  had  a  tighter  squeeze  ;  it 
was  no  wonder  that  she  groaned  under  it ;  but  she  withstood  it, 
broke  loose,  and  eased.  Who  shall  say  after  this  that  a  vessel's 
shape  is  of  little  consequence  ?  Had  the  Pram  not  been  designed 
as  she  was,  we  should  not  have  been  sitting  here  now.  Not  a 
drop  of  water  is  to  be  found  in  her  anywhere.  Strangely  enough, 
the  ice  has  not  given  us  another  such  squeeze  since  then ;  per- 
haps it  was  its  expiring  grip  we  felt  on  Saturday. 

"  It  is  hard  to  tell,  but  it  was  terrific  enough.  This  morning 
Sverdrup  and  I  went  for  a  walk  on  the  ice,  but  when  we  got  a 
little  way  from  the  ship  we  found  no  sign  of  any  new  packing  ; 
the  ice  was  smooth  and  unbroken  as  before.  The  packing  has 
been  limited  to  a  certain  stretch  from  east  to  west,  and  the 
Pram  has  been  lying  at  the  very  worst  point  of  it. 

"This  afternoon  Hansen  has  worked  out  yesterday's  observa- 
tions, the  result  being  83°  34.2'  north  latitude  and  102°  51'  east 
longitude.  We  have  therefore  drifted  north  and  westward  ;  15 
miles  west,  indeed,  and  only  13.5  north  since  New-year's  eve, 
while  the  wind  has  been  mostly  from  the  southwest.  It  seems 
as  if  the  ice  had  taken  a  more  decided  course  towards  the  north- 
west than  ever,  and  therefore  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that 
there  is  some  pressure  when  the  wind  blows  athwart  the  course 
of  the  ice.  However,  I  hardly  think  we  need  any  particular  ex- 
planation of  the  pressure,  as  we  have  evidently  again  got  into 


336  FARTHEST  NORTH 

a,  packing-centre  with  cracks,  lanes,  and  ridges,  where  the  press- 
ure is  maintained  for  some  time,  such  as  we  were  in  during 
the  first  winter.  We  have  constantly  met  with  several  similar 
stretches  on  the  surrounding  ice,  even  when  it  has  been  most 
quiet. 

"  This  evening  there  was  a  most  remarkable  brightness  right 
under  the  moon.  It  was  like  an  immense  luminous  haycock, 
which  rose  from  the  horizon  and  touched  the  great  ring  round 
the  moon.  At  the  upper  side  of  this  ring  there  was  a  segment  of 
the  usual  inverted  arc  of  light." 

The  next  day,  January  8th,  the  ice  began  grinding  occasion- 
ally, and  while  Mogstad  and  I  stood  in  the  hold  working  on  hand- 
sledges  we  heard  creakings  in  the  ship  both  above  and  below  us. 
This  was  repeated  several  times  ;  but  in  the  intervals  it  was  quiet. 
I  was  often  on  the  ice  listening  to  the  grinding  and  watching  how 
it  went  on,  but  it  did  not  go  beyond  crackling  and  creaking  be- 
neath our  feet  and  in  the  ridge  at  our  side.  Perhaps  it  is  to  warn 
us  not  to  be  too  confident !  I  am  not  so  sure  that  it  is  not  nec- 
essary. It  is  in  reality  like  living  on  a  smoking  volcano.  The 
eruption  that  will  seal  our  fate  may  occur  at  any  moment.  It 
will  either  force  the  ship  up  or  swallow  her  down.  And  what  are 
the  stakes  ?  Either  the  Fram  will  get  home  and  the  expedition 
be  fully  successful,  or  we  shall  lose  her  and  have  to  be  content 
with  what  we  have  done,  and  possibly  on  our  way  home  we  may 
explore  parts  of  Franz  Josef  Land.  That  is  all ;  but  most  of  us 
feel  that  it  would  be  hard  to  lose  the  ship,  and  it  would  be  a  very 
sad  sight  to  see  her  disappear. 

"  Some  of  the  hands,  under  Sverdrup,  are  working,  trying  to 
cut  away  the  hummock  ice  on  the  port  side,  and  they  have  already 
made  good  headway.  Mogstad  and  I  are  busy  getting  the  sledges 
in  order,  and  preparing  them  for  use  as  I  want  them,  whether 
we  go  north  or  south. 

"  Liv  is  two  years  old  to-day. 

"  She  is  a  big  girl  now.  I  wonder  if  I  should  be  able  to  recog- 
nize her  ?  I  suppose  I  should  hardly  find  a  single  familiar  feature. 
They  are  sure  to  celebrate  the  day,  and  she  will  get  all  kinds  of 
presents.  Many  a  thought  will  be  sent  northward,  but  they  know 
not  where  to  look  for  us ;  are  not  aware  that  we  are  drifting  here 
embedded  in  the  ice  in  the  highest  northern  latitudes  ever 
reached,  in  the  deepest  polar  night  ever  penetrated." 


?  5 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  18^5  337 

During  the  following  days  the  ice  became  steadily  quieter.  In 
the  course  of  the  night  of  the  9th  of  January  the  ice  was  still 
slightly  cracking  and  grinding ;  then  it  quite  subsided,  and  on  the 
loth  of  January  the  report  is,  "Ice  perfectly  quiet,  and  if  it  were 
not  for  the  ridge  on  the  port  side  one  would  never  have  thought 
there  had  ever  been  any  breach  in  the  eternal  stillness,  so  calm 
and  peaceful  is  it."  Some  men  went  on  cutting  away  the  ice, 
and  little  by  little  we  could  see  it  was  getting  less.  Mogstad  and 
I  were  busily  engaged  in  the  hold  with  the  new  sledges,  and  dur- 
ing this  time  I  also  made  an  attempt  to  photograph  the  Fram  by 
moonlight  from  different  points.  The  results  surpassed  my  ex- 
pectations ;  but  as  the  top  of  the  pressure-ridge  had  now  been 
cut  away,  these  photos  do  not  give  an  exact  impression  of  the 
pack-ice,  and  of  how  it  came  hurtling  down  upon  the  Fram.  We 
then  put  in  order  our  depot  on  the  great  hummock  on  the  star- 
board quarter,  and  all  sleeping-bags,  Lapland  boots,  Finn  shoes, 
wolfskin  clothing,  etc.,  were  wrapped  in  the*  foresail  and  placed 
to  the  extreme  west,  the  provisions  were  collected  into  six  differ- 
ent heaps,  and  the  rifles  and  guns  were  distributed  among  three 
of  the  heaps  and  wrapped  up  in  boat-sails.  Next,  Hansen's  in- 
strument-case and  my  own,  together  with  a  bucketful  of  rifle- 
cartridges,  were  placed  under  a  boat-sail.  Then  the  forge  and 
the  smith's  tools  were  arranged  separately,  and  up  on  the  top  of 
the  great  hummock  we  laid  a  heap  of  sledges  and  snow-shoes. 
All  the  kayaks  were  laid  side  by  side  bottom  upward,  the  cooking 
apparatus  and  lamps,  etc.,  being  placed  under  them.  They  were 
spread  out  in  this  way,  so  that  in  the  improbable  event  of  the 
thick  floe  splitting  suddenly  our  loss  would  not  be  so  great.  We 
knew  where  to  find  everything,  and  it  might  blow  and  drift  to 
its  heart's  content  without  our  losing  anything. 

On  the  evening  of  January  14th  I  wrote  in  my  diary :  "Two 
sharp  reports  were  heard  in  the  ship,  like  shots  from  a  cannon, 
and  then  followed  a  noise  as  of  something  splitting — presumably 
this  must  be  the  cracking  of  the  ice,  on  account  of  the  frost.  It 
appeared  to  me  that  the  list  on  the  ship  increased  at  that  mo- 
ment, but  perhaps  it  was  only  imagination." 

As  time  passed  on  we  all  gradually  got  busy  again  preparing 

for  the  sledge  expedition.     On  Tuesday,  January  15th,  I  say  : 

"  This  evening  the  doctor  gave  a  lesson  to  Johansen  and  myself 

in  bandaging  and  repairing  broken  limbs.     I  lay  on  the  table  and 

22 


338  FARTHEST  NORTH 

had  a  plaster  -  of  -  Paris  bandage  put  round  the  calf  of  my  leg, 
while  all  the  crew  were  looking  on.  The  very  sight  of  this  opera- 
tion cannot  fail  to  suggest  unpleasant  thoughts.  An  accident  of 
this  nature  out  in  the  polar  night,  with  40°  to  50°  of  cold,  would 
be  anything  but  pleasant,  to  say  nothing  of  how  easily  it  might 
mean  death  to  both  of  us.  But  who  knows  ?  We  might  manage 
somehow.  However,  such  things  must  not  be  allowed  to  happen, 
and,  what  is  more,  they  shall  not." 

As  January  went  on  we  could  by  noon  just  see  the  faint  dawn 
of  day — that  day  at  whose  sunrise  we  were  to  start.  On  January 
1 8th  I  say  :  "  By  9  o'clock  in  the  morning  I  could  already  distin- 
guish the  first  indications  of  dawn,  and  by  noon  it  seemed  to  be 
getting  bright ;  but  it  seems  hardly  credible  that  in  a  month's 
time  there  will  be  light  enough  to  travel  by,  yet  it  must  be  so. 
True,  February  is  a  month  which  all  '  experienced '  people  con- 
sider far  too  early  and  much  too  cold  for  travelling ;  hardly  any 
one  would  do  so  in  the  month  of  March.  But  it  cannot  be  helped; 
we  have  no  time  to  waste  in  waiting  for  additional  comfort  if  we 
are  to  make  any  progress  before  the  summer,  when  travelling 
will  be  impossible.  I  am  not  afraid  of  the  cold ;  we  can  always 
protect  ourselves  against  that. 

"  Meantime  all  preparations  are  proceeding,  and  I  am  now  get- 
ting everything  in  order  connected  with  copying  of  diaries,  ob- 
servation-books, photographs,  etc.,  that  we  are  to  take  with  us. 
Mogstad  is  working  in  the  hold  making  maple  guard-runners  to 
put  under  the  sledges.  Jacobsen  has  commenced  to  put  a  new 
sledge  together.  Pettersen  is  in  the  engine-room,  making  nails 
for  the  sledge-fittings,  which  Mogstad  is  to  put  on.  In  the  mean- 
time some  of  the  others  have  built  a  large  forge  out  on  the  ice 
with  blocks  of  ice  and  snow,  and  to-morrow  Sverdrup  and  I  will 
heat  and  bend  the  runners  in  tar  and  stearine  at  such  a  heat  as 
we  can  produce  in  the  forge.  We  trust  we  shall  be  able  to  get  a 
sufficient  temperature  to  do  this  important  work  thoroughly,  in 
spite  of  the  40°  of  frost.  Amundsen  is  now  repairing  the  mill, 
as  there  is  something  wrong  with  it  again,  the  cog-wheels  being 
worn.  He  thinks  he  will  be  able  to  get  it  all  right  again.  Rather 
chilly  work  to  be  lying  up  there  in  the  wind  on  the  top  of  the 
mill,  boring  in  the  hard  steel  and  cast-iron  by  lantern-light,  and  at 
such  a  temperature  as  we  are  having  now.  I  stood  and  watched 
the  lantern-light  up  there  to-day,  and  I  soon  heard  the  drill  work- 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  1895  339 

ing ;  one  could  tell  the  steel  was  hard  ;  then  I  could  hear  clap- 
ping of  hands.  'Ah,'  thought  I,  'you  may  well  clap  your  hands 
together  ;  it  is  not  a  particularly  warm  job  to  be  lying  up  there 
in  the  wind.'  The  worst  of  it  is  one  cannot  wear  mittens  for 
such  work,  but  has  to  use  the  bare  hands  if  one  is  to  make  any 
progress,  and  it  would  not  take  long  to  freeze  them ;  but  it  has 
to  be  done,  he  says,  and  he  will  not  give  in.  He  is  a  splendid 
fellow  in  all  he  undertakes,  and  I  console  him  by  saying  that 
there  are  not  many  before  him  who  have  worked  on  the  top  of 
a  mill  in  such  frost  north  of  83°.  On  many  expeditions  they 
have  avoided  out-of-door  work  when  the  temperature  got  so  low. 
*  Indeed,'  he  says,  '  I  thought  that  other  expeditions  were  in  ad- 
vance of  us  in  that  respect.  I  imagined  we  had  kept  indoors 
too  much.'  I  had  no  hesitation  in  enlightening  him  on  this 
point ;  I  know  he  will  do  his  best  in  any  case. 

"  This  is,  indeed,  a  strange  time  for  me ;  I  feel  as  if  I  were 
preparing  for  a  summer  trip  and  the  spring  were  already  here, 
yet  it  is  still  midwinter,  and  the  conditions  of  the  summer  trip 
may  be  somewhat  ambiguous.  The  ice  keeps  quiet ;  the  crack- 
ing in  it  and  in  the  Pram  is  due  only  to  the  cold.  I  have  during 
the  last  few  days  again  read  Payer's  account  of  his  sledge  expedi- 
tion northward  through  Austria  Sound.  It  is  not  very  encourag- 
ing. The  very  land  he  describes  as  the  realm  of  Death,  where 
he  thinks  he  and  his  companions  would  inevitably  have  perished 
had  they  not  recovered  the  vessel,  is  the  place  to  which  we  look 
for  salvation  ;  that  is  the  region  we  hope  to  reach  when  our 
provisions  have  come  to  an  end.  It  may  seem  reckless,  but 
nevertheless  I  cannot  imagine  that  it  is  so.  I  cannot  help  be- 
lieving that  a  land  which  even  in  April  teems  with  bears,  auks, 
and  black  guillemots,  and  where  seals  are  basking  on  the  ice, 
must  be  a  Canaan,  '  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,'  for  two  men 
who  have  rifles  and  good  eyes  ;  it  must  surely  yield  food  enough 
not  only  for  the  needs  of  the  moment,  but  also  provisions  for 
the  journey  onward  to  Spitzbergen.  Sometimes,  however,  the 
thought  will  present  itself  that  it  may  be  very  difficult  to  get 
the  food  when  it  is  most  sorely  needed ;  but  these  are  only  pass- 
ing moments.  We  must  remember  Carlyle's  words :  '  A  man 
shall  and  must  be  valiant ;  he  must  march  forward,  and  quit 
himself  like  a  man — trusting  imperturbably  in  the  appointment 
and   choice  of  the  Upper  Powers.'     I  have  not,  it  is  true,  any 


340  FARTHEST  NORTH 

'Upper  Powers';  it  would  probably  be  well  to  have  them  in  such 
a  case,  but  we  nevertheless  are  starting,  and  the  time  approaches 
rapidly  ;  four  weeks  or  a  little  more  soon  pass  by,  and  then  fare- 
well to  this  snug  nest,  which  has  been  our  home  for  eighteen 
months,  and  we  go  out  into  the  darkness  and  cold,  out  into  the 
still  more  unknown  : 

" '  Out  yonder  'tis  dark. 
But  onward  we  must. 
Over  the  dewy  wet  mountains, 
Ride  through  the  land  of  the  ice-troll; 
We  shall  both  be  saved, 
Or  the  ice-troll's  hand 
Shall  clutch  us  both.' " 

On  January  23d  I  write  :  "  The  dawn  has  grown  so  much 
that  there  was  a  visible  light  from  it  on  the  ice,  and  for  the  first 
time  this  year  I  saw  the  crimson  glow  of  the  sun  low  down  in 
the  dawn."  We  now  took  soundings  with  the  lead  before  I  was 
to  leave  the  vessel ;  we  found  1876  fathoms  (3450  metres).  I  then 
made  some  snow-shoes  down  in  the  hold ;  it  was  important  to 
have  them  smooth,  tough,  and  light,  on  which  one  could  make 
good  headway  ;  "  they  shall  be  well  rubbed  with  tar,  stearine, 
and  tallow,  and  there  shall  be  speed  in  them ;  then  it  is  only  a 
question  of  using  one's  legs,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  can  be 
managed. 

"  Tuesday,  January  29th.  Latitude  yesterday,  83°  30'.  (Some 
days  ago  we  had  been  so  far  north  as  83°  40',  but  had  again 
drifted  southward.)  The  light  keeps  on  steadily  increasing,  and 
by  noon  it  almost  seems  to  be  broad  daylight.  I  believe  I  could 
read  the  title  of  a  book  out  in  the  open  if  the  print  were  large 
and  clear.  I  take  a  stroll  ev'ery  morning,  greeting  the  dawning 
day,  before  I  go  down  into  the  hold  to  my  work  at  the  snow- 
shoes  and  equipment.  My  mind  is  filled  with  a  peculiar  sensa- 
tion, which  I  cannot  clearly  define ;  there  is  certainly  an  exult- 
ing feeling  of  triumph,  deep  in  the  soul,  a  feeling  that  all  one's 
dreams  are  about  to  be  realized  with  the  rising  sun,  which  steers 
northward  across  the  ice-bound  waters.  But  while  I  am  busy 
in  these  familiar  surroundings  a  wave  of  sadness  sometimes 
comes  over  me ;  it  is  like  bidding  farewell  to  a  dear  friend  and 
to  a  home  which  has  long  afforded  me  a  sheltering  roof.      At 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  1895  341 

one  blow  all  this  and  my  dear  comrades  are  to  be  left  behind 
forever ;  never  again  shall  I  tread  this  snow-clad  deck,  never 
again  creep  under  this  tent,  never  hear  the  laughter  ring  in  this 
familiar  saloon,  never  again  sit  in  this  friendly  circle. 

"And  then  I  remember  that  when  the  Fram  at  last  bursts 
from  her  bonds  of  ice,  and  turns  her  prow  towards  Norway,  I 
shall  not  be  with  her.  A  farewell  imparts  to  everything  in  life 
its  own  tinge  of  sadness,  like  the  crimson  rays  of  the  sun,  when 
the  day,  good  or  bad,  sinks  in  tears  below  the  horizon. 

"  Hundreds  of  times  my  eye  wanders  to  the  map  hanging 
there  on  the  wall,  and  each  time  a  chill  creeps  over  me.  The 
distance  before  us  seems  so  long,  and  the  obstacles  in  our  path 
may  be  many  ;  but  then  again  the  feeling  comes  that  we  are 
bound  to  pull  through :  it  cannot  be  otherwise  ;  everything  is 
too  carefully  prepared  to  fail  now,  and  meanwhile  the  southeast 
wind  is  whistling  above  us,  and  we  are  continually  drifting  north- 
ward nearer  our  goal.  When  I  go  up  on  deck  and  step  out  into 
the  night  with  its  glittering  starry  vault  and  the  flaring  aurora 
borealis,  then  all  these  thoughts  recede,  and  I  must,  as  ever,  pause 
on  the  threshold  of  this  sanctuary — this  dark,  deep,  silent  space, 
this  infinite  temple  of  nature,  in  which  the  soul  seeks  to  find  its 
origin.  Toiling  ant,  what  matters  it  whether  you  reach  your 
goal  with  your  fir-needle  or  not  ?  Everything  disappears  none 
the  less  in  the  ocean  of  eternity,  in  the  great  Nirvana ;  and  as 
time  rolls  on  our  names  are  forgotten,  our  deeds  pass  into 
oblivion,  and  our  lives  flit  by  like  the  traces  of  a  cloud,  and 
vanish  like  the  mist  dispelled  by  the  warm  rays  of  the  sun. 
Our  time  is  but  a  fleeting  shadow,  hurrying  us  on  to  the  end — 
so  it  is  ordained ;  and  having  reached  that  end,  none  ever  re- 
traces his  steps. 

"Two  of  us  will  soon  be  journeying  farther  through  this  im- 
mense waste,  into  greater  solitudes  and  deeper  stillness. 

"  Wednesday,  January  30th.  To-day  the  great  event  has  hap- 
pened, that  the  windmill  is  again  at  work  for  the  first  time  after 
its  long  rest.  In  spite  of  the  cold  and  the  darkness,  Amund- 
sen had  got  the  cog-wheels  into  order,  and  now  it  is  running  as 
smoothly  and  steadily  as  gutta-percha." 

We  have  now  constant  northeast  winds,  and  we  again  bore 
northward.  On  Sunday,  February  3d,  we  were  at  83°  43'.  The 
time  for  our  departure  approached,  and  the  preparations  were 


342  FARTHEST  NORTH 

carried  on  with  great  activity.  The  sledges  were  completed,  and 
I  tried  them  under  various  conditions.  I  have  alluded  to  the 
fact  that  we  made  maple  guards  to  put  under  the  fixed  nickel- 
plated  runners.  The  idea  of  this  was  to  strengthen  both  the 
sledges  and  the  runners,  so  that  they  would  at  the  beginning  of 
the  journey,  when  the  loads  were  heavy,  be  less  liable  to  breakage 
from  the  jolting  to  which  they  would  probably  be  exposed. 
Later  on,  when  the  load  got  lighter,  we  might,  if  we  thought  fit, 
easily  remove  them.  These  guards  were  also  to  serve  another 
purpose.  I  had  an  idea  that,  in  view  of  the  low  temperature  we 
had  during  the  winter,  and  on  the  dry  drift-snow  which  then 
covered  the  ice-floes,  metal  would  glide  less  easily  than  smooth 
wood,  especially  if  the  latter  were  well  rubbed  with  rich  tar  and 
stearine.  By  February  8th  one  of  the  sledges  with  wooden 
guard-runners  was  finished,  so  that  we  could  make  experiments 
in  this  direction,  and  we  then  found  that  it  was  considerably 
easier  to  haul  than  a  similar  sledge  running  on  the  nickel-plate, 
though  the  load  on  each  was  exactly  the  same.  The  difference 
was  so  great  that  we  found  that  it  was  at  least  half  as  hard  again 
to  draw  a  sledge  on  the  nickel  runners  as  on  the  tarred  maple 
runners. 

Our  new  ash  sledges  were  now  nearly  finished,  and  weighed  30 
pounds  without  the  guard-runners.  "  Everybody  is  hard  at  work. 
Sverdrup  is  sewing  bags  or  bolsters  to  put  on  the  sledges  as  beds 
for  the  kayaks  to  rest  on.  To  this  end  the  bags  are  to  be  made 
up  to  fit  the  bottoms  of  the  boats.  Johansen,  with  one  or  two 
other  men,  are  stuffing  the  bags  with  pemmican,  which  has  to  be 
warmed,  beaten,  and  kneaded  in  order  to  give  it  the  right  form 
for  making  a  good  bed  for  our  precious  boats.  When  these 
square,  flat  bags  are  carried  out  into  the  cold  they  freeze  as  hard 
as  stone,  and  keep  their  form  well.  Blessing  is  sitting  up  in  the 
work-room,  copying  the  photographs  of  which  I  have  no  prints. 
Hansen  is  working  out  a  map  of  our  route  so  far,  and  copying 
out  his  observations  for  us,  etc.,  etc.  In  short,  there  is  hardly  a 
man  on  board  who  does  not  feel  that  the  moment  for  departure 
approaches ;  perhaps  the  galley  is  the  only  place  where  every- 
thing goes  on  in  the  usual  way  under  the  management  of  Lars. 
Our  position  yesterday  was  Zi""  32.1'  north  latitude  and  102°  28' 
east  longitude,  so  we  are  southward  again  ;  but  never  mind,  what 
do  a  couple  of  miles  more  or  less  matter  to  us  ? 


THE  NEW   YEAR,  1893  343 

"  Sunday,  February  loth.  To-day  there  was  so  much  daylight 
that  at  I  o'clock  I  could  fairly  well  read  the  Verdejis  Gang,  when 
I  held  the  paper  up  towards  the  light;  but  when  I  held  it  towards 
the  moon,  which  was  low  in  the  north,  it  was  no  go.  Before 
dinner  I  went  for  a  short  drive  with  '  Gulen '  and  '  Susine '  (two 
of  the  young  dogs)  and  'Kaifas.'  'Gulen'  had  never  been  in 
harness  before,  but  yet  she  went  quite  well ;  she  was  certainly  a 
little  awkward  at  first,  but  that  soon  disappeared,  and  I  think  she 
will  make  a  good  dog  when  she  is  well  trained.  '  Susine,'  who 
was  driven  a  little  last  autumn,  conducted  herself  quite  like  an 
old  sledge-dog.  The  surface  is  hard,  and  easy  for  the  dogs  to 
haul  on.  They  get  a  good  foothold,  and  the  snow  is  not  particu- 
larly sharp  for  their  feet ;  however,  it  is  not  oversmooth ;  this 
drift-snow  makes  heavy  going.  The  ice  is  smooth,  and  easy  to 
run  on,  and  I  trust  we  shall  be  able  to  make  good  day-journeys ; 
after  all,  we  shall  reach  our  destination  sooner  than  we  had  ex- 
pected. I  cannot  deny  that  it  is  a  long  journey,  and  scarcely 
any  one  has  ever  more  effectually  burned  his  boats  behind  him. 
If  we  wished  to  turn  back  we  have  absolutely  nothing  to  return 
to,  not  even  a  bare  coast.  It  will  be  impossible  to  find  the  ship, 
and  before  us  lies  the  great  unknown.  But  there  is  only  one 
road,  and  that  lies  straight  ahead,  right  through,  be  it  land  or 
sea,  be  it  smooth  or  rough,  be  it  mere  ice  or  ice  and  water.  And 
I  cannot  but  believe  that  we  must  get  through,  even  if  we  should 
meet  with  the  worst — viz.,  land  and  pack-ice. 

"  Wednesday,  February  13th.  The  pemmican  bolsters  and 
dried-liver  pie  are  now  ready  ;  the  kayaks  will  get  an  excellent 
bedding,  and  I  venture  to  say  that  such  meat-bolsters  are  an  ab- 
solute novelty.  Under  each  kayak  there  are  three  of  them,  they 
are  made  to  fit  the  sledge,  and,  as  already  stated,  are  moulded  to 
the  shape  of  the  kayak.  They  weigh  100  to  120  pounds  each. 
The  empty  sacks  weigh  2  or  3  pounds  each,  so  that  altogether 
the  meat  (pemmican  and  liver  pie)  in  these  three  bags  will  weigh 
about  320  pounds.  We  each  had  our  light  sleeping-bags  of 
reindeer-skin,  and  we  tried  to  sleep  out  in  them  last  night,  but 
both  Johansen  and  I  found  it  rather  cold,  although  it  was  only 
37°  Fahr.  of  frost.  We  were,  perhaps,  too  lightly  clad  under  the 
wolfskin  clothing  ;  we  are  making  another  experiment  with  a 
little  more  on  to-night. 

"  Saturday,  February  i6th.     The  outfitting  is  still  progress- 


344  FARTHEST  NORTH 

ing;  but  there  are  various  small  things  yet  to  do  which  take 
time,  and  I  dx)  not  know  whether  we  shall  be  ready  to  start  on 
Wednesday,  February  20th,  as  I  originally  intended.  The  day 
is  now  so  light  that,  so  far  as  that  is  concerned,  we  might  quite 
well  start  then  ;  but  perhaps  we  had  better  wait  a  day  or  two 
longer.  Three  sledge-sails  (for  single  sledges)  are  now  finished  ; 
they  are  made  of  very  light  calico,  and  are  about  7  feet  2  inches 
broad  by  4  feet  4  inches  long ;  they  are  made  so  that  two  of 
them  may  be  laced  together  and  used  as  one  sail  for  a  double 
sledge,  and  I  believe  they  will  act  well ;  they  weigh  a  little  over 
one  pound  each.  Moreover,  we  have  now  most  of  the  provisions 
ready  stowed  away  in  bags." 


CHAPTER  XI 
WE   MAKE  A   START 

"  Tuesday,  February  26th.  At  last  the  day  has  arrived,  the 
great  day,  when  the  journey  is  to  commence.  The  week  has 
passed  in  untiring  work  to  get  everything  ready.  We  should 
have  started  on  the  20th,  but  it  has  been  postponed  from  day  to 
day  ;  there  was  always  something  still  to  do.  My  head  has  been 
full  night  and  day,  with  all  that  was  to  be  done  and  that  must 
not  be  forgotten.  Oh,  this  unceasing  mental  strain,  which  does 
not  allow  a  minute's  respite  in  which  to  throw  off  the  responsi- 
bility, to  give  loose  rein  to  the  thoughts,  and  let  the  dreams  have 
full  sway  !  The  nerves  are  in  a  state  of  tension  from  the  mo- 
ment of  awaking  in  the  morning  till  the  eyes  close  late  at  night. 
Ah  !  how  well  I  know  this  state,  which  I  have  experienced  each 
time  I  have  been  about  to  set  out  and  retreat  was  to  be  cut  off — 
never,  I  believe,  more  effectually  than  now  !  The  last  few  nights 
I  did  not  get  to  bed  before  half-past  three  or  half-past  four  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  It  is  not  only  what  we  ought  to  take  with  us 
that  has  to  be  taken  care  of,  but  we  have  to  leave  the  vessel ;  its 
command  and  responsibility  have  to  be  placed  in  other  hands, 
and  care  must  be  taken  that  nothing  is  forgotten  in  the  way  of 
instructions  to  the  men  who  remain,  as  the  scientific  observa- 
tions will  have  to  be  continued  on  the  same  lines  as  they  have 
been  carried  on  hitherto,  and  other  observations  of  all  kinds  will 
have  to  be  made,  etc.,  etc." 

The  last  night  we  were  to  spend  on  board  the  Fram  eventu- 
ally arrived,  and  we  had  a  farewell  party.  In  a  strange,  sad  way, 
reminiscences  were  revived  of  all  that  had  befallen  us  here  on 
board,  mingled  with  hope  and  trust  in  what  the  future  would 
bring.  I  remained  up  till  far  into  the  night ;  letters  and  re- 
membrances had  to  be  sent  to  those  at  home,  in  case  the  unfore- 
seen should  happen.     Among  the  last  things  I  wrote  were  the 


346  FARTHEST  NORTH 

following  instructions  to  Sverdrup,  in  which  I  handed  over  to 
him  the  command  of  the  expedition  : 

"  Captain  Otto  Sverdrup,  Commander  of  the  Fram  : 

"  As  I  am  now  leaving  the  Fram,  accompanied  by  Johansen, 
to  undertake  a  journey  northward— if  possible,  to  the  Pole— and 
from  there  to  Spitzbergen,  most  likely  via  Franz  Josef  Land,  I 
make  over  to  you  the  command  of  the  remaining  part  of  the 
expedition.  From  the  day  I  leave  the  Fram,  all  the  authority 
which  hitherto  was  vested  in  me  shall  devolve  upon  you  to  an 
equal  extent,  and  the  others  will  have  to  render  absolute  obedi- 
ence to  you,  or  to  whomsoever  you  may  depute  as  their  leader. 
I  consider  it  superfluous  to  give  any  orders  about  what  is  to  be 
done  under  various  contingencies,  even  if  it  were  possible  to 
give  any.  I  am  certain  you  will  know  best  yourself  what  ought 
to  be  done  in  any  emergency,  and  I  therefore  consider  that  I 
may  with  confidence  leave  the  Fram. 

"  The  chief  aim  of  the  expedition  is  to  push  through  the  un- 
known Polar  Sea  from  the  region  around  the  New  Siberian 
Islands,  north  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  and  onward  to  the  Atlantic 
Ocean,  near  Spitzbergen  or  Greenland.  The  most  essential  part 
of  this  task,  I  consider,  we  have  already  accomplished  ;  the  re- 
mainder will  be  achieved  as  the  expedition  gets  farther  west. 
In  order  to  make  the  expedition  still  more  fruitful  of  results,  I 
am  making  an  attempt  to  push  farther  up  north  with  the  dogs. 
Your  task  will  then  be  to  convey  home,  in  the  safest  manner 
possible,  the  human  lives  now  confided  to  your  care,  and  not  to 
expose  them  to  any  unnecessary  danger,  either  out  of  regard 
for  the  ship  or  cargo,  or  for  the  scientific  outcome  of  the  expedi- 
tion. No  one  can  tell  how  long  it  may  take  before  the  Fram 
drifts  out  into  open  water.  You  have  provisions  for  several  years 
to  come ;  if  for  any  unknown  reason  it  should  take  too  long,  or  if 
the  crew  should  begin  to  suffer  in  health,  or  if  from  other  reasons 
you  should  think  it  best  to  abandon  the  vessel,  it  should  unques- 
tionably be  done.  As  to  the  time  of  the  year  when  this  should  be 
done,  and  the  route  to  be  chosen,  you  yourself  will  be  best  able 
to  judge.  If  it  should  be  necessary,  I  consider  Franz  Josef  Land 
and  Spitzbergen  favorable  lands  to  make  for.  If  search  is  made 
for  the  expedition  after  the  arrival  home  of  Johansen  and  my- 
self, it  will  be  made  there  first.     Wherever  you  come  to  land, 


WB  MAKE  A   START  347 

you  should,  as  often  as  you  can,  erect  conspicuous  beacons  on 
promontories  and  projecting  headlands,  and  place  within  the 
beacons  a  short  report  of  what  has  occurred,  and  whither  you  are 
going.  In  order  to  distinguish  these  beacons  from  others,  a 
small  beacon  should  be  erected  4  metres  from  the  larger  one  in 
the  direction  of  the  magnetic  North  Pole.  The  question  as  to 
what  outfit  would  be  most  advantageous  in  case  the  Fram  should 
have  to  be  abandoned  is  one  which  we  have  so  frequently  dis- 
cussed that  I  consider  it  superfluous  to  dwell  on  it  here.  I  know 
that  you  will  take  care  that  the  requisite  number  of  kayaks  for 
all  the  men,  sledges,  snow-shoes,  'truger,'  and  other  articles  of 
outfit  are  put  in  complete  order  as  soon  as  possible,  and  kept  in 
readiness,  so  that  such  a  journey  home  over  the  ice  could  be 
undertaken  with  the  greatest  possible  ease.  Elsewhere  I  give 
you  directions  as  to  the  provisions  which  I  consider  most  suit- 
able for  such  a  journey,  and  the  quantity  necessary  for  each  man. 

"  I  also  know  that  you  will  hold  everything  in  readiness  to 
abandon  the  Fram  in  the  shortest  possible  time  in  the  event  of 
her  suffering  sudden  damage,  whether  through  fire  or  ice-press- 
ure. If  the  ice  permit  it,  I  consider  it  advisable  that  a  depot, 
with  sufficient  provisions,  etc.,  should  be  established  at  a  safe 
place  on  the  ice,  such  as  we  have  lately  had.  All  necessaries 
which  cannot  be  kept  on  the  ice  ought  to  be  so  placed  on  board 
that  they  are  easy  to  get  at  under  any  circumstances.  As  you 
are  aware,  all  the  provisions  now  in  the  depot  are  concentrated 
foods  for  sledging  journeys  only ;  but  as  it  may  happen  that 
you  will  have  to  remain  inactive  for  a  time  before  going  farther, 
it  would  be  highly  desirable  to  save  as  much  tinned  meat,  fish, 
and  vegetables  as  possible ;  should  troublous  times  come,  then  I 
should  consider  it  advisable  to  have  a  supply  of  these  articles 
ready  on  the  ice. 

*'  Should  the  Fram  while  drifting  be  carried  far  to  the  north 
of  Spitzbergen,  and  get  over  into  the  current  under  the  east 
coast  of  Greenland,  many  possibilities  may  be  imagined  which 
it  is  not  easy  to  form  an  opinion  on  now;  but  should  you  be 
obliged  to  abandon  the  Fram  and  make  for  the  land,  it  would 
be  best  for  you  to  erect  beacons  there,  as  stated  above  (with 
particulars  as  to  whither  you  are  going,  etc.),  as  search  might 
possibly  be  made  there  for  the  expedition.  Whether  in  that 
case  you  ought  to  make  for  Iceland  (which  is  the  nearest  land, 


348  FARTHEST  NORTH 

and  where  you  should  be  able  to  get  in  the  early  part  of  sum- 
mer, if  following  the  edge  of  the  ice),  or  for  the  Danish  colonies 
west  of  Cape  Farewell,  you  will  be  best  able  to  judge  on  con- 
sidering all  the  circumstances. 

"  As  regards  what  you  ought  to  take  with  you  in  the  event  of 
abandoning  the  Fram,  besides  the  necessary  provisions,  I  may 
mention  weapons,  ammunition,  and  equipment,  all  scientific  and 
other  journals  and  observations,  all  scientific  collectiojts  that  are 
not  too  heavy,  or,  if  too  heavy,  small  samples  thereof ;  photo- 
graphs, preferably  the  original  plates  (or  films);  or  should  these 
prove  too  heavy,  then  prints  taken  from  them  ;  also  the  *  Ader- 
man'  aerometer,  with  which  most  of  the  observations  on  the 
specific  gravity  of  sea-water  are  taken  ;  as  well  as,  of  course,  all 
journals  and  memoranda  which  are  of  any  interest.  I  leave  be- 
hind some  diaries  and  letters,  which  I  would  request  you  to  take 
special  care  of  and  deliver  to  Eva  if  I  should  not  return  home,  or 
if,  contrary  to  all  expectation,  you  should  return  home  before  us. 

"  Hansen  and  Blessing  will,  as  you  know,  attend  to  the  vari- 
ous scientific  expeditions  and  to  the  collecting  of  specimens.  You 
yourself  will  attend  to  the  soundings,  and  see  that  they  are  taken 
as  frequently  as  possible  and  as  the  condition  of  the  line  permits. 
I  should  consider  at  least  once  in  every  60  miles  covered  to  be 
extremely  desirable ;  if  it  can  be  done  oftener  so  much  the  better. 
Should  the  depth  become  less  than  now  and  more  variable,  it  goes 
without  saying  that  soundings  should  be  taken  more  frequently. 

'*As  the  crew  was  small  before,  and  will  now  be  still  further 
reduced  by  two  men,  more  work  will  probably  fall  to  each  man's 
lot ;  but  I  know  that,  whenever  you  can,  you  will  spare  men  to 
assist  in  the  scientific  observations,  and  make  them  as  complete 
as  possible.  Please  also  see  that  every  tenth  day  (the  first,  tenth, 
and  twentieth  of  every  month)  the  ice  is  bored  through,  and  the 
thickness  measured,  in  the  same  way  as  has  been  done  hitherto. 
Henriksen  has  for  the  most  part  made  these  borings,  and  is  a 
trustworthy  man  for  this  work. 

"  In  conclusion,  I  wish  all  possible  success  to  you,  and  to  those 
for  whom  you  are  now  responsible,  and  may  we  meet  again  in 
Norway,  whether  it  be  on  board  of  this  vessel  or  without  her. 

"  Yours  affectionately, 

"  On  board  the  Fram,  "  Fridtjof  Nansen. 

"February  25,  1895." 


W£  MAKE  A   START  349 

"  Now  at  last  the  brain  was  to  get  some  rest,  and  the  work 
for  the  legs  and  arms  to  commence.  Everything  was  got  ready 
for  the  start  this  morning.  Five  of  our  comrades,  Sverdrup, 
Hansen,  Blessing,  Henriksen,  and  Mogstad,  were  to  see  us  off  on 
our  way,  bringing  a  sledge  and  a  tent  with  them.  The  four  sledges 
were  got  ready,  the  dogs  harnessed  to  them,  lunch,  with  a  bottle  of 
malt  extract  per  man,  was  taken  just  before  starting,  and  then  we 
bade  the  last  hearty  farewell  to  those  left  behind.  We  were  off 
into  the  drifting  snow.  I  myself  took  the  lead  with  '  Kvik '  as 
leading  dog,  in  the  first  sledge,  and  then  sledge  after  sledge  fol- 
lowed amid  cheers,  accompanied  by  the  cracking  of  whips  and 
the  barking  of  dogs.  At  the  same  time  a  salute  was  fired  from 
the  quarter-deck,  shot  after  shot,  into  the  whirling  drift.  The 
sledges  moved  heavily  forward ;  it  was  slow  travelling  uphill, 
and  they  came  to  a  dead  stop  where  the  ascent  was  too  steep, 
and  we  all  had  to  help  them  along—one  man  alone  could  not  do 
it ;  but  over  level  ground  we  flew  along  like  a  whirlwind,  and 
those  on  snow-shoes  found  it  difficult  enough  to  keep  pace  with 
the  sledges.  I  had  to  strike  out  as  best  I  could  when  they  came 
up  to  me  to  avoid  getting  my  legs  entangled  in  the  line.  A  man 
is  beckoning  with  his  staff  far  in  the  rear.  It  is  Mogstad,  who 
comes  tearing  along  and  shouting  that  three  *floitstokker '* 
(crossbars)  had  been  torn  off  a  sledge  in  driving.  The  sledge, 
with  its  heavy  load,  had  lurched  forward  over  an  upright  piece 
of  ice,  which  struck  the  crossbars,  breaking  all  three  of  them, 
one  after  the  other  ;  one  or  two  of  the  perpendicular  supports  of 
the  runners  were  also  smashed.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to 
return  to  the  ship  to  get  it  repaired  and  have  the  sledges  made 
stronger.  Such  a  thing  ought  not  to  happen  again.  During  the 
return  one  of  the  sledges  lurched  up  against  another,  and  a  cane 
in  the  bow  snapped.  The  bows  would,  therefore,  also  have  to  be 
made  stronger.f 

"  The  sledges  have  again  been  unloaded  and  brought  on  board 
in  order  that  this  may  be  done,  and  here  we  are  again  to-night.   I 

*  The  crossbars  on  the  sledge  that  connect  the  perpendicular  sup- 
ports of  the  runners  with  each  other. 

t  The  sledge  runners  were  connected  in  front  by  a  bow,  consisting  of 
three  or  four  pieces  of  rattan  cane  lashed  together ;  it  is  to  this  bow  the 
hauling-lines  are  fastened. 


350  FARTHEST  NORTH 

am  glad,  however,  that  this  happened  when  it  did  ;  it  would  have 
been  worse  to  have  had  such  an  experience  a  few  days  later.  I 
will  now  take  six  sledges  instead  of  four,  so  that  the  load  on  each 
may  be  less,  and  so  that  it  will  be  easier  to  lift  them  over  the  ir- 
regularities of  the  ground.  I  shall  also  have  a  broad  board  fitted 
lengthwise  to  the  sledge,  underneath  the  crossbars,  so  as  to  pro- 
tect them  against  projecting  pieces  of  ice.  As  a  great  deal  of 
time  is  saved  in  the  end  by  doing  such  things  thoroughly  before 
starting,  we  shall  not  be  ready  to  start  before  the  day  after  to- 
morrow. It  seemed  strange  to  be  on  board  again  after  having 
said  good-bye,  as  I  thought,  forever,  to  these  surroundings. 
When.  I  came  up  on  the  after-deck,  I  found  the  guns  lying  there 
in  the  snow,  one  of  them  turned  over  on  its  back,  the  other  had 
recoiled  a  long  way  aft,  when  saluting  us ;  from  the  mizzen-top 
the  red-and-black  flag  was  still  waving. 

"  I  am  in  wonderfully  high  spirits,  and  feel  confident  of  suc- 
cess ;  the  sledges  seemed  to  glide  so  easily,  although  carrying  200 
pounds  more  than  was  originally  intended  (about  2200  pounds 
altogether),  and  everything  looks  very  promising.  We  shall  have 
to  wait  a  couple  of  days,  but  as  we  are  having  a  southeasterly 
wind  all  day  long,  we  are  no  doubt  getting  on  towards  the 
north,  all  the  same.  Yesterday  we  were  ^i  47' ;  to-day  I  sup- 
pose we  are  at  least  83°  50'." 

At  last,  on  Thursday,  February  28th,  we  started  again  with 
our  six  sledges.  Sverdrup,  Hansen,  Blessing,  Henriksen,  and 
Mogstad  saw  us  off.  When  we  started,  most  of  the  others  also 
accompanied  us  some  distance.  We  soon  found  that  the  dogs 
did  not  draw  as  well  as  I  had  expected,  and  I  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  with  this  load  we  should  get  on  too  slowly.  We 
had  not  proceeded  far  from  the  ship  before  I  decided  to  leave 
behind  some  of  the  sacks  with  provisions  for  the  dogs,  and  these 
were  later  on  taken  back  on  board  by  the  others. 

At  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  we  stopped,  our  odom- 
eter* showed  that  we  had  gone  about  4  miles  from  the  Frani. 
We  had  a  pleasant  evening  in  the  tent,  together  with  our  friends, 
who  were  going  back  the  next  day.     To  my  surprise  a  punch- 

*  This  odometer  had  been  made  on  board,  shortly  before  starting,  out 
of  the  works  of  an  old  anemometer.  The  odometer  was  fastened  behind 
the  last  sledge,  and  indicated  fairly  correctly  the  distance  covered  by  us. 


WE  MAKE  A   START  35i 

bowl  was  prepared,  and  toasts  were  proposed  for  those  who  were 
starting  and  those  who  remained  behind.  It  was  not  until  n 
o'clock  that  we  crept  into  our  sleeping-bags. 

There  were  illuminations  in  our  honor  that  night  on  board 
thQ  Era 7n.  The  electric  arc  lamp  was  hoisted  on  the  maintop, 
and  the  electric  light  for  the  first  time  shone  forth  over  the  ice 
masses  of  the  Polar  Sea.  Torches  had  also  been  lit,  and  bonfires 
of  oakum-ends  and  other  combustibles  were  burning  on  several 
floes  around  the  Erajn  and  making  a  brilliant  show.  Sverdrup 
had,  by  the  way,  given  orders  that  the  electric  light  or  a  lantern 
should  be  hoisted  on  the  maintop  every  night  until  he  and  the 
others  had  returned,  for  fear  they  might  lose  their  way  if  the 
tracks  should  be  obliterated  by  bad  weather.  It  would  then  be 
very  difficult  to  find  the  ship ;  but  such  a  light  can  be  seen  a 
long  distance  over  these  plains,  where  by  merely  standing  on  a 
hummock  one  can  easily  get  a  view  for  many  miles  round. 

I  was  afraid  that  the  dogs,  if  they  got  loose,  would  go  back 
to  the  Fram,  and  I  therefore  got  two  steel  lines  made,  to  which 
short  leashes  were  fastened  a  little  distance  apart,  so  that  the 
dogs  could  be  secured  to  these  lines  between  two  sticks  or 
sledges.  In  spite  of  this,  several  of  the  dogs  got  loose  ;  but, 
strange  to  say,  they  did  not  leave  us,  but  remained  with  their 
comrades  and  us.  There  was,  of  course,  a  doleful  howling  round 
the  tents  the  first  night,  and  they  disturbed  our  sleep  to  some 
extent. 

The  next  morning  (Friday,  March  ist)  it  took  one  of  our  com- 
rades three  hours  to  make  the  coffee,  being  unaccustomed  to  the 
apparatus.  We  then  had  a  very  nice  breakfast  together.  Not 
before  11.30  a.m.  did  we  get  under  way.  Our  five  comrades  ac- 
companied us  for  an  hour  or  two  and  then  turned  to  get  back  to 
the  Fram  the  same  evening.  "  It  was  certainly  a  most  cheerful 
good-bye,"  says  the  diary,  "but  it  is  always  hard  to  part,  even 
at  84°,  and  maybe  there  was  a  tearful  eye  or  two."  The  last 
thing  Sverdrup  asked  me  when  sitting  on  his  sledge,  just  as  we 
were  about  to  part,  was,  if  I  thought  I  should  go  to  the  South 
Pole  when  I  got  home :  for  if  so,  he  hoped  I  would  wait  till  he 
arrived  ;  and  then  he  asked  me  to  give  his  love  to  his  wife  and 
child. 

And  so  we  proceeded,  Johansen  and  I,  but  it  was  slow  work 
for  us  alone  with  six  sledges,  which  were  impeded  on  their  way 


352  FARTHEST  NORTH 

by  all  sorts  of  obstacles  and  inequalities.     Besides  this,  the  ice'N 
became  rougher,  so  that  it  was  difficult  to  get  on  during  the  \ 
afternoon  on  account  of  the  darkness,  the  days  being  still  very  j 
short  and  the  sun  was  not  yet  above  the  horizon.     We  therefor^ 
camped  rather  early. 

"  Wednesday,  March  6th.  We  are  again  on  board  the  Fra7n 
to  make  a  fresh  start,  for  the  third  time,  and  then,  I  suppose,  it 
will  be  in  earnest.  On  Saturday,  March  2d,  we  proceeded  with 
the  six  sledges  after  I  had  been  a  trip  to  the  northward  and 
found  it  passable.  Progress  was  slow,  and  we  had  to  do  nearly 
six  turns  each,  as  the  sledges  stopped  everywhere  and  had  to  be 
helped  along.  I  saw  now  too  clearly  that  we  should  never  get 
on  in  this  manner ;  a  change  would  have  to  be  made,  and  I  de- 
cided to  camp  in  order  to  have  a  look  at  the  ice  northward  and 
consider  the  matter.  Having  tied  up  the  dogs,  I  set  out,  while 
Johansen  was  to  feed  the  dogs  and  put  up  the  tent.  They  were  I 
fed  once  in  every  24  hours,  at  night,  when  the  day's  march  was  / 
done. 

"I  had  not  gone  far  when  I  came  upon  excellent,  spacious 
plains ;  good  progress  could  be  made,  and  so  far  everything  was 
all  right ;  but  the  load  had  to  be  diminished  and  the  number  of 
sledges  reduced.  Undoubtedly,  therefore,  it  would  be  best  to 
return  to  the  Fram  to  make  the  necessary  alterations  on  board, 
and  get  the  sledges  we  were  to  take  with  us  further  strength- 
ened, so  as  to  have  perfect  confidence  in  their  durability. 

"We  might,  of  course,  have  dragged  along  somehow  towards 
the  north  for  a  while,  and  the  load  would  gradually  have  de- 
creased ;  but  it  would  have  been  slow  work,  and  before  the  load 
would  be  sufficiently  lightened  the  dogs  would  perhaps  be  worn 
out.  It  was  cold  for  them  at  night ;  we  heard  many  of  them 
howling  most  of  the  night.  If,  however,  we  diminished  the  load, 
and  consequently  allowed  a  shorter  time  for  the  journey,  it  would 
be  preferable  to  wait,  and  not  start  till  a  little  later  in  the  month, 
when  we  could  make  more  out  of  the  time,  as  the  days  would  be 
lighter  and  not  so  cold  and  the  snow -surface  better.  Having 
spent  another  night  in  the  tent — into  which  it  was  a  hard  job  to 
get,  dressed  in  a  fur  that  was  stiff  with  frost,  and  then  into  a 
bag  that  was  also  hard  frozen — I  decided  next  morning  (Sunday, 
March  3d)  to  return  to  the  Fram,  I  harnessed  a  double  team 
of  dogs  to  one  of  the  sledges,  and  off  they  went  over  pressure- 


WE  MAKE  A   START  353 

ridges  and  all  other  obstacles  so  rapidly  that  I  could  hardly 
keep  up  with  them.  In  a  few  hours  I  covered  the  same  distance 
which  had  taken  us  three  days  when  we  started  out.  The  ad- 
vantage of  a  lighter  load  was  only  too  apparent. 

"  As  I  approached  the  Fram  I  saw,  to  my  surprise,  the  upper 
edge  of  the  sun  above  the  ice  in  the  south.  It  was  the  first  time 
this  year,  but  I  had  not  expected  it  as  yet.  It  was  the  refraction 
caused  by  the  low  temperature  which  made  it  visible  so  soon. 
The  first  news  I  heard  from  those  who  came  to  meet  me  was 
that  Hansen  had  the  previous  afternoon  taken  an  observation, 
which  gave  84°  4'  north  latitude. 

"  It  was  undoubtedly  very  pleasant  once  more  to  stretch  my 
limbs  on  the  sofa  in  the  Pram's  saloon,  to  quench  my  thirst  in 
delicious  lime-juice  with  sugar,  and  again  to  dine  in  a  civilized 
manner.  In  the  afternoon  Hansen  and  Nordahl  went  back  to 
Johansen  with  my  team  of  dogs,  to  keep  him  company  overnight. 
When  I  left  him  it  was  understood  that  he  was  to  start  on  the 
return  journey  as  best  he  could,  until  I  came  with  others  to  help 
him.  The  dogs  lost  no  time,  and  the  two  men  reached  Johansen's 
tent  in  an  hour  and  twenty  minutes.  At  night  both  they  and  we 
had  rejoicings  in  honor  of  the  sun  and  the  84th  degree. 

"  The  next  morning  three  of  us  went  off  and  fetched  the  sledges 
back.  Now,  when  we  made  for  the  ship,  the  dogs  dragged  much 
better,  and  in  a  short  time  we  should  have  been  on  board  had  it 
not  been  for  a  long  lane  in  the  ice  which  we  could  see  no  end  to, 
and  which  stopped  us.  Finally  we  left  the  sledges  and,  together 
with  the  dogs,  managed  to  cross  over  on  some  loose  pieces  of  ice 
and  got  on  board.  Yesterday  we  twice  tried  to  fetch  the  sledges, 
but  there  had  evidently  been  some  movement  in  the  lane,  and 
the  new  ice  was  still  so  thin  that  we  dared  not  trust  it.  We  have, 
however,  to-day  got  them  on  board,  and  we  will  now  for  the  last 
time,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  prepare  ourselves  for  the  journey.  I  will 
now  plan  out  the  journey  so  as  to  take  the  shortest  possible  time, 
using  light  sledges  and  tearing  along  as  fast  as  legs  and  snow- 
shoes  will  carry  us.  We  shall  be  none  the  worse  for  this  delay, 
provided  we  do  not  meet  too  much  pack-ice  or  too  many  openings 
in  the  ice. 

"  I  have  weighed  all  the  dogs,  and  have  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  we  can  feed  them  on  each  other  and  keep  going  for  about  fifty 
days;  having,  in  addition  to  this,  dog  provisions  for  about  thirty 
23 


354  FARTHEST  NORTH 

days,  we  ought  to  be  able  to  travel  with  dogs  for  eighty  days,  and 
in  that  time,  it  seems  to  me,  we  should  have  arrived  somewhere. 
And,  besides,  we  have  provisions  for  ourselves  for  one  hundred 
days.  This  will  be  about  440  pounds  on  each  sledge  if  we  take 
three,  and  with  nine  dogs  per  sledge  we  ought  to  manage  it." 

So  here  we  were  again,  busy  with  preparations  and  improve- 
ments. In  the  meantime  the  ice  moved  a  little,  broke  up,  and 
lanes  were  formed  in  various  directions.  On  March  8th  I  say : 
"  The  crack  in  the  large  floe  to  starboard,  formed  while  we  were 
away,  opened  yesterday  into  a  broad  lane,  which  we  can  see 
stretching  with  newly  frozen  ice  towards  the  horizon,  both  north 
and  south.  It  is  odd  how  that  petroleum  launch  is  always  in 
'  hot  water '  wherever  it  is.  This  crack  formed  underneath  it,  so 
it  was  hanging  with  the  stern  over  the  water  when  they  found  it 
in  the  morning.  We  have  now  decided  to  cut  it  up  and  use  the 
elm  boards  for  the  sledge-runners.     That  will  be  the  end  of  it. 

"Wednesday,  March  13th.  84°  north  latitude,  101°  55'  east 
longitude.  The  days  have  passed,  working  again  at  the  equip- 
ment. Everything  is  now  in  order.  Three  sledges  are  standing 
ready  out  on  the  ice,  properly  strengthened  in  every  way,  with 
iron  fastenings  between  uprights  and  crossbars.  These  last-men- 
tioned are  securely  strengthened  with  extra  top-pieces  of  ash,  and 
protected  underneath  by  boards.  This  afternoon  we  tried  the 
dogs  with  sledges  loaded,  and  they  went  as  easily  as  could  be, 
and  to-morrow  we  start  again  for  the  last  time,  full  of  courage 
and  confidence  and  with  the  sun  up,  in  the  assurance  that  we  are 
going  towards  ever  brighter  days. 

"  To-night  there  has  been  a  great  farewell  feast,  with  many 
hearty  speeches,  and  to-morrow  we  depart  as  early  as  possible, 
provided  our  dissipation  has  not  delayed  us.  I  have  to-night 
added  the  following  postscript  to  Sverdrup's  instructions : 


(( ( 


P.  S. — In  the  foregoing  instructions,  which  I  wrote  rather 
hurriedly  on  the  night  of  February  25th,  I  omitted  to  mention 
things  that  should  have  been  alluded  to.  I  will  restrict  myself 
here  to  stating,  further,  that  should  you  sight  unknown  land, 
everything  ought,  of  course,  to  be  done  in  order  to  ascertain  and 
examine  it,  as  far  as  circumstances  will  permit.  Should  the  Fram 
drift  so  near  that  you  think  it  can  be  reached  without  great  risk, 
everything  that  can  be  done  to  explore  the  land  would  be  of  the 


WE  MAKE  A   START  355 

greatest  interest.  Every  stone,  every  blade  of  grass,  lichen,  or 
moss,  every  animal,  from  the  largest  to  the  smallest,  would  be  of 
great  importance  ;  photographs,  and  an  exact  description  should 
not  be  neglected  ;  at  the  same  time,  it  should  be  traversed  to  the 
greatest  possible  extent,  in  order  to  ascertain  its  coast-line,  size, 
etc.  All  such  things  should,  however,  only  be  done  provided 
they  can  be  accomplished  without  danger.  If  the  Fram  is  adrift 
in  the  ice,  it  is  clear  that  only  short  excursions  should  be  made 
from  her,  as  the  members  of  such  expeditions  might  encounter 
great  difficulties  in  reaching  the  vessel  again.  Should  the  Fram 
remain  stationary  for  any  time,  such  expeditions  should  still  be 
undertaken  only  with  great  discretion,  and  not  be  extended  over 
any  great  length  of  time,  as  no  one  can  foresee  when  she  may 
commence  to  drift  again,  and  it  would  be  very  undesirable  for 
all  concerned  if  the  crew  of  the  Fram  were  to  be  still  further 
reduced. 

" '  We  have  so  often  spoken  together  about  the  scientific  re- 
searches that  I  do  not  consider  it  necessary  to  give  any  further 
suggestions  here.  I  am  certain  that  you  will  do  everything  in 
your  power  to  make  them  as  perfect  as  possible,  so  that  the  ex- 
pedition may  return  with  as  good  results  as  the  circumstances 
will  permit.  And  now,  once  again,  my  wishes  for  all  possible  suc- 
cess, and  may  we  meet  again  before  long. 

" '  Your  affectionate, 

" '  Fridtjof  Nansen. 

"  *  The  Fram,  March  13,  1895.' " 

Before  leaving  the  Fram  for  good  I  ought,  perhaps,  to  give  a 
short  account  of  the  equipment  we  finally  decided  on  as  the  most 
likely  to  suit  our  purposes. 

I  have  already  mentioned  the  two  kayaks  that  had  been  made 
during  the  course  of  the  winter,  and  that  we  required  to  have 
with  us  in  order  to  cross  possible  channels  and  pools,  and  also  for 
use  when  we  should  come  to  open  sea.  Instead  of  these  kayaks, 
I  had  at  first  thought  of  taking  ready-made  canvas  boat-covers, 
and  of  using  the  sledges  as  frames  to  stretch  them  over.  By  this 
means  a  craft  perfectly  capable  of  carrying  us  over  lanes  and 
short  bits  of  open  sea  could  have  been  rigged  up  in  a  very  short 
space  of  time.  I  subsequently  gave  up  this  idea,  however,  and  de- 
cided on  the  kayak,  a  craft  with  which  I  was  familiar,  and  which  I 


356  FARTHEST  NORTH 

knew  would  render  valuable  assistance  in  several  respects.  Even 
if  we  had  been  able  to  contrive  a  cover  for  the  sledges  in  such  a 
manner  that  a  boat  could  have  been  got  ready  in  a  short  space  of 
time,  it  would  not  have  been  such  quick  work  as  simply  launching 
a  ready-made  kayak.  Added  to  this,  the  craft  would,  necessarily, 
have  been  heavy  to  row ;  and  when  it  was  a  question  of  long 
distances  in  open  water,  such  as  along  the  coasts  of  Franz  Josef 
Land,  or  across  thence  to  Spitzbergen,  much  time  would  have 
been  lost.  One  consideration,  indeed,  and  that  of  some  moment, 
was  the  saving  in  weight  if  the  sledges  were  made  use  of ;  but 
even  this  was  not  of  so  much  importance  as  it  seemed,  as  the 
covers  of  both  kinds  of  craft  would  have  weighed  about  the  same, 
and  what  would  have  been  saved  in  the  weight  of  the  frames  was 
not  much,  if  one  remembers  that  a  whole  kayak -frame  only 
weighs  about  i6  pounds.  Then,  too,  if  kayaks  were  used,  some 
weight  would  be  saved  by  being  able  to  carry  our  provisions  and 
other  impedimenta  in  bags  of  thin  material,  which  could  be  stowed 
away  in  the  kayaks,  and  the  latter  lashed  to  the  sledges.  Our 
provisions  would  thus  be  protected  against  all  risk  of  attack  by 
dogs,  or  of  being  cut  by  sharp  pieces  of  ice.  The  other  alternative 
— the  canvas  cover — which  would  have  required  fitting  on  and 
folding  up  again  after  being  in  the  water,  would,  necessarily,  in 
the  low  temperatures  we  had  to  expect,  have  become  spoiled  and 
leaky.  Last,  but  not  least,  the  kayak,  with  its  tightly  covered 
deck,  is  a  most  efficient  sea-boat,  in  which  one  can  get  along  in 
any  kind  of  weather,  and  is  also  an  admirable  craft  for  shooting 
and  fishing  purposes.  The  boat  which  one  could  have  contrived 
by  the  other  expedient  could  with  difficulty  have  been  made  any 
way  satisfactory  in  this  respect. 

I  have  also  mentioned  the  sledges  which  I  had  made  for  this 
expedition.  They  were  of  the  same  pattern  as  those  built  for 
the  Greenland  one  ;  somewhat  resembling  in  shape  the  Norwegian 
"skikjelke,"*  which  is  alow  hand-sledge  on  broad  runners,  similar 
to  our  ordinary  ''  ski."  But  instead  of  the  broad,  flat  runners  we 
used  in  Greenland,  I  had  the  runners  made  in  this  case  about  the 
same  in  width  (3^  inches),  but  somewhat  convex  underneath,  like 
those  to  be  found  on  the  "  skikjelke  "  of  Osterdalen  and  elsewhere. 

*They  were  12  feet  long,  i  foot  9^  inches  broad,  and  rode  about  5 
inches  above  the  snow. 


W£  MAKE  A   START  357 

These  convex  runners  proved  to  move  very  easily  on  the  kind  of 
country  which  we  had  to  travel  over,  and  they  enabled  the  long 
sledges  to  be  turned  with  ease,  which  was  particularly  convenient 
in  the  drift-ice,  where  the  many  irregularities  often  necessitated 
a  very  zigzag  route.  The  runners  were  covered  with  a  thin 
plate  of  German  silver,  which,  as  it  always  keeps  bright  and 
smooth  and  does  not  rust,  answered  its  purpose  well.  As  I  men- 
tioned before,  there  were  thin,  loose,  well-tarred  guard-runners 
of  a  kind  of  maple  {Acer  platonides)  underneath  the  German- 
silver  ones.  The  sledges  were  also  prepared  in  various  other 
ways,  which  have  been  treated  of  before,  for  the  heavy  loads  they 
were  to  carry  at  the  beginning.  The  result  of  this  was  that  they 
were  somewhat  heavier  than  I  had  intended  at  first ;  but  in  return 
I  had  the  satisfaction  of  their  being  fit  for  use  during  the  whole 
journey,  and  not  once  were  we  stopped  or  delayed  by  their  break- 
ing down.  This  has  hardly  been  the  case  with  former  sledge 
journeys. 

I  have  referred  several  times  to  our  clothes^  and  our  trial-trips 
in  them.  Although  we  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  our  wolf- 
skin garments  were  too  warm  for  travelling  in,  we  took  them  with 
us  all  the  same  on  our  first  trip,  and  wore  them  too,  to  a  certain 
extent ;  but  we  soon  discovered  that  they  were  always  too  warm, 
and  caused  undue  perspiration.  By  absorbing  all  the  moisture 
of  the  body  they  became  so  heavy  that  they  made  an  appreciable 
difference  in  the  weight  of  our  loads,  and  on  our  return  from  our 
thr^e  days'  absence  from  the  vessel  were  so  wet  that  they  had  to 
be  hung  for  a  long  time  over  the  saloon  stove  to  dry.  To  this 
was  added  the  experience  that  when  we  took  them  off  in  the 
cold,  after  having  worn  them  for  a  time,  they  froze  so  stiff  that 
it  was  difficult  to  get  them  on  again.  The  result  of  all  this  was 
that  I  was  not  very  favorably  disposed  towards  them,  and  event- 
ually made  up  my  mind  to  keep  to  my  woollen  clothes,  which  I 
thought  would  give  free  outlet  to  the  perspiration.  Johansen 
followed  my  example.  Our  clothes  then  came  to  consist  of  about 
the  following :  On  the  upper  part  of  the  body  two  woollen  shirts 
(Jaeger's);  outside  these  I  had  a  camel's-hair  coat,  and,  last  of  all, 
a  thick,  rough  jersey.  Instead  of  the  jersey,  Johansen  wore  what 
is  called  on  board  ship  an  "  anorak  "  of  thick  homespun,  provided 
with  a  hood,  which  he  could  pull  forward  in  front  of  his  face,  and 
made  after  an  Eskimo  pattern.     On  our  legs  we  had,  next  our 


358  FARTHEST  NORTH 

skin,  woollen  drawers,  and  over  these  knickerbockers  and  loose 
gaiters  of  close  Norwegian  homespun.  To  protect  us  from  wind 
and  fine  driven  snow,  which,  being  of  the  nature  of  dust,  forces 
itself  into  every  pore  of  a  woollen  fabric,  we  wore  a  suit  which 
has  been  mentioned  before,  made  of  a  thin,  close  kind  of  cotton 
canvas,  and  consisting  of  an  upper  garment  to  pull  over  the  head, 
provided  with  a  hood  in  Eskimo  fashion,  and  a  lower  one  in  the 
shape  of  a  pair  of  wide  overalls. 

An  important  item  in  an  outfit  is  the  foot-gear.  Instead  of 
wearing  long  stockings,  I  preferred  to  use  loose  stocking-legs 
and  socks,  as  these  are  easy  to  dry  on  one's  chest  when  asleep 
at  night.  On  a  journey  of  this  kind,  where  one  is  continually 
travelling  over  snow  and  in  a  low  temperature,  whether  it  be  on 
"ski"  or  not,  my  experience  is  that  Finn  shoes  are,  without 
doubt,  the  most  satisfactory  covering  for  the  feet  in  every  way, 
but  they  must  be  made  of  the  skin  of  the  hind-legs  of  the  rein- 
deer buck.  They  are  warm  and  strong,  they  are  always  flexible, 
and  are  easy  to  put  on  and  take  off.  They  require  careful  man- 
agement, however,  if  they  are  not  to  be  spoiled  at  the  outset, 
and  one  must  try  as  well  as  one  can  to  dry  them  when  asleep  at 
night.  If  it  be  sunny  and  good  drying  weather  outside,  the  best 
plan  is  to  hang  them  on  a  couple  of  "ski  "  staffs,  or  something 
of  the  kind,  in  the  wind  outside  the  tent,  preferably  turned  in- 
side out,  so  that  the  skin  itself  can  dry  quickly.  If  one  does  not 
take  this  precaution  the  hair  will  soon  begin  to  fall  out.  In 
severe  cold,  such  as  we  had  on  the  first  part  of  our  journey,  it 
was  impossible  to  dry  them  in  this  way,  and  our  only  resource 
was  then  to  dry  them  on  the  feet  at  night,  after  having  carefully 
brushed  and  scraped  them  free  from  snow  and  moisture.  Then 
the  next  process  is  to  turn  them  inside  out,  fill  them  with  "sen- 
negraes,"  or  sedge,  if  one  have  it,  thrust  one's  feet  in,  and  creep 
into  the  sleeping-bag  with  them  on.*  For  milder  weather  later 
on  we  had  provided  ourselves  with  leather  boots  of  the  "  koma- 
ger  "  type,  such  as  the  Lapps  use  in  summer.  In  this  case  they 
were  made  of  under-tanned  ox-hide,  with  soles  of  the  skin  of  the 
blue  seal  (Phoca  barbara) ;  well  rubbed  in  with  a  composition  of 
tar  and  tallow,  they  make  a  wonderfully  strong  and  water-tight 

*  Compare  my  description  of  "  finsko  "  in  The  First  Crossing  of  Green- 
land, pp.  47  and  48. 


WE  MAKE  A   START  359 

boot,  especially  for  use  in  wet  weather.  Inside  the  "  finsko  "  we 
used,  at  the  beginning  of  our  journey,  this  "sennegraes"  {Carex 
cBsicaria),  of  which  we  had  taken  a  supply.  This  is  most  ef- 
fective in  keeping  the  feet  dry  and  warm,  and  if  used  Lapp-wise, 
i.  e.^  with  bare  feet,  it  draws  all  moisture  to  itself.  At  night  the 
wet  "  sennegraes  "  must  be  removed  from  the  boots,  well  pulled 
out  with  the  fingers,  so  that  it  does  not  cling  together,  and  then 
dried  during  the  night  by  being  worn  inside  the  coat  or  trou- 
sers-leg. In  the  morning  it  will  be  about  dry,  and  can  be  pressed 
into  the  boots  again.  Little  by  little,  however,  it  becomes  used 
up,  and  if  it  is  to  last  out  a  long  journey  a  good  supply  must  be 
taken. 

We  also  had  with  us  socks  made  of  sheep's  wool  and  human 
hair,  which  were  both  warm  and  durable.  Then,  too,  we  took 
squares  of  "  vadmel,"  or  Norwegian  homespun,  such  as  are  used 
in  our  army,  which  we  wore  inside  our  "  komager  "  (particularly 
myself)  on  the  latter  part  of  the  journey,  when  the  snow  was 
wet.  They  are  comfortable  to  wear  and  easy  to  dry,  as  one  can 
spread  them  out  under  one's  coat  or  trousers  at  night. 

On  our  hands  we  wore  large  gloves  of  wolfskin,  in  addition  to 
ordinary  woollen  mittens  underneath,  neither  of  them  having 
separate  divisions  for  the  fingers.  Exactly  the  same  drying 
process  had  to  be  gone  through  with  the  gloves  as  with  the  foot- 
gear. Altogether  the  warmth  of  one's  unfortunate  body,  which 
is  the  only  source  of  heat  one  has  for  this  sort  of  work,  is  chiefly 
expended  in  the  effort  to  dry  one's  various  garments ;  and  we 
spent  our  nights  in  wet  compresses,  in  order  that  the  morrow 
might  pass  in  a  little  more  comfort. 

On  our  heads  we  wore  felt. hats,  which  shaded  the  eyes  from 
the  dazzling  light,  and  were  less  pervious  to  the  wind  than  an 
ordinary  woollen  cap.  Outside  the  hat  we  generally  had  one 
or  two  hoods  of  cloth.  By  this  means  we  could  regulate  the 
warmth  of  our  heads  to  a  certain  extent,  and  this  is  no  unim- 
portant thing. 

It  had  been  my  original  intention  to  use  light  one-man  sleep- 
ing-bags, made  of  the  skin  of  the  reindeer  calf.  As  these,  how- 
ever, proved  to  be  insufficiently  warm,  I  had  to  resort  to  the 
same  principle  we  went  on  in  Greenland,  i.  e.,  a  double  bag  of 
adult  reindeer-skin  ;  a  considerable  increase  of  warmth  is  thus 
attained  by  the  fact  that  the  occupants  warm  each  other.     Fur- 


36o  FARTHEST  NORTH 

thermore,  a  bag  for  two  men  is  not  a  little  lighter  than  two 
single  bags.  An  objection  has  been  raised  to  joint  bags  on  the 
score  that  one's  night's  rest  is  apt  to  be  disturbed,  but  this  I 
have  not  found  to  be  the  case. 

Something  which,  in  my  opinion,  ought  not  to  be  omitted 
from  a  sledge  journey  is  a  tent.  Even  if  thin  and  frail,  it  affords 
the  members  of  an  expedition  so  much  protection  and  comfort 
that  the  inconsiderable  increase  in  weight  to  the  equipment  is 
more  than  compensated  for.  The  tents  that  I  had  had  made  for 
the  expedition  were  of  strong  undressed  silk  and  very  light. 
They  were  square  at  the  base  and  pointed  at  the  top,  and  were 
pitched  by  means  only  of  a  tent-pole  in  the  middle,  on  the  same 
principle  as  the  four-man  tents  used  in  our  army.  Most  of  them 
had  canvas  floors  attached.  On  our  first  start  we  took  with  us 
a  tent  of  this  kind,  intended  to  hold  four  men  and  weighing  a 
little  over  7  pounds.  The  floor  is  a  certain  advantage,  as  it 
makes  the  whole  tent  compact  and  is  quick  to  put  up,  besides 
being  more  impervious  to  wind.  The  whole  tent  is  sewed  in  one 
piece,  walls  and  floor  together,  and  the  only  opening  a  little  split 
through  which  to  crawl.  One  drawback,  however,  to  it  is,  that  it 
is  almost  impossible  not  to  carry  in  with  one  a  certain  amount 
of  snow  on  the  feet.  This  melts  during  the  night  from  the  heat 
of  one's  body  lying  on  it,  and  the  floor  absorbs  the  moisture, 
thereby  causing  the  tent  to  be  always  a  good  deal  heavier  than 
the  figures  given  here. 

I  accordingly  relinquished  all  idea  of  a  tent  of  this  kind,  and 
took  with  me  one  of  about  the  same  dimensions,  but  without  a 
floor,  and  of  the  same  silk  material  as  the  other.  It  took  a  little 
longer  to  put  up,  but  the  difference  was  not  great.  The  walls 
were  kept  down  by  pegs,  and  when  all  was  finished  we  would 
bank  it  carefully  round  with  snow  to  exclude  wind  and  draughts. 
Then  came  the  actual  pitching  of  the  tent,  which  was  accom- 
plished by  crawling  in  through  the  entrance  and  poking  it  up 
with  a  "  ski "  staff,  which  also  served  as  tent  -  pole.  It  weighed 
a  fraction  over  3  pounds,  including  16  pegs,  lasted  the  whole 
journey  through— that  is  to  say,  until  the  autumn— and  was  al- 
ways a  cherished  place  of  refuge. 

The  cooking  apparatus  we  took  with  us  had  the  advantage 
of  utilizing  to  the  utmost  the  fuel  consumed.  With  it  we  were 
able,  in  a  very  short  space  of  time,  to  cook  food  and  simultane- 


WE  MAKE  A   START  361 

ously  melt  an  abundance  of  drinking-water,  so  that  both  in  the 
morning  and  in  the  evening  we  were  able  to  drink  as  much  as  we 
wished,  and  even  a  surplus  remained.  The  apparatus  consisted 
of  two  boilers  and  a  vessel  for  melting  snow  or  ice  in,  and  was 
constructed  in  the  following  manner :  Inside  a  ring-shaped  ves- 
sel was  placed  the  boiler,  while  underneath  this  again  was  the 
lamp.  The  entire  combustion  output  was  thus  forced  to  mount 
into  the  space  between  the  boiler  and  the  ring  -  shaped  vessel. 
Over  this  was  a  tight  -  fitting  lid  with  a  hole  in  the  middle, 
through  which  the  hot  air  was  obliged  to  pass  before  it  could 
penetrate  farther  and  reach  the  bottom  of  a  flat  snow-melter, 
which  was  placed  above  it.  Then,  after  having  delivered  some 
part  of  its  heat,  the  air  was  forced  down  again  on  the  outside  of 
the  ring  -  shaped  vessel  by  the  help  of  a  mantle,  or  cap,  which 
surrounded  the  whole.  Here  it  parted  with  its  last  remaining 
warmth  to  the  outer  side  of  the  ring-shaped  vessel,  and  finally  es- 
caped, almost  entirely  cooled,  from  the  lower  edge  of  the  mantle. 

For  the  heating  was  used  a  Swedish  gas -petroleum  lamp, 
known  as  the  "  Primus,"  in  which  the  heat  turns  the  petroleum 
into  gas  before  it  is  consumed.  By  this  means  it  renders  the 
combustion  unusually  complete.  Numerous  experiments  made 
by  Professor  Torup  at  his  laboratory  proved  that  the  cooker  in 
ordinary  circumstances  yielded  90  to  93  per  cent,  of  the  heat 
which  the  petroleum  consumed  should,  by  combustion,  theoreti- 
cally evolve.  A  more  satisfactory  result,  I  think,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  obtain.  The  vessels  in  this  cooker  were  made  of  Ger- 
man silver,  while  the  lid,  outside  cap,  etc.,  were  of  aluminium. 
Together  with  two  tin  mugs,  two  tin  spoons,  and  a  tin  ladle,  it 
weighed  exactly  8  pounds  13  ounces,  while  the  lamp,  the  "Pri- 
mus," weighed  4J  ounces. 

As  fuel,  my  choice  this  time  fell  on  petroleum  ("  snowflake  "). 
Alcohol,  which  has  generally  been  used  before  on  Arctic  expedi- 
tions, has  several  advantages,  and,  in  particular,  is  easy  to  burn. 
One  decided  drawback  to  it,  however,  is  the  fact  that  it  does  not 
by  any  means  generate  so  much  heat  in  comparison  with  its 
weight  as  petroleum  when  the  latter  is  entirely  consumed,  as  was 
the  case  with  the  lamp  used  by  us.  As  I  was  afraid  that  petro- 
leum might  freeze,  I  had  a  notion  of  employing  gas-oil,  but  gave 
up  the  idea,  as  it  escapes  so  easily  that  is  difficult  to  preserve, 
and  is,  moreover,  very  explosive.    We  had  no  difficulties  with 


362  FARTHEST  NORTH 

our  "  snowflake "  petroleum  on  account  of  the  cold.  We  took 
with  us  rather  more  than  4  gallons,  and  this  quantity  lasted  us 
120  days,  enabling  us  to  cook  two  hot  meals  a  day  and  melt  an 
abundance  of  water. 

Of  snow-shoes  we  took  several  pairs,  as  we  had  to  be  prepared 
for  breakages  in  the  uneven  drift-ice ;  besides  this,  they  would 
probably  get  considerably  worn  in  the  summer-time  when  the 
snow  became  wet  and  granular.  Those  we  took  with  us  were 
particularly  tough,  and  slid  readily.  They  were,  for  the  most 
part,  of  the  same  kind  of  maple  as  the  sledges,  and  of  birch  and 
hickory.  They  had  all  been  well  rubbed  in  with  a  concoction  of 
tar,  stearine,  and  tallow. 

As  we  calculated  to  subsist,  in  a  measure,  on  what  we  could 
shoot  ourselves,  it  was  necessary  for  us  to  have  firearms.  The 
most  important  gun  for  this  kind  of  work  is,  naturally,  the  rifle  ; 
but  as,  in  all  likelihood,  we  should  have  to  go  across  large  ex- 
panses of  snow,  where  probably  there  would  be  little  big  game, 
and  whereas,  on  the  other  hand,  birds  might  very  likely  come 
flying  over  our  heads,  I  thought  shot-guns  would  be  the  most 
serviceable  to  us.  Therefore  we  decided  on  the  same  equipment 
in  this  respect  as  we  had  in  Greenland.  We  took  with  us  two 
double-barrelled  guns  (biichsflints),  each  of  them  having  a  shot- 
barrel  of  20-bore  and  a  barrel  for  ball  (Express)  of  about  .360 
calibre.  Our  supply  of  ammunition  consisted  of  about  180  rifle 
cartridges  and  150  shot  cartridges. 

Our  instruments  for  determining  our  position  and  for  working 
sights  were  :  a  small,  light  theodolite,  specially  constructed  for 
the  purpose,  which,  with  its  case  (this  I  had  also  had  made  to  act  as 
a  stand)  only  weighed  a  little  over  two  pounds.  We  had,  further- 
more, a  pocket  sextant  and  an  artificial  glass  horizon,  a  light 
azimuth  compass  of  aluminium,  and  a  couple  of  other  compasses. 
For  the  meteorological  observations  we  had  a  couple  of  aneroid 
barometers,  two  minimum  spirit-thermometers  and  three  quick- 
silver sling-thermometers.  In  addition  to  these,  we  had  a  good 
aluminium  telescope,  and  also  a  photographic  camera. 

The  most  difficult,  but  also,  perhaps,  the  most  important, 
point  in  the  equipment  of  a  sledge  expedition  is  thoroughly  good 
and  adequate  victualling.  I  have  already  mentioned,  in  the  In- 
troduction to  this  book,  that  the  first  and  foremost  object  is  to 
protect  one's  self  against  scurvy  and  other  maladies  by  the  choice 


WE  MAKE  A   START  363 

of  foods,  which,  through  careful  preparation  and  sterilization,  are 
assured  against  decomposition.  On  a  sledge  expedition  of  this 
kind,  where  so  much  attention  must  be  paid  to  the  weight  of  the 
equipment,  it  is  hardly  possible  to  take  any  kinds  of  provisions 
except  those  of  which  the  weight  has  been  reduced  as  much  as 
possible  by  careful  and  complete  drying.  As,  however,  meat  and 
fish  are  not  so  easily  digested  when  dried,  it  is  no  unimportant 
thing  to  have  them  in  a  pulverized  form.  The  dried  food  is,  in 
this  manner,  so  finely  distributed  that  it  can  with  equal  facility 
be  digested  and  received  into  the  organism.  This  preparation 
of-  meat  and  fish  was,  therefore,  the  only  kind  we  took  with  us. 
The  meat  was  muscular  beef,  taken  from  the  ox,  and  freed  from 
all  fat,  gristle,  etc. ;  it  was  then  dried  as  quickly  as  possible,  in  a 
completely  fresh  condition,  and  thereupon  ground  and  mixed 
with  the  same  proportion  of  beef  suet  as  is  used  in  the  ordinary 
preparation  of  pemmican.  This  form  of  food,  which  has  been 
used  for  a  considerable  time  on  sledge  expeditions,  has  gained 
for  itself  much  esteem,  and  rightly ;  if  well  prepared,  as  ours 
was,  it  is  undeniably  a  nourishing  and  easily  digested  food.* 
One  ought  not,  however,  to  trust  to  its  always  being  harmless, 
as,  if  carelessly  prepared — i.  e.,  slowly  or  imperfectly  dried — it 
may  also  be  very  injurious  to  the  health. 

Another  item  of  our  provisions,  by  which  we  set  great  store, 
was  Vage's  fish  -  flour.  It  is  well  prepared  and'  has  admirable 
keeping  qualities  ;  if  boiled  in  water  and  mixed  with  flour  and 
butter  or  dried  potatoes,  it  furnishes  a  very  appetizing  dish. 
Another  point  which  should  be  attended  to  is  that  the  food  be 
of  such  a  kind  that  it  can  be  eaten  without  cooking.  Fuel  is 
part  of  an  equipment,  no  doubt ;  but  if  for  some  reason  or  other 
this  be  lost  or  used  up,  one  would  be  in  a  bad  case  indeed  had 
one  not  provided  against  such  a  contingency  by  taking  food 
which  could  be  eaten  in  spite  of  that.  In  order  to  save  fuel,  too, 
it  is  important  that  the  food  should  not  require  cooking,  but 

*  I  had  also  had  prepared  a  large  quantity  of  pemmican,  consisting  of 
equal  parts  of  meat-powder  and  vegetable  fat  (from  the  cocoanut).  This 
pemmican,  however,  proved  to  be  rather  an  unfortunate  invention ;  even 
the  dogs  would  not  eat  it  after  they  had  tasted  it  once  or  twice.  Perhaps 
this  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  vegetable  fat  is  not  easily  digested, 
and  contains  acids  which  irritate  the  mucous  membranes  of  the  stomach 
and  throat. 


364  FARTHEST  NORTH 

merely  warming.  The  flour  that  we  took  with  us  had  therefore 
been  steamed,  and  could,  if  necessary,  have  been  eaten  as  it  was, 
without  further  preparation.  Merely  brought  to  a  boil,  it  made 
a  good  hot  dish.  We  also  took  dried  boiled  potatoes,  pea-soup, 
chocolate,  vril-food,  etc.  Our  bread  was  partly  carefully  dried 
wheaten  biscuits,  and  partly  aleuronate  bread,  which  I  had  caused 
to  be  made  of  wheat  flour  mixed  with  about  30  per  cent,  of  aleu- 
ronate flour  (vegetable  albumen). 

We  also  took  with  us  a  considerable  quantity  of  butter  (86 
pounds)  which  had  been  well  worked  on  board  in  order  to  get 
out  all  superfluous  water.  By  this  means  not  only  was  consider- 
able weight  saved,  but  the  butter  did  not  become  so  hard  in  the 
cold.  On  the  whole,  it  must  be  said  that  our  menus  included 
considerable  variety,  and  we  were  never  subjected  to  that  same- 
ness of  food  which  former  sledge  expeditions  have  complained  so 
much  of.  Finally,  we  always  had  ravenous  appetites,  and  always 
thought  our  meals  as  delicious  as  they  could  be. 

Our  medicine  -  chest  consisted,  on  this  occasion,  of  a  little 
bag,  containing,  naturally,  only  the  most  absolutely  necessary 
drugs,  etc.  Some  splints  and  some  ligatures,  and  plaster-of- 
Paris  bandages,  for  possible  broken  legs  and  arms  ;  aperient  pills 
and  laudanum  for  derangements  of  the  stomach,  which  were 
never  required ;  chloroform  in  case  of  ah  amputation,  for  ex- 
ample, from  frost-bite ;  a  couple  of  small  glasses  of  cocaine  in 
solution  for  snow-blindness  (also  unused) ;  drops  for  toothache, 
carbolic  acid,  iodoform  gauze,  a  couple  of  curved  needles,  and 
some  silk  for  sewing  up  wounds  ;  a  scalpel,  two  artery  tweezers 
(also  for  amputations),  and  a  few  other  sundries.  Happily  our 
medicines  were  hardly  ever  required,  except  that  the  ligatures 
and  bandages  came  in  very  handily  the  following  winter  as  wicks 
for  our  train-oil  lamps.  Still  better  for  this  purpose,  however, 
is  Nicolaysen's  plaster,  of  which  we  had  taken  a  supply  for  pos- 
sible broken  collar-bones.  The  layer  of  wax  we  scraped  care- 
fully off  and  found  it  most  satisfactory  for  calking  our  leaky 
kayaks. 


WE  MAKE  A   START 


365 


LIST  OF  THE  EQUIPMENT 

Sledge  No.  i  (with  Nansen's  Kayak) 

Lbs.    Oz.  Kilos. 

Kayak 41        2  18.7 

Pump   (for    pumping    kayaks    in    case    of 

leakage) 12  0.5 

Sail 19  0-7 

Axe  and  geological  hammer  ....  15  0.6 

Gun  and  case 7        4  3-3 

Two  small  wooden  rods  belonging  to  cooker  o      14  0.4 

Theodolite  and  case 413  2.2 

Three  reserve  cross-pieces  for  sledges    ..20  0.9 

Some  pieces  of  wood on  0.3 

Harpoon  line o        84  0.24 

Fur  gaiters 13  0.55 

Five  balls  of  cord 29  1.17 

Cooker,  with  two  mugs,  ladle,  and  two  spoons  813  4.0 

Petroleum  lamp  (Primus)       ....  04^  o.i 

Pocket-flask 06  0.17 

Bag,  with  sundry  articles  of  clothing     .        .  8      13  4.0 

Blanket 46  2.0 

Jersey 28  1.15 

Finn  shoes  filled  with  grass    ....  31  14 

Cap  for  fitting  over  opening  in  kayak    ..07  0.2 

One  pair "  komager " 21  0.95 

Two  pair  kayak  gloves  and   one   harpoon 

and  line 15  0.6 

One  waterproof  sealskin  kayak  overcoat       .  31  14 

Tool-bag 2      10  1.2 

Bag  of  sewing  materials,  including  sailmak- 

er's  palm,  sail  needles,  and  other  sundries  2       10  1.2 

Three  Norwegian  flags 04  o.i 

Medicines,  etc 415  2.25 

Photographic  camera 4      10  2.1 

One  cassette  and  one  tin  box  of  films    .        .  3      U  i-75 

One  wooden  cup 03  0.08 

One  rope  (for  lashing  kayak  to  sledge)  ..20  0.9 
Pieces  of  reindeer -skin  to  prevent  kayaks 

from  chafing 3       I5  ^-^ 

Wooden  shovel 23  i.o 

Ski-staff  with  disk  at  bottom  ....  19  o-7 

One  bamboo  staff 10  0.45 


366 


FARTHEST  NORTH 


Sledge  No.  i — continued 

Two  oak  staffs 

Seven  reserve  dog  harnesses  and  two  reserve 

hauling  ropes 

One  coil  of  rope 

Four  bamboo  poles  for  masts  and  for  steer- 
ing sledges 

One  bag  of  bread 

whey-powder        .... 

sugar     

albuminous  flour  .... 

lime-juice  tablets .... 

Frame-food  stamina  tablets 

As  boat's  grips,  under  the  sledges,  were : 

Three  sacks  of  pemmican  (together) 

One  sack   "  leverpostei,"  or  pate  made  of 

calf's  liver 


Lbs. 

Oz. 

Kilos 

2 

lO 

1.2 

2 

lO 

1.2 

o 

6 

o.i8 

8 

13 

4.0 

5 

15 

2.7 

3 

5 

1.5 

2 

3 

1.0 

I 

12 

0.8 

I 

lO 

0.73 

2 

7 

I.I 

238 


93      15 


108.2 


42.7 


Sledge  No.  2.     On  this  were  carried,  in  strong  sacks : 


Albuminous  flour 

Wheat  flour 

Whey-powder 

Corn  flour 

Sugar        

Vril-food 

Australian  pemmican 

Chocolate 

Oatmeal 

Dried  red  whortleberries 

Two  sacks  of  white  bread  (together) 

One  sack  of  aleuronate  bread .... 

*'  Special  food  "  (a  mixture  of  pea  flour,  meat- 
powder,  fat,  etc.) 

Butter 

Fish  flour  (Vage's) 

Dried  potatoes 

One  reindeer-skin  sleeping-bag 

Two  steel-wire  ropes,  with  couples  for  twenty- 
eight  dogs 

One  pair  hickory  snow-shoes  .... 

Weight  of  sledge 


.bs. 

Oz. 

Kilos 

14 

15 

6.8 

15 

6 

7.0 

16 

15 

7-7 

8 

13 

4.0 

7 

I 

3-2 

31 

4 

14.2 

13 

0 

5-9 

12 

12 

5.8 

II 

0 

5.0 

0 

14 

0.4 

69 

5 

315 

46 

10 

21.2 

63 

^3 

29.0 

85 

13 

39.0 

34 

2 

15-5 

15 

3 

6.9 

19 

13 

9.0 

II 

0 

5.0 

II 

0 

5.0 

43 

5 

19.7 

WE  MAKE  A  START  3^; 


Sledge  No.  3  (with  Johansen's  Kayak) 

Lbs.  Oz.  Kilos. 

Kayak 41  6  18.8 

Two  pieces   of   reindeer  -  skin,   to   prevent 

chafing I  12  0.8 

A  supply  of  dog-shoes i  3  0.55 

One  Eskimo  shooting  -  sledge  with  sail  (in- 
tended for  possible  seal-shooting  on  the  ice)  i  10  0.73 

Two  sledge  sails 2  10  1.2 

Pump        ........  o  14  0.4 

Oar -blades  (made  of  canvas  stretched  on 
frames,  and  intended  to  be  lashed  to  the 

ski-staffs) 12  0.5 

Gun 7  2.7  3.26 

Flask o  5.9  0.17 

Net  (for  catching  Crustacea  in  the  sea)  .        .  o  5.2  0.15 

One  pair "  komager " i  15.7  0.9 

Waterproof  kayak  overcoat  of  sealskin          .  23  i.o 

Fur  gaiters o  7-3  0.21 

Two  reserve  pieces  of  wood    ....  o  9.8  0.28 

Two  tins  of  petroleum  (about  5  gallons)        .  40  0.6  18.2 

Several  reserve  snow-shoe  fastenings     .        .  o  15.1  0.43 

Lantern  for  changing  plates,  etc.     ...  i  1.2  ,  0.49 

Artificial  glass  horizon o  10.2  0.29 

Bag  with  cords  and  nautical  almanac    .        .  o  4.6  0.13 

Pocket  sextant o  13.7  0.39 

Two  packets  of  matches o  13.7  0.39 

One  reserve  sheet  of  German  silver  (for  re- 
paving  plates  under  sledge-runners)   .        .  o  7.4  0.21 

Pitch 035  o«i 

Two  minimum  thermometers  in  cases  .        .  o  7.4  0.21 

Three  quicksilver  thermometers  in  cases      .  o  4.9  0.14 

One  compass o  8.8  0.25 

One  aluminium  compass o  8.4  0.24 

telescope        ....  11  8.6  5.7 

"  Sennegraes "  or  sedge  for  Finn  shoes .        .  07  0.2 

Bag  with  cartridges 26  i  11.85 

Leather  pouch  with  reserve  shooting  requi- 
sites, parts  for  gun-locks,  reserve  cocks, 

balls,  powder,  etc 31  1.4 

Leather  pouch  with  glass  bottle,  one  spoon, 

and  five  pencils o  10.6  0.3 


368 


FARTHEST  NORTH 


Sledge  No.  3 — continued 


Bag  with  navigation  tables,  nautical  almanac 

cards,  etc. 
Tin   box  with   diaries,  letters,  photographs 

observation-journals,  etc 
One  cap  for  covering  hole  in  deck  of  kayak 
One  sack  of  meat-chocolate 
One  bag  of  soups 

"    cocoa     . 
"     fish  flour 
•'    wheat  flour    . 
"        "    chocolate 

'*    oatmeal 
"        **    vril-food 
As  grips  under  the  sledge 
One  sack  of  oatmeal 
"        "    pemmican 
'•     liver  pate 


were: 


Lbs.    Oz. 
2        7 


29 

115 
III 


10 
8 

10 

10 
6 

12 
o 
6 
6 
6 

I 

I 

12 


Kilos. 


1.65 

0.23 

8.0 

30 

3-35 

1.70 

0.90 

2.0 

2.0 

2.0 

13-2 
52.3 
50.8 


A  list  of  our  dogs  and  their  weights  on  starting  may  be  of  in- 


terest 


Kvik    . 

Freia    . 

Barbara 

Suggen 

Flint 

Barrabas 

Gulen 

Haren 

Barnet 

Sultan 

Klapperslangen 

Blok    . 

Bjelki  . 

Sjoliget 

Katta  . 

Narrifas 

Livjaegeren 

Potifar 

Storraeven 

Isbjon 


Lbs. 


Kilos. 


78 

357 

50 

22.7 

49i 

22.5 

6ii 

28.0 

59i 

27.0 

6,i 

28.0 

6oi 

27.5 

6ii 

28.0 

39 

17.7 

68 

31.0 

59^ 

27.0 

59 

26.8 

38 

17.3 

40 

18.0 

45* 

20.7 

46 

21.0 

38i 

17.5 

57 

26.0 

70 

31.8 

6ii 

28.0 

WE  MAKE  A   START 


369 


Lbs. 

Kilos. 

Lilleraeven 59 

26.7 

Kvindfolket 

37 

26.0 

Perpetuum . 

.        63 

28.6 

Baro    . 

.        .        6oi 

27.5 

Russen 

.        58 

26.5 

Kaifas 

.        69 

31-5 

Ulenka 

57 

26.0 

Pan      . 

*        1        .        65 

29.5 

24 

CHAPTER  XII 
WE   SAY   GOOD-BYE  TO   THE   "  PRAM  " 

At  last  by  mfd-day  on  March  14th  we  finally  left  the  Frarn  to 
the  noise  of  a  thundering  salute.  For  the  third  time  farewells 
and  mutual  good  wishes  were  exchanged.  Some  of  our  comrades 
came  a  little  way  with  us,  but  Sverdrup  soon  turned  back  in  or- 
der to  be  on  board  for  dinner  at  i  o'clock.  It  was  on  the  top  of 
a  hummock  that  we  two  said  good-bye  to  each  other  ;  the  Fram 
was  lying  behind  us,  and  I  can  remember  how  I  stood  watching 
him  as  he  strode  easily  homeward  on  his  snow-shoes.  I  half 
wished  I  could  turn  back  with  him  and  find  myself  again  in  the 
warm  saloon  ;  I  knew  only  too  well  that  a  life  of  toil  lay  before 
us,  and  that  it  would  be  many  a  long  day  before  we  should  again 
sleep  and  eat  under  a  comfortable  roof  ;  but  that  that  time  was 
going  to  be  so  long  as  it  really  proved  to  be,  none  of  us  then  had 
any  idea.  We  all  thought  that  either  the  expedition  would  suc- 
ceed, and  that  we  should  return  home  that  same  year,  or — that 
it  would  not  succeed. 

A  little  while  after  Sverdrup  had  left  us,  Mogstad  also  found 
it  necessary  to  turn  back.  He  had  thought  of  going  with  us  till 
the  next  day,  but  his  heavy  wolfskin  trousers  were,  as  he  un- 
euphemistically  expressed  it,  "  almost  full  of  sweat,  and  he  must 
go  back  to  the  fire  on  board  to  get  dry."  Hansen,  Henriksen, 
and  Pettersen  were  then  the  only  ones  left,  and  they  labored 
along,  each  with  his  load  on  his  back.  It  was  difficult  for  them 
to  keep  up  with  us  on  the  flat  ice,  so  quickly  did  we  go  ;  but 
when  we  came  to  pressure-ridges  we  were  brought  to  a  stand-still 
and  the  sledges  had  to  be  helped  over.  At  one  place  the  ridge 
was  so  bad  that  we  had  to  carry  the  sledges  a  long  way.  When, 
after  considerable  trouble,  we  had  managed  to  get  over  it,  Peter 
shook  his  head  reflectively,  and  said  to  Johansen  that  we  should 
meet  plenty  more  of  the  same  kind,  and  have  enough  hard  work 


WE  SAY  GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  ''FRAM"         37i 

before  we  had  eaten  sufficient  of  the  loads  to  make  the  sledges 
run  lightly.  Just  here  we  came  upon  a  long  stretch  of  bad  ice, 
and  Peter  became  more  and  more  concerned  for  our  future ;  but 
towards  evening  matters  improved,  and  we  advanced  more  rap- 
idly. When  we  stopped  at  6  o'clock  the  odometer  registered  a 
good  7  miles,  which  was  not  so  bad  for  a  first  day's  work.  We 
had  a  cheerful  evening  in  our  tent,  which  was  just  about  big 
enough  to  hold  all  five.  Pettersen,  who  had  exerted  himself  and 
become  overheated  on  the  way,  shivered  and  groaned  while  the 
dogs  were  being  tied  up  and  fed,  and  the  tent  pitched.  He,  how- 
ever, found  existence  considerably  brighter  when  he  sat  inside 
it,  in  his  warm  wolfskin  clothes,  with  a  pot  of  smoking  chocolate 
before  him,  a  big  lump  of  butter  in  one  hand  and  a  biscuit  in  the 
Other,  and  exclaimed,  "  Now  I  am  living  like  a  prince !"  He 
thereafter  discoursed  at  length  on  the  exalting  thought  that  he 
was  sitting  in  a  tent  in  the  middle  of  the  Polar  Sea.  Poor  fellow, 
he  had  begged  and  prayed  to  be  allowed  to  come  with  us  on  this 
expedition  ;  he  would  cook  for  us  and  make  himself  generally 
useful,  both  as  a  tinsmith  and  blacksmith  ;  and  then,  he  said, 
three  would  be  company.  I  regretted  that  I  could  not  take  more 
than  one  companion,  and  he  had  been  in  the  depths  of  woe  for 
several  days,  but  now  found  comfort  in  the  fact  that  he  had, 
at  any  rate,  come  part  of  the  way  with  us,  and  was  out  on  this 
great  desert  sea,  for,  as  he  said,  "  not  many  people  have  done 
that." 

The  others  had  no  sleeping-bag  with  them,  so  they  made  them- 
selves a  cosey  little  hut  of  snow,  into  which  they  crawled  in  their 
wolfskin  garments,  and  had  a  tolerably  good  night.  I  was  awake 
early  the  next  morning  ;  but  when  I  crept  out  of  the  tent  I  found 
that  somebody  else  was  on  his  legs  before  me,  and  this  was  Pet- 
tersen, who,  awakened  by  the  cold,  was  now  walking  up  and  down 
to  warm  his  stiffened  limbs.  He  had  tried  it  now,  he  said  ;  he 
never  should  have  thought  it  possible  to  sleep  in  the  snow,  but 
it  had  not  been  half  bad.  He  would  not  quite  admit  that  he  had 
been  cold,  and  that  that  was  the  reason  why  he  had  turned  out 
so  early.  Then  we  had  our  last  pleasant  breakfast  together,  got 
the  sledges  ready,  harnessed  the  dogs,  shook  hands  with  our  com-v 
panions,  and,  without  many  words  being  uttered  on  either  side, 
started  out  into  solitude.  Peter  shook  his  head  sorrowfully  as 
we  went  off.     I  turned  round  when  we  had  gone  some  little  way, 


372  FARTHEST  NORTH 

and  saw  his  figure  on  the  top  of  the  hummock  ;  he  was  still  look- 
ing after  us.  His  thoughts  were  probably  sad  ;  perhaps  he  be- 
lieved that  he  had  spoken  to  us  for  the  last  time. 

We  found  large  expanses  of  flat  ice,  and  covered  the  ground 
quickly,  farther  and  farther  away  from  our  comrades,  into  the 
unknown,  where  we  two  alone  and  the  dogs  were  to  wander  for 
months.  The  Fram's  rigging  had  disappeared  long  ago  behind 
the  margin  of  the  ice.  We  often  came  on  piled-up  ridges  and 
uneven  ice,  where  the  sledges  had  to  be  helped  and  sometimes 
carried  over.  It  often  happened,  too,  that  they  capsized  alto- 
gether, and  it  was  only  by  dint  of  strenuous  hauling  that  we 
righted  them  again.  Somewhat  exhausted  by  all  this  hard  work, 
we  stopped  finally  at  6  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  had  then  gone 
about  9  miles  during  the  day.  They  were  not  quite  the  marches 
I  had  reckoned  on,  but  we  hoped  that  by  degrees  the  sledges 
would  become  lighter  and  the  ice  better  to  travel  over.  The 
latter,  too,  seems  to  have  been  the  case  at  first.  On  Sunday, 
March  lyth,  I  say  in  my  diary:  "The  ice  appears  to  be  more 
even  the  farther  north  we  get ;  came  across  a  lane,  however, 
yesterday  which  necessitated  a  long  detour.*  At  half-past  six 
we  had  done  about  9  miles.  As  we  had  just  reached  a  good  camp- 
ing-ground, and  the  dogs  were  tired,  we  stopped.  Lowest  tem- 
perature last  night,  -45°  Fahr.  (—42.8°  C.)." 

The  ice  continued  to  become  more  even  during  the  following 
days,  and  our  marches  often  amounted  to  14  miles  or  more  in 
the  day.  Now  and  then  a  misfortune  might  happen  which  de- 
tained us,  as,  for  instance,  one  day  a  sharp  spike  of  ice  which 
was  standing  up  cut  a  hole  in  a  sack  of  fish  flour,  and  all  the 
delicious  food  ran  out.  It  took  us  more  than  an  hour  to  collect 
it  all  again  and  repair  the  damages.  Then  the  odometer  got 
broken  through  being  jammed  in  some  uneven  ice,  and  it  took 
some  hours  to  mend  it  by  a  process  of  lashing.  But  on  we  went 
northward,  often  over  great,  wide  ice-plains  which  seemed  as  if 
they  must  stretch  right  to  the  Pole.     Sometimes  it  happened 

♦  It  was  not  advisable,  for  many  reasons,  to  cross  the  lanes  in  the 
kayaks,  now  that  the  temperature  was  so  low.  Even  if  the  water  in  them 
had  not  nearly  always  been  covered  with  a  more  or  less  thick  layer  of  ice, 
the  kayaks  would  have  become  much  heavier  from  the  immediate  freez- 
ing of  the  water  which  would  have  entered,  as  they  proved  to  be  not 
absolutely  impervious ;  and  this  ice  we  had  then  no  means  of  dislodging. 


WE  SAY  GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  ''FRAM''         373 

that  we  passed  through  places  where  the  ice  was  "unusually 
massive,  with  high  hummocks,  so  that  it  looked  like  undulating 
country  covered  with  snow."  This  was  undoubtedly  very  old 
ice,  which  had  drifted  in  the  Polar  Sea  for  a  long  time  on  its 
way  from  the  Siberian  Sea  to  the  east  coast  of  Greenland,  and 
which  had  been  subjected  year  after  year  to  severe  pressure. 
High  hummocks  and  mounds  are  thus  formed,  which  summer 
after  summer  are  partially  melted  by  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and 
again  in  the  winters  covered  with  great  drifts  of  snow,  so  that 
they  assume  forms  which  resemble  ice-hills  rather  than  piles  of 
sea-ice  resulting  from  upheaval. 

Wednesday,  March  20th,  my  diary  says  :  "  Beautiful  weather 
for  travelling  in,  with  fine  sunsets ;  but  somewhat  cold,  partic- 
ularly in  the  bag,  at  nights  (it  was  —41.8°  and  —43.6°  Fahr.,  or 
—41°  and  —42°  C).  The  ice  appears  to  be  getting  more  even 
the  farther  we  advance,  and  in  some  places  it  is  like  travelling 
over  *  inland  ice.'  If  this  goes  on  the  whole  thing  will  be  done 
in  no  time."  That  day  we  lost  our  odometer,  and  as  we  did  not 
find  it  out  till  some  time  afterwards,  and  I  did  not  know  how  far 
we  might  have  to  go  back,  I  thought  it  was  not  worth  while  to 
return  and  look  for.  It  was  the  cause,  however,  of  our  only 
being  able  subsequently  to  guess  approximately  at  the  distance 
we  had  gone  during  the  day.  We  had  another  mishap,  too,  that 
day.  This  was  that  one  of  the  dogs  (it  was  "  Livjajgeren  ")  had 
become  so  ill  that  he  could  not  be  driven  any  longer,  and  we 
had  to  let  him  go  loose.  It  was  late  in  the  day  before  we  dis- 
covered that  he  was  not  with  us ;  he  had  stopped  behind  at  our 
camping-ground  when  we  broke  up  in  the  morning,  and  I  had 
to  go  back  after  him  on  snow-shoes,  which  caused  a  long  delay. 

"Thursday,  March  21st.  Nine  in  the  morning,  —43.6°  Fahr., 
or  —42°  C.  (Minimum  in  the  night,  —47.2°  Fahr.,  or  —44°  C.) 
Clear,  as  it  has  been  every  day.  Beautiful,  bright  weather  ; 
glorious  for  travelling  in,  but  somewhat  cold  at  nights,  with  the 
quicksilver  continually  frozen.  Patching  Finn  shoes  in  this 
temperature  inside  the  tent,  with  one's  nose  slowly  freezing 
away,  is  not  all  pure  enjoyment. 

"  Friday,  March  2 2d.  Splendid  ice  for  getting  over  ;  things 
go  better  and  better.  Wide  expanses,  with  a  few  pressure-ridges 
now  and  then,  but  passable  everywhere.  Kept  at  it  yester- 
day from   about  half  -  past  eleven  in  the  morning  to  half-past 


374  FARTHEST  NORTH 

eight  at  night ;  did  a  good  21  miles,  I  hope.  We  should  be  in 
latitude  85°.  The  only  disagreeable  thing  about  it  now  is  the 
cold.  Our  clothes  are  transformed  more  and  more  into  a  cuirass 
of  ice  during  the  day,  and  wet  bandages  at  night.  The  blankets 
likewise.  The  sleeping-bag  gets  heavier  and  heavier  from  the 
moisture  which  freezes  on  the  hair  inside.  The  same  clear,  settled 
weather  every  day.  We  are  both  longing  now  for  a  change  ;  a 
few  clouds  and  a  little  more  mildness  would  be  welcome."  The 
temperature  in  the  night,  —44.8°  Fahr,  (—42.7°  C).  By  an  ob- 
servation which  I  took  later  in  the  forenoon,  our  latitude  that 
day  proved  to  be  85°  9'  N. 

"  Saturday,  March  23d.  On  account  of  observation,  lashing 
the  loads  on  the  sledges,  patching  bags,  and  other  occupations 
of  a  like  kind,  which  are  no  joke  in  this  low  temperature,  we  did 
not  manage  to  get  off  yesterday  before  3  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon. We  stuck  to  it  till  nine  in  the  evening,  when  we  stopped 
in  some  of  the  worst  ice  we  have  seen  lately.  Our  day's  march, 
however,  had  lain  across  several  large  tracts  of  level  ice,  so  I 
think  that  we  made  14  miles  or  so  all  the  same.  We  have  the 
same  brilliant  sunshine  ;  but  yesterday  afternoon  the  wind  from 
the  northeast,  which  we  have  had  for  the  last  few  days,  increased, 
and  made  it  rather  raw. 

"  We  passed  over  a  large  frozen  pool  yesterday  evening  ;  it 
looked  almost  like  a  large  lake."  It  could  not  have  been  long 
since  this  was  formed,  as  the  ice  on  it  was  still  quite  thin.  It  is 
wonderful  that  these  pools  can  form  up  there  at  that  time  of  the 
year. 

From  this  time  forward  there  was  an  end  of  the  flat  ice,  which 
it  had  been  simple  enjoyment  to  travel  over ;  and  now  we  had 
often  great  difficulties  to  cope  with.  On  Sunday,  March  24th,  I 
write  :  "  Ice  not  so  good  ;  yesterday  was  a  hard  day,  but  we 
made  a  few  miles — not  more,  though,  than  seven,  I  am  afraid. 
This  continual  lifting  of  the  heavily  loaded  sledges  is  calculated 
to  break  one's  back  ;  but  better  times  are  coming,  perhaps.  The 
cold  is  also  appreciable,  always  the  same  ;  but  yesterday  it  was 
increased  by  the  admixture  of  considerable  wind  from  the  north- 
east. We  halted  about  half-past  nine  in  the  evening.  It  is  per- 
ceptible how  the  days  lengthen,  and  how  much  later  the  sun  sets ; 
in  a  few  days'  time  we  shall  have  the  midnight  sun. 

"  We  killed  *  Livjaegeren '  yesterday  evening,  and  hard  work 


WE  SAY  GOOD-BYE   TO  THE  ''PRAM''         375 

it  was  skinning  him."  This  was  the  first  dog  which  had  to  be 
killed  ;  but  many  came  afterwards,  and  it  was  some  of  the  most 
disagreeable  work  we  had  on  the  journey,  particularly  now  at 
the  beginning,  when  it  was  so  cold.  When  this  first  dog  was  dis- 
membered and  given  to  the  others,  many  of  them  went  supper- 
less  the  whole  night  in  preference  to  touching  the  meat.  But  as . 
the  days  went  by  and  they  became  more  worn  out,  they  learned 
to  appreciate  dog's  flesh,  and  later  we  were  not  even  so  con- 
siderate as  to  skin  the  butchered  animal,  but  served  it  hair 
and  all. 

The  following  day  the  ice  was  occasionally  somewhat  better ; 
but  as  a  rule  it  was  bad,  and  we  became  more  and  more  worn 
out  with  the  never-ending  work  of  helping  the  dogs,  righting 
the  sledges  every  time  they  capsized,  and  hauling  them,  or  car- 
rying them  bodily,  over  hummocks  and  inequalities  of  the 
ground.  Sometimes  we  were  so  sleepy  in  the  evenings  that  our 
eyes  shut  and  we  fell  asleep  as  we  went  along.  My  head  would 
drop,  and  I  would  be  awakened  by  suddenly  falling  forward  on 
my  snow  -  shoes.  Then  we  would  stop,  after  having  found  a 
camping-ground  behind  a  hummock  or  ridge  of  ice,  where  there 
was  some  shelter  from  the  wind.  While  Johansen  looked  after 
the  dogs,  it  generally  fell  to  my  lot  to  pitch  the  tent,  fill  the 
cooker  with  ice,  light  the  burner,  and  start  the  supper  as  quickly 
as  possible.  This  generally  consisted  of  "lobscouse"  one  day, 
made  of  pemmican  and  dried  potatoes  ;  another  day  of  a  sort  of 
fish  rissole  substance  known  as  "  fiskegratin  "  in  Norway,  and  in 
this  case  composed  of  fish-meal,  flour,  and  butter.  A  third  day 
it  would  be  pea,  bean,  or  lentil  soup,  with  bread  and  pemmican. 
Johansen  preferred  the  *'  lobscouse,"  while  I  had  a  weakness  for 
the  "  fiskegratin."  As  time  went  by,  however,  he  came  over  to 
my  way  of  thinking,  and  the  "  fiskegratin  "  took  precedence  of 
everything  else. 

As  soon  as  Johansen  had  finished  with  the  dogs,  and  the  dif- 
ferent receptacles  containing  the  ingredients  and  eatables  for 
breakfast  and  supper  had  been  brought  in,  as  well  as  our  bags 
wi»th  private  necessities,  the  sleeping-bags  were  spread  out,  the 
tent  door  carefully  shut,  and  we  crept  into  the  bag  to  thaw  our 
clothes.  This  was  not  very  agreeable  work.  During  the  course 
of  the  day  the  damp  exhalations  of  the  body  had  little  by  little 
become  condensed  in  our  outer  garments,  which  were  now  a 


376  FARTHEST  NORTH 

mass  of  ice  and  transformed  into  complete  suits  of  ice  -  armor. 
They  were  so  hard  and  stiff  that  if  we  had  only  been  able  to  get 
them  off  they  could  have  stood  by  themselves,  and  they  crackled 
audibly  every  time  we  moved.  These  clothes  were  so  stiff  that 
the  arm  of  my  coat  actually  rubbed  deep  sores  in  my  wrists  dur- 
ing our  marches  ;  one  of  these  sores — the  one  on  the  right  hand 
— got  frost-bitten,  the  wound  grew  deeper  and  deeper,  and  nearly 
reached  the  bone.  I  tried  to  protect  it  with  bandages,  but  not 
until  late  in  the  summer  did  it  heal,  and  I  shall  probably  have 
the  scar  for  life.  When  we  got  into  our  sleeping  -  bags  in  the 
evening  our  clothes  began  to  thaw  slowly,  and  on  this  process  a 
considerable  amount  of  physical  heat  was  expended.  We  packed 
ourselves  tight  into  the  bag,  and  lay  with  our  teeth  chattering 
for  an  hour,  or  an  hour  and  a  half,  before  we  became  aware  of  a 
little  of  the  warmth  in  our  bodies  which  we  so  sorely  needed. 
At  last  our  clothes  became  wet  and  pliant,  only  to  freeze  again 
a  few  minutes  after  we  had  turned  out  of  the  bag  in  the  morn- 
ing. There  was  no  question  of  getting  these  clothes  dried  on  the 
journey  so  long  as  the  cold  lasted,  as  more  and  more  moisture 
from  the  body  collected  in  them. 

How  cold  we  were  as  we  lay  there  shivering  in  the  bag,  wait- 
ing for  the  supper  to  be  ready  !  I,  who  was  cook,  was  obliged  to 
keep  myself  more  or  less  awake  to  see  to  the  culinary  operations, 
and  sometimes  I  succeeded.  At  last  the  supper  was  ready,  was 
portioned  out,  and,  as  always,  tasted  delicious.  These  occa- 
sions were  the  supreme  moments  of  our  existence — moments  to 
which  we  looked  forward  the  whole  day  long.  But  sometimes  we 
were  so  weary  that  our  eyes  closed,  and  we  fell  asleep  with  the 
food  on  its  way  to  our  mouths.  Our  hands  would  fall  back  in- 
animate with  the  spoons  in  them  and  the  food  fiy  out  on  the  bag. 
After  supper  we  generally  permitted  ourselves  the  luxury  of  a 
little  extra  drink,  consisting  of  water,  as  hot  as  we  could  swallow 
it,  in  which  whey-powder  had  been  dissolved.  It  tasted  some- 
thing like  boiled  milk,  and  we  thought  it  wonderfully  comfort- 
ing ;  it  seemed  to  warm  us  to  the  very  ends  of  our  toes.  Then 
we  would  creep  down  into  the  bag  again,  buckle  the  flap  care- 
fully over  our  heads,  lie  close  together,  and  soon  sleep  the  sleep 
of  the  just.  But  even  in  our  dreams  we  went  on  ceaselessly, 
grinding  at  the  sledges  and  driving  the  dogs,  always  northward, 
and  I  was  often  awakened  by  hearing  Johansen  calling  in  his 


W£  SAV  GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  ''PRAM''         117 

sleep  to  "  Pan,"  or  "  Barrabas,"  or  "  Klapperslangen  "  :  "  Get  on, 
you  devil,  you  !  Go  on,  you  brutes !  Sass,  sass!*  Now  the  whole 
thing  is  going  over  !"  and  execrations  less  fit  for  reproduction, 
until  I  went  to  sleep  again. 

In  the  morning  I,  as  cook,  was  obliged  to  turn  out  to  prepare 
the  breakfast,  which  took  an  hour's  time.  As  a  rule,  it  consisted 
one  morning  of  chocolate,  bread,  butter,  and  pemmican ;  another 
of  oatmeal  porridge,  or  a  compound  of  flour,  water,  and  butter, 
in  imitation  of  our  "  butter-porridge  "  at  home.  This  was  washed 
down  with  milk,  made  of  whey-powder  and  water.  The  breakfast 
ready,  Johansen  was  roused  ;  we  sat  up  in  the  sleeping  -  bag, 
one  of  the  blankets  was  spread  out  as  a  table-cloth,  and  we  fell 
to  work.  We  had  a  comfortable  breakfast,  wrote  up  our  diaries, 
and  then  had  to  think  about  starting.  But  how  tired  we  some- 
times were,  and  how  often  would  I  not  have  given  anything  to  be 
able  to  creep  to  the  bottom  of  the  bag  again  and  sleep  the  clock 
round.  It  seemed  to  me  as  if  this  must  be  the  greatest  pleasure 
in  life,  but  our  business  was  to  fight  our  way  northward — always 
northward.  We  performed  our  toilets,  and  then  came  the  going 
out  into  the  cold  to  get  the  sledges  ready,  disentangle  the  dogs' 
traces,  harness  the  animals,  and  get  off  as  quickly  as  possible.  I 
went  first  to  find  the  way  through  the  uneven  ice  ;  then  came  the 
sledge  with  my  kayak.  The  dogs  soon  learned  to  follow,  but  at 
every  unevenness  of  the  ground  they  stopped,  and  if  one  could 
not  get  them  all  to  start  again  at  the  same  time  by  a  shout, 
and  so  pull  the  sledge  over  the  difficulty,  one  had  to  go  back 
to  beat  or  help  them,  according  as  circumstances  necessitated. 
Then  came  Johansen  with  the  two  other  sledges,  always  shout- 
ing to  the  dogs  to  pull  harder,  always  beating  them,  and  himself 
hauling  to  get  the  sledges  over  the  terrible  ridges  of  ice.  It  was 
undeniable  cruelty  to  the  poor  animals  from  first  to  last,  and 
one  must  often  look  back  on  it  with  horror.  It  makes  -me  shud- 
der even  now  when  I  think  of  how  we  beat  them  mercilessly 
with  thick  ash  sticks  when,  hardly  able  to  move,  they  stopped 
from  sheer  exhaustion.  It  made  one's  heart  bleed  to  see  them, 
but  we  turned  our  eyes  away  and  hardened  ourselves.  It  was 
necessary ;  forward  we  must  go,  and  to  this  end  everything  else 
must  give  place.     It  is  the  sad  part  of  expeditions  of  this  kind 

*  Used  by  the  Lapps  to  their  dog. —  Trans. 


378  '      FARTHEST  NORTH 

that  one  systematically  kills  all  better  feelings,  until  only  hard- 
hearted egoism  remains.  When  I  think  of  all  those  splendid 
animals,  toiling  for  us  without  a  murmur,  as  long  as  they  could 
strain  a  muscle,  never  getting  any  thanks  or  even  so  much  as  a 
kind  word,  daily  writhing  under  the  lash  until  the  time  came 
when  they  could  do  no  more  and  death  freed  them  from  their 
pangs — when  I  think  of  how  they  were  left  behind,  one  by  one, 
up  there  on  those  desolate  ice-fields,  which  had  been  witness  to 
their  faithfulness  and  devotion,  I  have  moments  of  bitter  self- 
reproach.  It  took  us  two  alone  such  a  long  time  to  pitch  the 
tent,  feed  the  dogs,  cook,  etc.,  in  the  evening,  and  then  break  up 
again  and  get  ready  in  the  morning,  that  the  days  never  seemed 
long  enough  if  we  were  to  do  proper  day's  marches,  and,  besides, 
get  the  sleep  we  required  at  night.  But  when  the  nights  be- 
came so  light,  it  was  not  so  necessary  to  keep  regular  hours  any 
longer,  and  we  started  when  we  pleased,  whether  it  was  night  or 
day.  We  stopped,  too,  when  it  suited  us,  and  took  the  sleep 
which  might  be  necessary  for  ourselves  and  the  dogs.  I  tried  to 
make  it  a  rule  that  our  marches  were  to  be  of  nine  or  ten  hours' 
duration.  In  the  middle  of  the  day  we  generally  had  a  rest  and 
something  to  eat — as  a  rule,  bread-and-butter,  with  a  little  pem- 
mican  or  liver  pat^.  These  dinners  were  a  bitter  trial.  We 
use  to  try  and  find  a  good  sheltered  place,  and  sometimes  even 
rolled  ourselves  up  in  our  blankets,  but  all  the  same  the  wind 
cut  right  through  us  as  we  sat  on  the  sledges  eating  our  meal. 
Sometimes,  again,  we  spread  the  sleeping  -  bag  out  on  the  ice, 
took  our  food  with  us,  and  crept  well  in,  but  even  then  did  not 
succeed  in  thawing  either  it  or  our  clothes.  When  this  was  too 
much  for  us  we  walked  up  and  down  to  keep  ourselves  warm, 
and  ate  our  food  as  we  walked.  Then  came  the  no  less  bitter 
task  of  disentangling  the  dogs'  traces,  and  we  were  glad  when 
we  could  ^et  off  again.  In  the  afternoon,  as  a  rule,  we  each  had 
a  piece  of  meat-chocolate. 

Most  Arctic  travellers  who  have  gone  sledge  journeys  have 
complained  of  the  so-called  Arctic  thirst,  and  it  has  been  con- 
sidered an  almost  unavoidable  evil  in  connection  with  a  long 
journey  across  wastes  of  snow.  It  is  often  increased,  too,  by  the 
eating  of  snow.  I  had  prepared  myself  for  this  thirst,  from 
which  we  had  also  suffered  severely  when  crossing  Greenland, 
and  had  taken  with  me  a  couple  of  india-rubber  flasks,  which  we 


W£  SAV  GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  ''PRAM-         379 

filled  with  water  every  morning  from  the  cooker,  and  which  by 
carrying  in  the  breast  could  be  protected  from  the  cold.  To  my 
great  astonishment,  however,  I  soon  discovered  that  the  whole 
day  would  often  pass  by  without  my  as  much  as  tasting  the 
water  in  my  flask.  As  time  went  by,  the  less  need  did  I  feel  to 
drink  during  the  day,  and  at  last  I  gave  up  taking  water  with 
me  altogether.  If  a  passing  feeling  of  thirst  made  itself  felt,  a 
piece  of  fresh  ice,  of  which,  as  a  rule,  there  was  always  some  to 
be  found,  was  sufficient  to  dispel  it.*  The  reason  why  we  were 
spared  this  suffering,  which  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  hard- 
ships of  many  sledge  expeditions,  must  be  attributed  in  a  great 
measure  to  our  admirable  cooking  apparatus.  By  the  help  of 
this  we  were  able,  with  the  consumption  of  a  minimum  of  fuel, 
to  melt  and  boil  so  much  water  every  morning  that  we  could 
drink  all  we  wished.  There  was  even  some  left  over,  as  a  rule, 
which  had  to  be  thrown  away.  The  same  thing  was  generally 
the  case  in  the  evening. 

"  Friday,  March  29th.  We  are  grinding  on,  but  very  slowly. 
The  ice  is  only  tolerable,  and  not  what  I  expected  from  the  be- 
ginning. There  are  often  great  ridges  of  piled-up  ice  of  dismal 
aspect,  which  take  up  a  great  deal  of  time,  as  one  must  go  on 
ahead  to  find  a  way,  and,  as  a  rule,  make  a  greater  or  less  detour 
to  get  over  them.  In  addition,  the  dogs  are  growing  rather  slow 
and  slack,  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  them  on.  And  then 
this  endless  disentangling  of  the  hauling-ropes,  with  their  infernal 
twists  and  knots,  which  get  worse  and  worse  to  undo  !  The  dogs 
jump  over  and  in  between  one  another  incessantly,  and  no  sooner 
has  one  carefully  cleared  the  hauling-ropes  than  they  are  twisted 
into  a  veritable  skein  again.  Then  one  of  the  sledges  is  stopped 
by  a  -block  of  ice.  The  dogs  howl  impatiently  to  follow  their 
companions  in  front ;  then  one  bites  through  a  trace  and  starts 
off  on  his  own  account,  perhaps  followed  by  one  or  two  others, 
and  these  must  be  caught  and  the  traces  knotted  ;  there  is  no 
time  to  splice  them  properly,  nor  would  it  be  a  very  congenial 

*  Whereas  eating  snow  may  increase  the  above-mentioned  feeling  of 
thirst,  and  have  disagreeable  consequences  in  other  ways,  sucking  a  piece 
of  ice,  which  will  soon  quench  it,  may  safely  be  resorted  to,  particularly  if 
it  be  held  in  the  hand  a  little  while  before  putting  it  in  the  mouth.  Many 
travellers  have,  no  doubt,  had  the  same  experience. 


SSo  FARTHEST  NORTH 

task  in  this  cold.  So  we  go  on  when  the  ice  is  uneven,  and 
every  hour  and  a  half,  at  least,  have  to  stop  and  disentangle  the 
traces. 

*'  We  started  yesterday  about  half-past  eight  in  the  morning, 
and  stopped  about  five  in  the  afternoon.  After  dinner  the  north- 
easterly wind,  which  we  have  had  the  whole  time,  suddenly  be- 
came stronger,  and  the  sky  overcast.  We  welcomed  it  with  joy, 
for  we  saw  in  it  the  sign  of  a  probable  change  of  weather  and  an 
end  to  this  perpetual  cold  and  brightness.  I  do  not  think  we 
deceived  ourselves  either.  Yesterday  evening  the  temperature 
had  risen  to  —29.2°  Fahr.  (  —34°  C),  and  we  had  the  best  night 
in  the  bag  we  have  had  for  a  long  time.  Just  now,  as  I  am  getting 
the  breakfast  ready,  I  see  that  it  is  clear  again,  and  the  sun  is 
shining  through  the  tent  wall. 

"  The  ice  we  are  now  travelling  over  seems,  on  the  whole,  to  be 
old  ;  but  sometimes  we  come  across  tracts,  of  considerable  width 
of  uneven  new  ice,  which  must  have  been  pressed  up  a  consid- 
erable time.  I  cannot  account  for  it  in  any  other  way  than  by 
supposing  it  to  be  ice  from  great  open  pools  which  must  have 
formed  here  at  one  time.  We  have  traversed  pools  of  this  de- 
scription, with  level  ice  on  them,  several  times."  That  day  I  took 
a  meridian  observation,  which,  however,  did  not  make  us  farther 
north  than  85°  30'.  I  could  not  understand  this ;  thought  that 
we  must  be  in  latitude  86°,  and,  therefore,  supposed  there  must 
be  something  wrong  with  the  observation. 

"  Saturday,  March  30th.  Yesterday  was  Tycho  Brahe's  day. 
At  first  we  found  much  uneven  ice,  and  had  to  strike  a  devious 
route  to  get  through  it,  so  that  our  day's  march  did  not  amount 
to  much,  although  we  kept  at  it  a  long  time.  At  the  end  of  it, 
however,  and  after  considerable  toil,  we  found  ourselves  on 
splendid  flat  ice,  more  level  than  it  had  been  for  a  long  time. 
At  last,  then,  we  had  come  on  some  more  of  the  good  old  kind, 
and  could  not  complain  of  rubble  and  snow-drifts  here  and 
there ;  but  then  we  were  stopped  by  some  ugly  pressure-ridges 
of  the  worst  kind,  formed  by  the  packing  of  enormous  blocks. 
The  last  ridge  was  the  worst  of  all,  and  before  it  yawned  a  crack 
in  the  thick  ice  about  12  feet  deep.  When  the  first  sledge  was 
going  over  all  the  dogs  fell  vc\  and  had  to  be  hauled  up  again. 
One  of  them  —  *  Klapperslangen  — slipped  his  harness  and  ran 
away.     As  the  next  sledge  was  going  over  it  fell  in  bodily,  but 


WB  SAY  GOOD-BYE  TO  THE  ''FRAM"  381 

happily  was  not  smashed  to  atoms,  as  it  might  have  been.  We 
had  to  unload  it  entirely  in  order  to  get  it  up  again,  and  then 
reload,  all  of  which  took  up  a  great  deal  of  time.  Then,  too,  the 
dogs  had  to  be  thrown  down  and  dragged  up  on  the  other  side. 
With  the  third  sledge  we  managed  better,  and  after  we  had  gone 
a  little  way  farther  the  runaway  dog  came  back.  At  last  we 
reached  a  camping-ground,  pitched  our  tent,  and  found  that  the 
thermometer  showed  —45.4°  Fahr.  (  —43°  C.).  Disentangling 
dog -traces  in  this  temperature  with  one's  bare,  frost-bitten, 
almost  skinless  hands  is  desperate  work.  But  finally  we  were  in 
our  dear  bag,  with  the  'Primus'  singing  cosily,  when,  to  crown 
our  misfortunes,  I  discovered  that  it  would  not  burn.  I  ex- 
amined it  everywhere,  but  could  find  nothing  wrong.  Johan- 
sen  had  to  turn  out  and  go  and  fetch  the  tools  and  a  reserve 
burner  while  I  studied  the  cooker.  At  last  I  discovered  that 
some  ice  had  got  in  under  the  lid,  and  this  had  caused  a  leak- 
age. Finally  we  got  it  to  light,  and  at  5  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing the  pea-soup  was  ready,  and  very  good  it  was.  At  three  in 
the  afternoon  I  was  up  again  cooking.  Thank  Heaven,  it  is 
warm  and  comfortable  in  the  bag,  or  this  sort  of  life  would  be 
intolerable ! 

"Sunday,  March  31st.  Yesterday,  at  last,  came  the  long- 
wished-for  change  of  weather,  with  southerly  wind  and  rising 
temperature.  Early  this  morning  the  thermometer  showed  —22° 
Fahr.  (—30°  C),  regular  summer  weather,  in  fact.  It  was,  there- 
fore, with  lightened  hearts  that  we  set  off  over  good  ice  and 
with  the  wind  at  our  backs.  On  we  went  at  a  very  fair  pace, 
and  everything  was  going  well,  when  a  lane  suddenly  opened 
just  in  front  of  the  first  sledge.  We  managed  to  get  this  over 
by  the  skin  of  our  teeth ;  but  just  as  we  were  going  to  cross  the 
lane  again  after  the  other  sledges,  a  large  piece  of  ice  broke 
under  Johansen,  and  he  fell  in,  wetting  both  legs — a  deplorable 
incident.  While  the  lane  was  gradually  opening  more  and  more, 
I  went  up  and  down  it  to  find  a  way  over,  but  without  success. 
Here  we  were,  with  one  man  and  a  sledge  on  one  side,  two  sledges 
and  a  wet  man  on  the  other,  with  an  ever-widening  lane  between. 
The  kayaks  could  not  be  launched,  as,  through  the  frequent  cap- 
sizing of  the  sledges,  they  had  got  holes  in  them,  and  for  the  time 
being  were  useless.  This  was  a  cheerful  prospect  for  the  night, 
I  on  one  side  with  the  tent,  Johansen,  probably  frozen  stiff,  on 


382  FARTHEST  NORTH 

the  other.  At  last,  after  a  long  detour,  I  found  a  way  over ;  and 
the  sledges  were  conveyed  across.  It  was  out  of  the  question, 
however,  to  attempt  to  go  on,  as  Johansen's  nether  extremities 
were  a  mass  of  ice  and  his  overalls  so  torn  that  extensive  repairs 
were  necessary." 


CHAPTER    XIII 

A   HARD    STRUGGLE 

"  Tuesday,  April  3d.  There  are  many  different  kinds  of  dif- 
ficulty to  overcome  on  this  journey,  but  the  worst  of  all,  perhaps, 
is  getting  all  the  trifles  done  and  starting  off.  In  spite  of  my 
being  up  by  7  o'clock  on  Monday  evening  to  do  the  cooking,  it 
was  nearly  two  this  morning  before  we  got  clear  of  our  camping- 
ground.  The  load  on  Johansen's  sledge  had  to  be  relashed,  as  the 
contents  of  one  grip  had  been  eaten  up,  and  we  had  to  put  a  sack 
of  bread  in  its  place.  Another  grip  had  to  be  sewed  together, 
as  it  was  dripping  pemmican.  Then  the  sledge  from  which  the 
bread-sack  had  been  taken  had  to  be  lashed  secure  again,  and 
while  we  had  the  ropes  undone  it  was  just  as  well  to  get  out  a 
supply  of  potatoes.*  During  this  operation  we  discovered  that 
there  was  a  hole  in  the  fish-flour  sack,  which  we  tied  up,  but  no 
sooner  had  we  done  so  than  we  found  another  large  one  which 
required  sewing.  When  we  came  to  pack  the  potato-sack,  this 
too  had  a  hole  in  it,  which  we  tied  up,  and  so  on.  Then  the  dogs' 
traces  had  to  be  disentangled ;  the  whole  thing  was  in  an  inex- 
tricable muddle,  and  the  knots  and  twists  in  the  icy,  frozen  rope 
got  worse  and  worse  to  deal  with.  Johansen  made  haste  and 
patched  his  trousers  before  breakfast.  The  south  wind  had  be- 
come what  on  board  the  Fram  we  should  have  called  a  '  mill 
breeze'  {i.  e.^  19  to  23  feet  in  the  second);  and,  with  this  at  our 
back,  we  started  off  in  driving  snow.  Everything  went  splendid- 
ly at  first,  but  then  came  one  pressure-ridge  after  another,  and 
each  one  was  worse  than  the  last.   We  had  a  long  halt  for  dinner 

*  We  always  kept  a  supply  of  our  various  provisions  in  small  bags  inside 
the  kayaks,  so  that  we  could  get  out  whatever  we  wanted  for  our  daily 
consumption  without  undoing  the  big  sacks,  which  were  sewed  up  or 
securely  fastened  in  other  ways. 


384  FARTHEST  NORTH 

at  eight  or  nine  in  the  morning,  after  having  chosen  ourselves  a 
sheltered  place  in  the  lee  of  a  ridge.  We  spread  out  the  sleeping- 
bag,  crept  down  into  it  with  our  food,  and  so  tired  was  I  that  I 
went  to  sleep  with  it  in  my  hand.  I  dreamed  I  was  in  Norway, 
and  on  a  visit  to  some  people  I  had  only  seen  once  in  my  life  be- 
fore. It  was  Christmas-day,  and  I  was  shown  into  a  great  empty 
room,  where  we  were  intended  to  dine.  It  was  very  cold  in  it, 
and  I  shivered,  but  there  were  already  some  hot  dishes  steaming 
on  the  table,  and  a  beautiful  fat  goose.  How  unspeakably  did  I 
look  forward  to  that  goose  !  Then  some  other  visitors  began  to 
arrive;  I  could  see  them  through  the  window,  and  was  just  going 
out  to  meet  them  when  I  stumbled  into  deep  snow.  How  it  all 
happened,  in  the  middle  of  the  dining-room  floor,  I  know  not. 
The  host  laughed  in  an  amused  way,  and — I  woke  up  and  found 
myself  shivering  in  a  sleeping-bag  on  the  drift-ice  in  the  far 
north.  Oh,  how  miserable  I  felt !  We  got  up,  packed  our  things 
silently  together,  and  started  off.  Not  until  4  o'clock  that  after- 
noon did  we  stop,  but  everything  was  dull  and  cheerless,  and  it 
was  long  before  I  got  over  my  disappointment.  What  would  I 
not  have  given  for  that  dinner,  or  for  one  hour  in  the  room,  cold 
as  it  was  !  • 

"  The  ridges  and  the  lanes  which  had  frozen  together  again, 
with  rubble  on  either  side,  became  worse  and  worse.  Making 
one's  way  through  these  new  ridges  is  desperate  work.  One 
cannot  use  snow  -  shoes,  as  there  is  too  little  snow  between  the 
piled-up  blocks  of  ice,  and  one  must  wade  along  without  them. 
It  is  also  impossible  to  see  anything  in  this  thick  weather — every- 
thing is  white — irregularities  and  holes  ;  and  the  spaces  between 
the  blocks  are  covered  with  a  thin,  deceptive  layer  of  snow,  which 
lets  one  crashing  through  into  cracks  and  pitfalls,  so  that  one  is 
lucky  to  get  off  without  a  broken  leg.  It  is  necessary  to  go  long 
distances  on  ahead  in  order  to  find  a  way  ;  sometimes  one  must 
search  in  one  direction,  sometimes  in  another,  and  then  back 
again  to  fetch  the  sledges,  with  the  result  that  the  same  ground  is 
gone  over  many  times.  Yesterday,  when  we  stopped,  I  was  really 
exhausted.  The  worst  of  it  all,  though,  was  that  when  we  finally 
came  to  a  stand-still  we  had  been  on  the  move  so  long  that  it  was 
too  late  to  wind  up  our  watches.  Johansen's  had  stopped  alto- 
gether ;  mine  was  ticking,  and  happily  still  going  when  I  wound 
it  up,  so  I  hope  that  it  is  all  right.   Twelve  mid-day,  —24.6°  Fahr. 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  385 

( — 2>^'Z°  C.).  Clear  weather,  southeasterly  wind  (13  feet  in  the 
second). 

"  The  ice  seems  to  be  getting  worse  and  worse,  and  I  am  be- 
ginning to  have  doubts  as  to  the  wisdom  of  keeping  northward 
too  long. 

"  Wednesday,  April  3d.  Got  under  way  yesterday  about  three 
in  the  afternoon.  The  snow  was  in  first-rate  condition  after  the 
southeast  wind,  which  continued  blowing  till  late  in  the  day. 
The  ice  was  tolerably  passable,  and  everything  looked  more 
promising ;  the  weather  was  fine,  and  we  made  good  progress. 
But  after  several  level  tracts  with  old  humpy  ice  came  some  very 
uneven  ones,  intersected  by  lanes  and  pressure-ridges  as  usual. 
Matters  did  not  grow  any  better  as  time  went  on,  and  at  mid- 
night or  soon  after  we  were  stopped  by  some  bad  ice  and  a  newly 
frozen  lane  which  would  not  bear.  As  we  should  have  had  to 
make  a  long  detour,  we  encamped,  and  *  Russen  '  was  killed  (this 
was  the  second  dog  to  go).  The  meat  was  divided  into  26  por- 
tions, but  8  dogs  refused  it,  and  had  to  be  given  pemmican.  The 
ice  ahead  does  not  look  inviting.  These  ridges  are  enough  to 
make  one  despair,  and  there  seems  to  be  no  prospect  of  things 
bettering.  I  turned  out  at  hiid-day  and  took  a  meridian  observa- 
tion, which  makes  us  in  85°  59'  N.  It  is  astonishing  that  we  have 
not  got  farther ;  we  seem  to  toil  all  we  can,  but  without  much 
progress.  Beginning  to  doubt  seriously  of  the  advisability  of 
continuing  northward  much  longer.  It  is  three  times  as  far  to 
Franz  Josef  Land  as  the  distance  we  have  now  come.  How  may 
the  ice  be  in  that  direction  ?  We  can  hardly  count  on  its  being 
better  than  here,  or  our  progress  quicker.  Then,  too,  the  shape 
and  extent  of  Franz  Josef  Land  are  unknown,  and  may  cause  us 
considerable  delay,  and  perhaps  we  shall  not  be  able  to  find  any 
game  just  at  once.  I  have  long  seen  that  it  is  impossible  to  reach 
the  Pole  itself  or  its  immediate  vicinity  over  such  ice  as  this  and 
with  these  dogs.  If  only  we  had  more  of  them  !  What  would  I 
not  give  now  to  have  the  Olenek  dogs  ?  We  must  turn,  sooner 
or  later.  But  as  it  is  only  a  question  of  time,  could  we  not  turn 
it  to  better  account  in  Franz  Josef  Land  than  by  travelling  over 
this  drift-ice,  which  we  have  now  had  a  good  opportunity  of 
learning  to  know  ?  In  all  probability  it  will  be  exactly  the  same 
right  to  the  Pole.  We  cannot  hope  to  reach  any  considerable 
distance  higher  before  time  compels  us  to  turn.  We  certainly 
25 


386  FARTHEST  NORTH 

ought  not  to  wait  much  longer.  12  mid -day,  —20.8°  Fahr. 
(  —  29.4°  C),  clear  weather,  3  feet  wind  from  east ;  12  midnight, 
—  29.2°  Fahr.  (-34°  C),  clear  and  still." 

It  became  more  and  more  of  a  riddle  to  me  that  we  did 
not  make  greater  progress  northward.  I  kept  on  calculating 
and  adding  up  our  marches  as  we  went  along,  but  always 
with  the  same  result ;  that  is  to  say,  provided  only  the  ice 
were  still  we  must  be  far  above  the  eighty -sixth  parallel.  It 
was  becoming  only  too  clear  to  me,  however,  that  the  ice  was 
moving  southward,  and  that  in  its  capricious  drift,  at  the 
mercy  of  wind  and  current,  we  had  our  worst  enemy  to  com- 
bat. 

"Friday,  April  5th.  Began  our  march  at  three  yesterday 
morning.  The  ice,  however,  was  bad,  with  lanes  and  ridges, 
so  that  our  progress  was  but  little.  These  lanes,  with  rubble 
thrown  up  on  each  side,  are  our  despair.  It  is  like  driving  over 
a  tract  of  rocks,  and  delays  us  terribly.  First  I  must  go  on  ahead 
to  find  a  way,  and  then  get  my  sledge  through ;  then,  perhaps, 
by  way  of  a  change,  one  falls  into  the  water  ;  yesterday  I  fell 
through  twice.  If  I  work  hard  in  finding  a  way  and  guiding  my 
sledge  over  rough  places,  Johansen  is  no  better  off,  with  his  two 
sledges  to  look  after.  It  is  a  tough  job  to  get  even  one  of  them 
over  the  rubble,  to  say  nothing  of  the  ridges  ;  but  he  is  a  plucky 
fellow,  and  no  mistake,  and  never  gives  in.  Yesterday  he  fell 
into  the  water  again  in  crossing  a  lane,  and  got  wet  up  to  his 
knees.  I  had  gone  over  on  my  snow-shoes  shortly  before  and 
did  not  notice  that  the  ice  was  weak.  He  came  afterwards  with- 
out snow-shoes,  walking  beside  one  of  the  sledges,  when  suddenly 
the  ice  gave  way,  and  he  fell  through.  Happily  he  managed  to 
catch  hold  of  the  sledge,  and  the  dogs,  which  did  not  stop,  pulled 
him  up  again.  These  baths  are  not  an  unmixed  pleasure,  now 
that  there  is  no  possibility  of  drying  or  changing  one's  clothes, 
and  one  must  wear  a  chain  mail  of  ice  until  they  thaw  and  dry 
on  the  body,  which  takes  some  time  in  this  temperature.  I  took 
an  observation  for  longitude  and  a  magnetic  observation  yester- 
day morning,  and  have  spent  the  whole  forenoon  to-day  in  calcu- 
lations (inside  the  bag)  to  find  out  our  exact  position.  I  find  our 
latitude  yesterday  was  86°  2.8'  N.  This  is  very  little,  but  what 
can  we  do  when  the  ice  is  what  it  is  ?  And  these  dogs  cannot 
work  harder  than  they  do,  poor  things.     I  sigh  for  the  sledge- 


a     O 


^^  :]^W'mi^m&mm:i 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  387 

dogs  from  the  Olenek  daily  now.  The  longitude  for  yesterday 
was  98°  47.15",  variation  44.4°. 

"I  begin  to  think  more  and  more  that  we  ought  to  turn 
back  before  the  time  we  originally  fixed,*  It  is  probably  350 
miles  or  so  to  Petermann's  Land  (in  point  of  fact  it  was  about 
450  miles  to  Cape  Fligely)  ;  but  it  will  probably  take  all  we 
know  to  get  over  them.  The  question  resolves  itself  into  this  : 
Ought  we  not,  at  any  rate,  to  reach  87°  N.  ?  But  I  doubt  wheth- 
er we  can  manage  it  if  the  ice  does  not  improve. 

"  Saturday,  April  6th.  2  a.m.,  -11.4°  Fahr.  (-24.2°  C).  The 
ice  grew  worse  and  worse.  Yesterday  it  brought  me  to  the 
verge  of  despair,  and  when  we  stopped  this  morning  I  had  al- 
most decided  to  turn  back.  I  will  go  on  one  day  longer,  how- 
ever, to  see  if  the  ice  is  really  as  bad  farther  northward  as  it 
appears  to  be  from  the  ridge,  30  feet  in  height,  where  we  are 
encamped.  We  hardly  made  4  miles  yesterday.  Lanes,  ridges, 
and  endless  rough  ice,  it  looks  like  an  endless  moraine  of  ice- 
blocks  ;  and  this  continual  lifting  of  the  sledges  over  every  ir- 
regularity is  enough  to  tire  out  giants.  Curious,  this  rubble-ice. 
For  the  most  part  it  is  not  so  very  massive,  and  seems  as  if  it 
had  been  forced  up  somewhat  recently,  for  it  is  incompletely 
covered  with  thin,  loose  snow,  through  which  one  falls  suddenly 
up  to  one's  middle.  And  thus  it  extends  mile  after  mile  north- 
ward, while  every  now  and  then  there  are  old  floes,  with  mounds 
that  have  been  rounded  off  by  the  action  of  the  sun  in  the  sum- 
mer— often  very  massive  ice. 

"  I  am  rapidly  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  we  are  not  doing 
any  good  here.  We  shall  not  be  able  to  get  much  farther  north, 
and  it  will  be  slow  work  indeed  if  there  be  much  more  of  this 
sort  of  ice  towards  Franz  Josef  Land.  On  the  other  hand,  we 
should  be  able  to  make  much  better  use  of  our  time  there,  if  we 
should  have  any  over.     8.30  p.m.,  —29.2°  Fahr.  (  —  34°  C). 

*'  Monday,  April  8th.  No  ;  the  ice  grew  worse  and  worse,  and 
we  got  no  way.  Ridge  after  ridge,  and  nothing  but  rubble  to 
travel  over.  We  made  a  start  at  2  o'clock  or  so  this  morning, 
and  kept  at  it  as  long  as  we  could,  lifting  the  sledges  all  the 
time  ;  but  it  grew  too  bad  at  last.     I  went  on  a  good  way  ahead 

*  When  1  left  the  ship  I  had  purposed  to  travel  northward  for  50  days, 
for  which  time  we  had  taken  provender  for  the  dogs. 


388  FARTHEST  NORTH 

on  snow-shoes,  but  saw  no  reasonable  prospect  of  advance,  and 
from  the  highest  hummocks  only  the  same  kind  of  ice  was  to  be 
seen.  It  was  a  veritable  chaos  of  ice-blocks,  stretching  as  far  as 
the  horizon.  There  is  not  much  sense  in  keeping  on  longer  ;  we 
are  sacrificing  valuable  time  and  doing  little.  If  there  be  much 
more  such  ice  between  here  and  Franz  Josef  Land,  we  shall, 
indeed,  want  all  the  time  we  have. 

"  I  therefore  determined  to  stop,  and  shape  our  course  for 
Cape  Fligely. 

"  On  this  northernmost  camping  -  ground  we  indulged  in  a 
banquet,  consisting  of  lobscouse,  bread  -  and  -  butter,  dry  choco- 
late, stewed  '  tytlebaer,'  or  red  whortleberries,  and  our  hot  whey 
drink,  and  then,  with  a  delightful  and  unfamiliar  feeling  of  re- 
pletion, crept  into  the  dear  bag,  our  best  friend.  I  took  a  merid- 
ian observation  yesterday,  by  which  I  see  that  we  should  be  in 
latitude  86°  lo'  N.,  or  thereabouts.*  This  morning  I  took  an 
observation  for  longitude.     At  8.30  a.m.,  —25.6°  Fahr.  (—32°  C). 

"  Tuesday,  April  9th.  Yesterday's  was  our  first  march  home- 
ward. We  expected  the  same  impracticable  ice,  but,  to  our 
amazement,  had  not  gone  far  before  we  came  on  tolerably  good 
ground,  which  improved  steadily,  and,  with  only  a  few  stoppages, 
we  kept  at  it  till  this  morning.  We  came  upon  ridges,  to  be 
sure,  but  they  always  allowed  themselves  to  be  negotiated  pretty 
easily,  and  we  did  well.  Started  yesterday  about  two  in  the  af- 
ternoon, and  kept  going  until  one  this  morning. 

"Thursday,  April  nth.  Better  and  better.  Found  nothing 
but  beautiful  level  tracks  of  ice  yesterday,  with  a  few  ridges, 
which  were  easy  to  get  over,  and  some  lanes,  with  young  ice  on, 
which  gave  us  rather  more  trouble.  They  ran,  however,  about 
in  our  direction  (our  course  is  now  the  magnetic  S.  22°  W.,  or 
about  the  true  W.S.W.),  and  we  could  go  alongside  them.  At 
last,  however,  we  had  to  make  a  crossing,  and  accomplished  it 
successfully,  although  the  ice  bent  under  us  and  our  sledges 
more  than  was  desirable.  Late  in  the  afternoon  we  came  across 
a  channel,  which  we  proposed  to  cross  in  the  same  way.  We 
reached  the  other  side  with  the  first  sledge  safely  enough,  but 

*  This  was  the  latitude  I  got  by  a  rough  estimation,  but  on  further 
calculation  it  proved  to  be  86*'  13.6'  N. ;  the  longitude  was  about 
95°  E. 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  389 

not  so  with  the  other.  Hardly  had  the  leaders  of  the  team  got 
out  to  the  dangerous  place  where  the  ice  was  thinnest,  and  where 
some  water  had  come  up  on  to  it,  when  they  stopped  and  warily 
dipped  their  paws  in  the  water.  Then  through  went  one  of  them, 
splashing  and  struggling  to  get  out.  The  ice  began  to  sink  under 
the  weight  of  the  other  dogs  and  the  sledge,  and  the  water  came 
flowing  up.  I  dragged  dogs  and  sledge  back  as  quickly  as  pos- 
sible, and  succeeded  in  driving  them  all  on  to  the  firm  ice  again 
in  safety.  We  tried  once  again  at  another  place,  I  running  over 
first  on  snow-shoes  and  calling  to  the  dogs,  and  Johansen  pushing 
behind,  but  the  result  was  no  better  than  the  first  time,  as  '  Sug- 
gen '  fell  in,  and  we  had  to  go  back.  Only  after  a  long  detour, 
and  very  much  fagged,  did  we  finally  succeed  in  getting  the  last 
two  sledges  over.  We  were  lucky  in  finding  a  good  camping- 
place,  and  had  the  warmest  night  and  the  most  comfortable  (I 
might  almost  say  cosey)  morning — spent,  be  it  said,  in  repairs — 
that  we  have  had  on  the  trip.  I  think  we  did  the  longest  day's 
march  yesterday  that  we  have  yet  achieved  —  about  15  miles. 
2  in  the  afternoon,  —17.6°  Fahr.  (  —  27.6°  C). 

"  Saturday,  April  13th.  We  have  traversed  nothing  but  good 
ice  for  three  days.  If  this  goes  on,  the  return  journey  will  be 
quicker  than  I  thought.  I  do  not  understand  this  sudden  change 
in  the  nature  of  the  ice.  Can  it  be  that  we  are  travelling  in  the 
same  direction  with  the  trend  of  the  ridges  and  irregularities,  so 
that  now  we  go  along  between  them  instead  of  having  to  make 
our  way  over  them  ?  The  lanes  we  have  come  across  seem  all  to 
point  to  this ;  they  follow  our  course  pretty  closely.  We  had 
the  misfortune  yesterday  to  let  our  watches  run  down  ;  the  time 
between  our  getting  into  the  bag  on  the  previous  night  and  en- 
camping yesterday  was  too  long.  Of  course  we  wound  them  up 
again,  but  the  only  thing  I  can  now  do  to  find  Greenwich  mean 
time  is  to  take  a  time-observation  and  an  observation  for  lati- 
tude, and  then  estimate  the  approximate  distance  from  our  turn- 
ing-point on  April  8th,  when  I  took  the  last  observation  for 
longitude.     By  this  means  the  error  will  hardly  be  great. 

*'  I  conclude  that  we  have  not  gone  less  than  14  miles  a  day 
on  an  average  the  last  three  days,  and  have  consequently  ad- 
vanced 40  or  more  miles  in  a  direction  S.  22°  W.  (magnetic). 
When  we  stopped  here  yesterday  *  Barbara '  was  killed.  These 
slaughterings  are  not  very  pleasant  episodes.    Clear  weather  ;  at 


390  FARTHEST  NORTH 

6.30  this  morning  —22°  Fahr.  (—30°  C);  wind  south  (6  to  9 
feet). 

"April  14th.  Easter-day.  We  were  unfortunate  with  lanes 
yesterday,  and  they  forced  us  considerably  out  of  our  course. 
We  were  stopped  at  last  by  a  particularly  awkward  one,  and  after 
I  had  gone  alongside  it  to  find  a  crossing  for  some  distance  with- 
out success,  I  thought  we  had  better,  in  the  circumstances,  pitch 
our  tent  and  have  a  festive  Easter-eve.  In  addition,  I  wished  to 
reckon  out  our  latitude,  longitude,  our  observation  for  time,  and 
our  variation  ;  it  was  a  question  of  getting  the  right  time  again 
as  quickly  as  possible.  The  tent  up,  and  Johansen  attending  to 
the  dogs,  I  crept  into  the  bag  ;  but  lying  thawing  in  this  frozen 
receptacle,  with  frozen  clothes  and  shoes,  and  simultaneously 
working  out  an  observation  and  looking  up  logarithms,  with  ten- 
der, frost-bitten  fingers,  is  not  pleasurable,  even  if  the  tempera- 
ture be  only  —22°  Fahr.  It  is  slow  work,  and  Easter-day  has  had 
to  be  devoted  to  the  rest  of  the  calculation,  so  that  we  shall  not 
get  off  before  this  evening.  Meanwhile  we  had  a  festive  Easter- 
eve  and  regaled  ourselves  with  the  following  delicacies  :  hot  whey 
and  water,  fish  au  gratin^  stewed  red  whortleberries,  and  lime- 
juice  grog  (i.  e.,  lime-juice  tablets  and  a  little  sugar  dissolved  in 
hot  water).  Simply  a  splendid  dinner  ;  and,  having  feasted  our 
fill,  we  at  last,  at  2  o'clock,  crept  in  under  the  cover. 

"  I  have  calculated  our  previous  latitudes  and  longitudes  over 
again  to  see  if  I  can  discover  any  mistake  in  them.  I  found  that 
we  should  yesterday  have  come  farther  south  than  86**  5.3'  N. ; 
but,  according  to  our  reckoning,  assuming  that  we  covered  50 
miles  during  the  three  days,  we  should  have  come  down  to  85 
degrees  and  50  odd  minutes.  I  cannot  explain  it  in  any  other 
manner  than  by  the  surmise  that  we  have  been  drifting  rapidly 
northward,  which  is  very  good  for  the  Fram,  but  less  so  for  us. 
The  wind  has  been  southerly  the  last  few  days.  I  assume  that 
we  are  now  in  longitude  %()°  E ,  and  have  reckoned  the  present 
reading  of  our  watches  accordingly.*    The  variation  here  I  find 


*  I  felt  convinced  we  could  not  have  reached  such  a  westerly  longitude, 
but  assumed  this  for  the  sake  of  certainty,  as  I  would  rather  come  down 
on  the  east  side  of  Franz  Josef  Land  than  on  the  west  side.  Should  we 
reach  the  latitude  of  Petermann's  Land  or  Prince  Rudolf  Land  without 
seeing  them,  I  should  in  the  former  case  be  certain  that  we  had  them  on 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  391 

to  be  42.5°.  Yesterday  we  steered  S.  10°  W.  (magnetic)  ;  to-day 
I  will  keep  S.  5°  W.,  and  to-morrow  due  south.  By  way  of  a 
change  to  -  day  the  sky  has  been  overcast ;  but  this  evening, 
when  we  partook  of  our  second  breakfast,  the  sun  was  shining 
cheerily  in  through  the  tent  wall.  Johansen  has  patched  clothes 
to-day,  while  I  have  made  calculations  and  pricked  out  the 
courses.  So  mild  and  balmy  it  has  not  been  before.  lo  p.m.  —14° 
Fahr.  (-25.6°  C). 

"Tuesday,  April  i6th.  As  we  were  about  to  start  off  at  i 
o'clock  yesterday  morning,  *  Baro  '  sneaked  away  before  we  could 
harness  him  ;  he  had  seen  a  couple  of  the  other  dogs  being  put 
to,  and  knew  what  was  coming.  As  I  did  not  wish  to  lose  the 
dog — he  was  the  best  I  had  in  my  team — this  caused  some  delay. 
I  called  and  called,  and  went  peering  round  the  hummocks  in 
search  of  him,  but  saw  nothing,  only  the  ice-pack,  ridge  upon 
ridge  disappearing  towards  the  horizon,  and  farthest  north  the 
midnight  sun  shining  over  all.  The  world  of  ice  was  dreaming 
in  the  bright,  cool  morning  light.  We  had  to  leave  without  the 
dog,  but,  to  my  great  delight,  I  soon  caught  sight  of  him  far  be- 
hind us  in  our  wake  ;  I  thought  I  had  seen  his  good  face  for  the 
last  time.  He  was  evidently  ashamed  of  himself,  and  came  and 
stood  quite  still,  looking  up  at  me  imploringly  when  I  took  him 
and  harnessed  him.  I  had  meant  to  whip  the  dog,  but  his  eyes 
disarmed  me. 

"We  found  good  passable  ice,  if  not  always  quite  flat,  and 
made  satisfactory  progress.  Some  ridges,  however,  forced  us 
west  of  our  course.  Later  on  in  the  morning  I  discovered  that 
I  had  left  my  compass  behind  at  some  place  or  other  where  I  had 
had  it  out  to  take  our  bearings.  It  could  not  be  dispensed  with, 
so  I  had  to  return  and  look  for  it.  I  found  it,  too,  but  it  was  a 
hard  pull  back,  and  on  the  way  I  was  inconvenienced  for  the  first 
time  by  the  heat ;  the  sun  scorched  quite  unpleasantly.  When 
I  at  last  got  back  to  the  sledges  I  felt  rather  slack  ;  Johansen 
was  sitting  on  the  kayak  fast  asleep,  basking  in  the  sun.  Then 
on  again,  but  the  light  and  warmth  made  us  drowsy  and  slack, 

our  west,  and  could  then  look  for  them  in  that  direction,  whereas,  in  the 
event  of  our  not  finding  land,  and  being  uncertain  whether  we  were  too 
far  east  or  too  far  west,  we  should  not  then  know  in  what  direction  we 
ought  to  look  for  it. 


392  FARTHEST  NORTH 

and,  try  as  we  would,  we  seemed  to  lag ;  so  at  ten  in  the  fore- 
noon we  decided  to  camp,  and  I  was  not  a  little  surprised,  when 
I  took  the  meteorological  observation,  to  find  that  the  swing- 
thermometer  showed  —15.2°  Fahr.  (  —  26.2°  C).  The  tent  was 
accordingly  pitched  in  the  broiling  sun,  and  nice  and  warm  it 
soon  was  inside.  We  had  a  comfortable  Easter  dinner,  which 
did  service  for  both  Easter-day  and  Easter  Monday.  I  reckon 
the  distances  we  covered  on  Easter-eve  and  yesterday  at  about 
15  miles,  and  we  should  thus  be  altogether  60  miles  on  our  way 
home. 

"Wednesday,  April  17th.  -18.4°  Fahr.  (-28°  C).  Yester- 
day, without  doubt,  we  did  our  longest  day's  march.  We  began 
at  half-past  seven  in  the  morning,  and  ended  at  about  nine  at 
night,  with  a  couple  of  hours'  rest  in  the  bag  at  dinner-time. 
The  ice  was  what  I  should  previously  have  called  anything  but 
good ;  it  was  throughout  extremely  uneven,  with  pressed-up, 
rather  new  ice,  and  older,  rounded-off  ridges.  There  were  ridges 
here  and  there,  but  progress  was  possible  everywhere,  and  by 
lanes,  happily,  we  were  not  hindered.  The  snow  was  rather 
loose  between  all  the  irregularities  of  the  ice  ;  but  the  dogs 
hauled  alone  everywhere,  and  there  is  no  cause  to  complain  of 
them.  The  ice  we  are  now  stopping  in  seems  to  me  to  be  some- 
thing like  that  we  had  around  the  Fram.  We  have  about  got 
down  to  the  region  where  she  is  drifting.  I  am  certain  we  did 
20  miles  yesterday,  and  the  distance  homeward  should  now  be 
altogether  368  miles. 

"  The  weather  is  glorious  nowadays,  not  so  cold  as  to  incon- 
venience one,  and  continual  clear  sunshine,  without  any  wind  to 
signify.  There  is  remarkable  equableness  and  stagnancy  in  the 
atmosphere  up  here,  I  think.  We  have  travelled  over  this  ice 
for  upward  of  a  month  now,  and  not  once  have  we  been  stopped 
on  account  of  bad  whether — the  same  bright  sunshine  the  whole 
time,  with  the  exception  of  a  couple  of  days,  and  even  then  the 
sun  came  out.  Existence  becomes  more  and  more  enjoyable  ; 
the  cold  is  gone,  and  we  are  pressing  forward  towards  land  and 
summer.  It  is  no  trial  now  to  turn  out  in  the  mornings,  with  a 
good  day's  march  before  one,  and  cook,  and  lie  snug  and  warm 
in  the  bag  and  dream  of  the  happy  future  when  we  get  home. 
Home  .  .  .  ? 

"Have  been  engaged  on  an  extensive  sartorial  undertaking 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  393 

to-day  ;  my  trousers  were  getting  the  worse  for  wear.  It  seems 
quite  mild  now  to  sit  and  sew  in  — 18°  Fahr.  in  comparison  with 
—40°  Fahr.  Then  certainly  it  was  not  enjoyable  to  ply  one's 
needle. 

"Friday,  April  19th.  We  now  have  provender  for  the  dogs 
for  two  or  three  days  more,  but  I  think  of  saving  it  a  little  longer 
and  having  the  worst  dogs  eaten  first.  Yesterday  '  Perpetuum ' 
was  killed.  This  killing  of  the  animals,  especially  the  actual 
slaughtering,  is  a  horrible  affair.  We  have  hitherto  stuck  them 
with  a  knife,  but  it  was  not  very  satisfactory.  Yesterday,  how- 
ever, we  determined  to  try  a  new  method — strangulation.  Ac- 
cording to  our  usual  custom,  we  led  the  dog  away  behind  a  hum- 
mock, so  that  the  others  should  not  know  what  was  going  on. 
Then  we  put  a  rope  round  the  animal's  neck,  and  each  pulled 
with  all  his  might,  but  without  effect,  and  at  last  we  could  do  no 
more.  Our  hands  were  losing  all  sense  of  feeling  in  the  cold, 
and  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  use  the  knife.  Oh,  it  was 
horrible !  Naturally,  to  shoot  them  would  be  the  most  conven- 
ient and  merciful  way,  but  we  are  loath  to  expend  our  pre- 
cious ammunition  on  them  ;  the  time  may  come  when  we  shall 
need  it  sorely. 

"  The  observations  yesterday  show  that  we  have  got  down  to 
85°  37.8'  N.,  and  the  longitude  should  be  79°  26'  E.  This  tallies 
well  with  our  reckoning.  We  have  gone  50  miles  or  so  since 
the  last  observation  (April  13th),  just  what  I  had  assumed  be- 
forehand. 

"  Still  the  same  brilliant  sunshine  day  and  night.  Yesterday 
the  wind  from  the  north  freshened,  and  is  still  blowing  to-day, 
but  does  not  trouble  us  much,  as  it  is  behind  us.  The  temper- 
ature, which  now  keeps  from  about  4°  to  22°  below  zero  (Fahr.), 
can  only  be  described  as  agreeable.  This  is  undoubtedly  fortu- 
nate for  us ;  if  it  were  warmer  the  lanes  would  keep  open  a 
longer  time.  My  greatest  desire  now  is  to  get  under  land  before 
the  lanes  become  too  bad.  What  we  shall  do  then  must  be  de- 
cided by  circumstances. 

"Sunday,  April  21st.  At  4  o'clock  yesterday  we  got  under 
way.  During  the  night  we  stopped  to  have  something  to  eat. 
These  halts  for  dinner,  when  we  take  our  food  and  crawl  well 
down  to  the  bottom  of  the  bag,  where  it  is  warm  and  comfort- 
able, are  unusually  cosey.    After  a  good  nap  we  set  off  again,  but 


394  FARTHEST  NORTH 

were  soon  stopped  by  the  ugliest  lane  we  have  yet  come  across. 
I  set  off  along  it  to  find  a  passage,  but  only  found  myself  going 
through  bad  rubble.  The  lane  was  everywhere  equally  broad 
and  uncompromising,  equally  full  of  aggregated  blocks  and 
brash,  testifying  clearly  to  the  manner  in  which,  during  a  long 
period,  the  ice  here  has  been  in  motion  and  been  crushed  and 
disintegrated  by  continual  pressure.  This  was  apparent,  too,  in 
numerous  new  ridges  of  rubble  and  hummocky  ice,  and  the 
cracks  running  in  all  directions.  I  finally  found  a  crossing,  but 
when,  after  a  long  circuit,  I  had  conveyed  the  caravan  there,  it 
had  changed  in  the  interval,  and  I  did  not  think  it  advisable  to 
make  the  attempt.  But  though  I  went  *  farther  than  far,'  as  we 
say,  I  only  found  the  same  abominable  lane,  full  of  lumps  of  ice, 
grinning  at  one,  and  high  pressure-ridges  on  each  side.  Things 
were  becoming  worse  and  worse.  In  several  cases  these  lumps 
of  ice  were,  I  noticed,  intermixed  with  earthy  matter.  In  one 
place  the  whole  floe,  from  which  blocks  had  been  pressed  up  into 
a  ridge,  was  entirely  dark  brown  in  color,  but  whether  this  was 
from  mud  or  from  organic  matter  I  did  not  get  near  enough  to 
determine.  The  ridges  were  fairly  high  in  some  places,  and 
reached  a  height  of  25  feet  or  so.  I  had  a  good  opportunity 
here  of  observing  how  they  assume  forms  like  ice -mountains 
with  high,  straight  sides,  caused  by  the  splitting  of  old  ridges 
transversely  in  several  directions.  I  have  often  on  this  journey 
seen  massive  high  hummocks  with  similar  square  sides,  and  of 
great  circumference,  sometimes  quite  resembling  snow-covered 
islands.  They  are  of  '  palaeocrystic  ice,'  as  good  as  any  one  can 
wish.* 

"I  was  constrained  at  last  to  return  with  my  mission  unac- 
complished. Nearly  the  most  annoying  thing  about  it  was  that 
on  the  other  side  of  the  lane  I  could  see  fine  flat  ice  stretching 
southward — and  now  to  be  obliged  to  camp  here  and  wait !  I 
had,  however,  already  possessed  my  soul  in  patience,  when,  on 
coming  back  to  our  original  stopping-place,  I  found  a  tolerably 
good  crossing  close  by  it.  We  eventually  got  to  the  other  side, 
with  the  ice  grinding  under  our  feet  the  while,  and  by  that  time 

*  We  saw  no  real  ice-mountains  at  any  period  of  our  journey  before 
we  got  under  land  ;  everything  was  sea  -  ice.  The  same  was  the  case 
during  the  drift  of  the  Fram. 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  395 

it  was  6  o'clock  in  the  morning.  We  kept  at  it  a  little  while 
longer  over  beautiful  flat  ice,  but  the  dogs  were  tired,  and  it  was 
nearly  48  hours  since  they  had  been  fed.  As  we  were  hastening 
along  we  suddenly  came  across  an  immense  piece  of  timber  stick- 
ing up  obliquely  from  the  surface  of  the  ice.  It  was  Siberian 
larch,  as  far  as  I  could  make  out,  and  probably  raised  in  this 
manner  through  pressure  long  ago.  Many  a  good  meal  could 
we  have  cooked  with  it  had  we  been  able  to  drag  it  with  us,  but 
it  was  too  heavy.  We  marked  it  *F.  N.,  H.  J.,  85°  30'  N.,'  and 
went  on  our  way. 

"  Plains  of  ice  still  before  us.  I  am  looking  forward  to  get- 
ting under  way.  Gliding  over  this  flat  surface  on  one's  snow- 
shoes  almost  reaches  the  ideal ;  land  and  home  are  nigher,  and 
as  one  goes  along  one's  thoughts  fly  southward  to  everything 
that  is  beautiful.     Six  in  the  morning,  —22°  Fahr.  (  —  30°  C). 

"Monday,  April  2 2d.  If  we  have  made  good  progress  the 
previous  days,  yesterday  simply  outdid  itself.  I  think  I  may 
reckon  our  day's  march  at  25  miles,  but,  for  the  sake  of  certain- 
ty, lump  the  two  last  days  together  and  put  them  down  at  40 
miles.  The  dogs,  though,  are  beginning  to  get  tired ;  it  is  ap- 
proaching the  time  for  us  to  camp.  They  are  impatient  for 
food,  and,  grown  more  and  more  greedy  for  fresh  dog's  flesh, 
throw  themselves  on  it  like  wolves  as  soon  as  a  smoking  piece, 
with  hair  and  all  on,  is  thrown  to  them.  *Kvik'  and  '  Barnet ' 
only  still  keep  back  as  long  as  the  flesh  is  warm,  but  let  it  be- 
come frozen,  and  they  eat  it  voraciously.  12  midnight,  —27.8° 
Fahr.  {-zzf  C.). 

" Friday,  April  26th.  -24.7°  Fahr.  (-31.5°  C).  Minimum 
temperature,  —32°  Fahr.  (—35.7°  C).  I  was  not  a  little  sur- 
prised yesterday  morning  when  I  suddenly  saw  the  track  of  an 
animal  in  the  snow.  It  was  that  of  a  fox  ;  came  about  W.S.W. 
true,  and  went  in  an  easterly  direction.  The  trail  was  quite 
fresh.  What  in  the  world  was  that  fox  doing  up  here  ?  There 
were  also  unequivocal  signs  that  it  had  not  been  entirely  without 
food.  Were  we  in  the  vicinity  of  land  ?  Involuntarily  I  looked 
round  for  it,  but  the  weather  was  thick  all  day  yesterday,  and  we 
might  have  been  near  it  without  seeing  it.  It  is  just  as  prob- 
able, however,  that  this  fox  was  following  up  some  bear.  In  any 
case,  a  warm-blooded  mammal  in  the  eighty-fifth  parallel !  We 
had  not  gone  far  when  we  came  across  another  fox  -  track  ;  it 


30  FARTHEST  NORTH 

went  in  about  the  same  direction  as  the  other,  and  followed  the 
trend  of  the  lane  which  had  stopped  us,  and  by  which  we  had 
been  obliged  to  camp.  It  is  incomprehensible  what  these  ani- 
mals live  on  up  here,  but  presumably  they  are  able  to  snap  up 
some  crustacean  in  the  open  waterway.  But  why  do  they  leave 
the  coasts  ?  That  is  what  puzzles  me  most.  Can  they  have  gone 
astray  ?  There  seems  little  probability  of  that.  I  am  eager  to 
see  if  we  may  not  come  across  the  trail  of  a  bear  to-day.  It 
would  be  quite  a  pleasure,  and  it  would  seem  as  if  we  were  get- 
ting nearer  inhabited  regions  again.  I  have  just  pricked  out 
our  course  on  the  chart  according  to  our  bearings,  calculating 
that  we  have  gone  69  miles  in  the  four  days  since  our  last  ob- 
servation, and  I  do  not  think  this  can  be  excessive.  According 
to  this,  it  should  not  be  much  more  than  138  miles  to  Peter- 
mann's  Land,  provided  it  lie  about  where  Payer  determined  it. 
I  should  have  taken  an  observation  yesterday,  but  it  was  misty. 

"At  the  end  of  our  day,  yesterday,  we  went  across  many 
lanes  and  piled-up  ridges ;  in  one  of  the  latter,  which  appeared 
to  be  quite  new,  immense  pieces  of  fresh  -  water  ice  had  been 
pressed  up.  They  were  closely  intermixed  with  clay  and  gravel, 
the  result  of  infiltration,  so  that  at  a  distance  the  blocks  looked 
dark  brown,  and  might  easily  be  taken  for  stone ;  in  fact,  I  really 
thought  they  were  stone.  I  can  only  imagine  that  this  ice  is 
river  ice,  probably  from  Siberia.  I  often  saw  huge  pieces  of 
fresh-water  ice  of  this  kind  farther  north,  and  even  in  latitude 
86°  there  was  clay  on  the  ice. 

"  Sunday,  April  28th.  We  made  good  way  yesterday,  presum- 
ably 20  miles.  We  began  our  march  about  half -past  three  in 
the  afternoon  the  day  before  yesterday,  and  kept  at  it  till  yester- 
day morning.  Land  is  drawing  nigh,  and  the  exciting  time  be- 
ginning when  we  may  expect  to  see  something  on  the  horizon. 
Oh,  how  I  am  longing  for  land,  for  something  under  one's  feet 
that  is  not  ice  and  snow ;  not  to  speak  of  something  to  rest  one's 
eyes  on.  Another  fox  -  track  yesterday  ;  it  went  in  about  the 
same  direction  as  the  previous  ones.  Later  in  the  day  '  Gulen ' 
gave  in  ;  it  seemed  to  be  a  case  of  complete  exhaustion,  he  could 
hardly  stand  on  his  legs,  reeled  over,  and  when  we  placed  him 
on  one  of  the  loads  he  lay  quite  still  without  moving.  We  had 
already  decided  to  kill  him  that  day.  Poor  beast ;  faithfully  he 
worked  for  us,  good-tempered  and  willing  to  the  end,  and  then, 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  397 

for  thanks,  when  he  could  do  no  more,  to  be  killed  for  provender  ! 
He  was  born  on  the  Fra^n  on  December  13,  1893,  and,  true  child 
of  the  polar  night,  never  saw  aught  but  ice  and  snow. 

"  Monday,  April  29th.  —4°  Fahr.  (  —  20°  C).  We  had  not  gone 
far  yesterday  when  we  were  stopped  by  open  water — a  broad  pool 
or  lane  which  lay  almost  straight  across  our  course.  We  worked 
westward  alongside  it  for  some  distance,  until  it  suddenly  began 
to  close  violently  together  at  a  place  where  it  was  comparatively 
narrow.  In  a  few  minutes  the  ice  was  towering  above  us,  and  we 
got  over  by  means  of  the  noisy  pressure-ridge,  which  was  thun- 
dering and  crashing  under  our  feet.  It  was  a  case  of  bestirring 
ourselves  and  driving  dogs  and  sledges  quickly  over  if  we  did 
not  wish  to  get  jammed  between  the  rolling  blocks  of  ice.  This 
ridge  nearly  swallowed  up  Johansen's  snow-shoes,  which  had  been 
left  behind  for  a  minute  while  we  got  the  last  sledge  over.  When 
at  last  we  got  to  the  other  side  of  the  lane  the  day  was  far  spent, 
and  such  work  naturally  deserved  reward  in  the  shape  of  an  extra 
ration  of  meat-chocolate. 

"  Annoying  as  it  is  to  be  stopped  in  the  midst  of  beautiful  flat 
ice  by  a  lane,  when  one  is  longing  to  get  on,  still,  undeniably,  it 
is  a  wonderful  feeling  to  see  open  water  spread  out  in  front  of 
one,  and  the  sun  playing  on  the  light  ripples  caused  by  the  wind. 
Fancy  open  water  again,  and  glittering  waves,  after  such  a  long 
time.  One's  thoughts  fly  back  to  home  and  summer.  I  scanned 
in  vain  to  see  if  a  seal's  head  were  not  visible  above  the  surface, 
or  a  bear  along  the  side.  The  dogs  are  beginning  now  to  be  very 
much  reduced  in  strength  and  are  difficult  to  urge  on.  '  Barnet  * 
was  quite  done  (he  was  killed  this  evening),  and  several  of  the 
others  are  very  jaded.  Even  '  Baro,'  my  best  dog,  is  beginning 
to  cool  in  his  zeal,  to  say  nothing  of  'Kvik';  perhaps  I  ought  to 
cater  a  little  more  generously  for  them.  The  wind  which  was 
about  southeast  in  the  morning  subsequently  went  over  to  an 
easterly  direction,  and  I  expect,  to  use  Pettersen's  customary  ex- 
pression on  board  for  a  good  southeaster  which  drove  us  north- 
ward to  some  purpose,  'a  regular  devil  of  a  hiding.'  I  am  only 
surprised  the  temperature  still  seems  low.  I  had  noticed  a  thick 
bank  of  clouds  for  a  long  time  along  the  horizon  in  the  south  and 
southwest,  and  thought  that  this  must  mean  land.  It  now  began 
to  grow  higher  and  come  nearer  us  in  a  suspicious  manner.  When, 
after  having  had  dinner,  we  crept  out  of  the  bag,  we  saw  that  the 


398  FARTHEST  NORTH 

sky  was  entirely  clouded  over ;  and  that  the  '  devil  of  a  hiding ' 
had  come  we  felt  when  we  went  on. 

"  I  saw  another  fox-track  yesterday  ;  it  was  almost  effaced  by 
the  snow,  but  went  in  about  the  same  direction  as  the  others. 
This  is  the  fourth  we  have  come  across,  and  seeing  so  many  of 
them  makes  me  begin  to  believe  seriously  in  the  proximity  of  land. 
Yes,  I  expect  to  see  it  every  minute ;  perhaps,  though,  it  will  be 
some  days  yet.* 

"Tuesday,  April  30th.  -6.7°  Fahr.  (-21.4°  C).  Yesterday, 
in  spite  of  everything,  was  a  bad  day.  It  began  well,  with  brill- 
iant sunshine  ;  was  warm  (4°  below  zero  Fahr.),  and  there,  bathed 
in  the  slumbering  sunlight  and  alluring  us  on,  were  stretches  of 
beautiful  flat  ice.  Everything  tended  to  predict  a  good  day's 
work ;  but,  alas,  who  could  see  the  ugly  dark  cracks  which  ran 
right  across  our  course,  and  which  were  destined  to  make  life  a 
burden  to  us.  The  wind  had  packed  the  snow  well  together,  and 
made  the  surface  firm  and  good,  so  that  we  made  rapid  progress ; 
but  we  had  not  gone  far  before  we  were  stopped  by  a  lane  of  en- 
tirely open  water  which  stretched  right  across  our  course.  After 
following  it  some  little  distance  we  eventually  found  a  way  across.f 
Not  long  afterwards  we  came  across  another  lane  running  in 
about  the  same  direction.  After  a  fairly  long  detour  we  got 
safely  over  this  too,  with  the  minor  misfortune  that  three  dogs 
fell  into  the  water.  A  third  lane  we  also  got  over,  but  the  fourth 
was  too  much  for  us  altogether.  It  was  broad,  and  we  followed 
it  a  long  way  in  a  westerly  direction,  but  without  finding  a  suita- 
ble crossing.  Then  I  continued  some  three  or  four  miles  alone 
to  scan  the  country,  but  as  I  could  see  no  chance  of  getting  over, 
I  returned  to  Johansen  and  the  sledges.  It  is  a  fruitless  task, 
this  following  a  lane  running  at  right  angles  to  one's  course. 
Better  to  camp  and  make  one's  self  some  good  pemmican  soup, 
cl  la  Julienne  (it  was  highly  delectable),  and  then  give  one's  self 

*  In  point  of  fact  it  was  nearly  three  months  (till  July  24)  before  this 
marvel  happened. 

+  As  on  the  previous  day,  the  ice  on  the  north  side  of  the  lane  was 
moving  westward,  in  comparison  with  that  on  the  south  side.  The  same 
thing  was  the  case,  or  could  be  seen  to  have  been  so,  with  the  lanes 
we  met  with  later  in  the  day.  We  naturally  conceived  this  to  mean  that 
there  was  a  strong  westerly  drift  in  the  ice  northward,  while  that  south- 
ward was  retained  by  land. 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  399 

up  to  sleep,  in  the  hope  of  better  things  in  the  future.  Either 
the  lanes  will  close  together  again  or  they  will  freeze,  now  that 
it  is  tolerably  cold.  The  weather  is  quiet,  so  it  is  to  be  hoped 
new  ones  will  not  form.*  If  it  keep  like  this  during  the  days  we 
require  to  reach  land,  it  will  be  a  good  thing ;  when  once  we  are 
on  land  as  many  lanes  may  form  as  they  like.  Should  matters  be- 
come too  bad  before  that  time,  there  is  nothing  for  us  to  do  but  to 
mend  and  patch  our  kayaks.  As  they  are  now  they  will  not  float. 
The  continual  capsizing  of  the  sledges  has  cut  holes  in  many 
places,  and  they  would  fill  the  instant  they  were  put  on  the  water." 

I  ought  perhaps  to  explain  here  that  I  had  deferred  mending 
the  kayaks  as  long  as  possible.  This  was  partly  because  the  work 
would  take  a  long  time,  and  the  days  were  precious,  now  that  it 
was  a  question  of  gaining  land  before  the  ice  became  impractica- 
ble ;  partly,  too,  because,  in  the  temperature  we  now  had  it  would 
have  been  difficult  to  do  the  work  properly  ;  and  also  because  the 
chances  were  that  they  would  soon  get  holes  in  them  again  from 
being  upset.  In  addition  to  this  I  was  undesirous  of  crossing 
lanes  at  present ;  they  were  still  covered  with  young  ice,  which 
it  would  have  been  difficult  to  break  through,  even  had  it  been 
possible  to  protect  the  bows  of  the  kayaks  from  being  cut,  by 
means  of  a  plate  of  German  silver  and  some  extra  canvas.  As  I 
have  mentioned  before,  not  the  least  drawback  was  the  fact  that 
any  water  entering  the  kayaks  would  immediately  have  frozen 
and  have  been  impossible  to  remove,  thus  increasing  the  weight 
of  our  loads  at  each  crossing.  It  was  undoubtedly  a  better  plan 
to  go  round,  even  if  the  way  was  long,  than  to  incur  the  hinder- 
ances  and  casualties  that  the  other  alternative  would,  most  prob- 
ably, have  occasioned. 

To  continue  quoting  from  my  diary  for  the  same  day,  I 
write :  "  The  dogs  were  at  one  of  our  precious  pemmican  grips 
last  night ;  they  have  torn  off  a  corner  of  the  bag  and  eaten 
some  of  its  contents,  but  happily  not  much.  We  have  been  fort- 
unate, inasmuch  as  they  have  let  the  provisions  alone  hitherto  ; 
but  now  hunger  is  becoming  too  much  for  them,  and  nature  is 
stronger  than  discipline. 

"Wednesday,  May  ist.     -12.6°  Fahr.  (-24.8°  C).     I  'half- 

*  The  lanes  form  most  frequently  in  windy  weather,  as  the  ice  is  then 
set  in  motion. 


400  FARTHEST  NORTH 

soled'  my  Finn  shoes  to-day  with  sail-cloth,  so  I  hope  they  will 
last  awhile  ;  I  feel  as  if  I  could  hold  my  own  again  now.  I  have 
two  pairs  of  Finn  shoes,  so  that  for  once  one  pair  can  be  dried  in 
the  sun.  They  have  been  wet  the  whole  way,  and  it  has  made 
them  the  worse  for  wear." 

The  ice  was  now  growing  very  bad  again  and  our  marches 
shorter.  On  Friday,  May  3d,  I  write  in  my  diary  :  "  We  did  not 
do  so  good  a  day's  work  yesterday  as  we  expected,  although  we 
made  some  progress.  The  ice  was  flat  and  the  going  good  at 
one  time,  and  we  kept  steadily  at  it  for  four  hours  or  so ;  but 
then  came  several  reaches  with  lanes  and  rubble-ice,  which,  how- 
ever, we  managed  to  pull  through,  though  the  ice  was  often 
packing  under  our  feet.  By  degrees  the  wind  from  the  south- 
east increased,  and  while  we  were  having  dinner  it  veered  round 
to  an  easterly  direction  and  became  rather  strong.  The  ice,  too, 
grew  worse,  with  channels  and  rubble,  and  when  the  wind  reached 
a  velocity  of  29  to  7^1  feet  in  the  second,  and  a  driving  snow-storm 
set  in,  completely  obliterating  everything  around  us,  stumbling 
along  through  it  all  became  anything  but  attractive.  After  be- 
ing delayed  several  times  by  newly  formed  rubble,  I  saw  that 
the  only  sensible  thing  to  be  done  was  to  camp,  if  we  could  find 
a  sheltered  spot.  This  was  easier  said  than  done,  as  the  weather 
was  so  thick  we  could  hardly  see  anything ;  but  at  last  we  found 
a  suitable  place,  and,  well  content  to  be  under  shelter,  ate  our 
*  fiskegratin,'  and  crept  into  the  bag,  while  the  wind  rattled  the 
tent  walls  and  made  drifts  round  us  outside.  We  had  been  con- 
strained to  pitch  our  tent  close  beside  a  new  ridge,  which  was 
hardly  desirable,  as  packing  might  take  place,  but  we  had  no 
choice ;  it  was  the  only  lee  to  be  found.  Before  I  went  to  sleep 
the  ice  under  us  began  to  creak,  and  soon  the  pressure-ridge  be- 
hind us  was  packing  with  the  well-known  jerks.  I  lay  listening 
and  wondering  whether  it  would  be  better  for  us  to  turn  out  be- 
fore the  ice-blocks  came  tumbling  on  to  us,  but  as  I  lay  listening 
went  fast  asleep  and  dreamed  about  an  earthquake.  When  I 
woke  up  again,  some  hours  afterwards,  everything  was  quiet  ex- 
cept the  wind,  which  howled  and  rattled  at  the  tent  walls,  lash- 
ing the  snow  up  against  them. 

"  Yesterday  evening  *  Potifar  *  was  killed.  We  have  now  six- 
teen dogs  left ;  the  numbers  are  diminishing  horribly,  and  it  is 
still  so  far  to  land.     If  only  we  were  there  ! 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  401 

"  Saturday,  May  4th.  Did  fourteen  miles  yesterday  ;  but  the 
lanes  become  worse  and  worse.  When  we  got  under  way  in  the 
afternoon — after  having  reloaded  my  sledge  and  kayak,  and  re- 
adjusted the  dunnage  under  Johansen's  kayak — the  wind  had 
fallen,  and  it  was  snowing  quietly  and  silently,  with  big  flakes, 
just  as  it  does  on  a  winter  day  at  home.  It  was  bad  in  one  way, 
however,  as  in  such  a  light  it  is  difficult  to  see  if  the  lay  of  the 
ground  is  against  or  with  us ;  but  the  going  was  fairly  good,  and 
we  made  progress.  It  was  heavenly  to  work  in  this  mild  weather, 
+  11.8°  Fahr.  (  —  11.3°  C),  and  be  able  to  use  one's  frost-bitten 
hands  bare,  without  suffering  torture  untold  every  time  they 
came  in  contact  with  anything. 

"  Our  life,  however,  was  soon  embittered  by  open  water-ways. 
By  means  of  a  circuitous  route,  and  the  expenditure  of  much 
valuable  time,  we  at  last  succeeded  in  getting  over  them.  Then 
came  long  stretches  of  good  ice,  and  we  went  cheerfully  on  our 
way  ;  by  and  bye,  too,  the  sun  peeped  out.  It  is  wonderful  what 
such  encouragement  does  for  one.  A  little  while  ago,  when  I 
was  ploughing  alongside  a  horrible  lane,  through  rubble  and  over 
ridges,  without  a  sign  of  any  means  of  getting  on,  I  was  ready  to 
sink  from  exhaustion  at  every  step  ;  no  pleasure  then  could  com- 
pare with  that  of  being  able  to  crawl  into  the  bag ;  and  now, 
when  luck  again  sheds  her  smiles  on  one  and  progress  is  before 
one,  all  weariness  is  suddenly  dissipated. 

"  During  the  night  the  ice  began  to  be  bad  in  earnest,  lane  after 
lane,  the  one  worse  than  the  other,  and  they  were  only  overcome 
by  deviations  and  intricate  by-ways.  It  was  terrible  work,  and 
when  the  wind  increased  to  a  good  '  mill-breeze '  matters  became 
desperate.  This  is  indeed  toil  without  ceasing ;  what  would  I 
not  give  to  have  land,  to  have  a  certain  way  before  me,  to  be 
able  to  reckon  on  a  certain  day's  march,  and  be  free  from  this 
never-ending  anxiety  and  uncertainty  about  the  lanes.  Nobody 
can  tell  how  much  trouble  they  may  yet  cause  us,  and  what  adversi- 
ties we  may  have  to  go  through  before  we  reach  land  ;  and  mean- 
while the  dogs  are  diminishing  steadily.  They  haul  all  they  can, 
poor  things,  but  what  good  does  it  do?  I  am  so  tired  that  I 
stagger  on  my  snow-shoes,  and  when  I  fall  down  only  wish  to  lie 
there  to  save  myself  the  trouble  of  getting  up  again.  But  every- 
thing changes,  and  we  shall  get  to  land  in  time. 

"At  five  this  morning  we  came  to  a  broad  lane,  and  as  it  was 
26 


402  FARTHEST  NORTH 

almost  impossible  to  get  the  dogs  on  any  farther,  we  camped. 
Once  well  down  in  the  bag  with  a  pot  of  savory-smelling  lobscouse 
in  front  of  one,  a  feeling  of  well-being  is  the  result,  which  neither 
lanes  nor  anything  else  can  disturb. 

"  The  ice  we  have  gone  through  has,  on  the  whole,  been  flat, 
with  the  exception  of  the  newly  formed  lanes  and  rubble.  These 
appear,  however,  for  the  most  part  in  limited  stretches,  with  ex- 
tensive flat  ice  between,  as  yesterday.  All  the  channels  seem  in 
the  main  to  go  in  the  same  direction — about  straight  across  our 
course,  with  a  little  deflection  towards  the  southwest.  They  run 
about  northeast  to  west-southwest  (by  compass).  This  morning 
the  temperature  had  again  sunk  to  -f-o.i°  Fahr.  (  —  17.8°  C),  af- 
ter having  been  up  at  +12.2°  Fahr.  (  —  11°  C),  and  therefore  I 
am  still  in  hopes  that  the  water  may  freeze  within  a  reasonable 
time.  Perhaps  it  is  wrong  of  us  to  curse  this  wind,  for  on  board 
the  Fram  they  are  rejoicing  that  a  southeaster  has  at  last  sprung 
up.  However,  in  spite  of  our  maledictions,  I  am  really  glad  for 
their  sake,  although  I  could  wish  it  deferred  till  we  reach  land. 

"Wednesday,  May  8th.  The  lanes  still  appear  regularly  in 
certain  places — as  a  rule,  where  the  ice  is  very  uneven,  and  where 
there  are  old  and  new  ridges  alternately  ;  between  these  places 
there  are  long,  flat  stretches  of  ice  without  lanes.  These  are  oft- 
en perfectly  even,  almost  like  '  inland  ice.'  The  direction  of  the 
lanes  is,  as  before,  very  often  athwart  our  course,  or  a  little  more 
southwesterly.  Others,  again,  seem  to  go  in  about  the  same  di- 
rection as  we  do.  This  ice  is  extraordinary  ;  it  seems  to  become 
more  and  more  even  as  we  approach  land,  instead  of  the  con- 
trary, as  we  expected.  If  it  would  only  keep  so  !  It  is  consider- 
ably flatter  than  it  was  about  the  Fram,  it  seems  to  me.  There 
are  no  really  impracticable  places,  and  the  irregularities  there 
are  seem  to  be  of  small  dimensions — rubble-ice,  and  so  forth  ;  no 
huge  mounds  and  ridges,  as  we  had  farther  north.  Some  of  the 
lanes  here  are  narrow,  and  so  far  new  that  the  water  was  only 
covered  with  brash.  This  can  be  deceptive  enough  ;  it  appears 
to  be  even  ice,  but  thrust  one's  staff  in,  and  it  goes  right  through 
and  into  the  water. 

"  This  morning  I  made  out  our  latitude  and  longitude.  The 
former  was  (Sunday,  May  5th)  84°  31'  N.,  and  the  latter  66°  15' 
E.  We  were  not  so  far  south  as  I  expected,  but  considerably  far- 
ther west.     It  is  the  drift  which  has  put  us  back  and  westward. 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  403 

I  shall,  therefore,  for  the  future,  steer  a  more  southerly  course 
than  before,  about  due  south  (true),  as  we  are  still  drifting  west- 
ward, and,  above  everything,  I  am  afraid  of  getting  too  far  in 
that  direction.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  we  shall  soon  have  land  in 
sight,  and  we  shall  then  know  where  to  steer.  We  undoubtedly 
ought  to  be  there  now. 

"  No  dog  was  killed  yesterday,  as  there  were  two-thirds  left  of 

*  Ulenka '  from  the  previous  day,  which  provided  an  abundant  re- 
past. I  now  only  intend  to  slaughter  one  every  other  day,  and 
perhaps  we  shall  soon  come  across  a  bear. 

"Thursday,  May  9th.  +9°  Fahr.  (  — i3.3°C.).  Yesterday  was 
a  fairly  good  day.  The  ice  was  certainly  not  first  -  rate,  rather 
rubbly,  and  the  going  heavy,  but  all  the  same  we  are  making 
steady  way  forward.  There  were  long,  flat  stretches  every  now 
and  then.  The  weather  had  become  quite  fine  when  we  got  un- 
der way,  about  3  o'clock  this  morning.  The  sun  was  shining 
through  light  cumulus  clouds.  It  was  hard  work,  however,  mak- 
ing head  against  the  ice,  and  soon  the  fog  came  down  with  the 
wind,  which  still  blew  from  the  same  direction  (N.N.E.). 

"  The  work  of  hauling  becomes  heavier  and  heavier  for  the 
dogs,  in  proportion  as  their  numbers  diminished.  The  wooden 
runners,  too  (the  under-runners),  do  not  seem  to  ride  well.  I 
have  long  thought  of  taking  them  off,  and  to-day  really  decided 
to  try  the  sledges  without  them.  In  spite  of  everything  the  dogs 
keep  a  very  even  pace,  with  only  a  halt  now  and  then.  Yester- 
day there  were   only  four  dogs  for  my  sledge.     One  of  them, 

*  Flint,'  slipped  his  harness  and  ran  away,  and  we  did  not  get  hold 
of  him  again  before  the  evening,  when  he  was  killed  by  way  of 
punishment.  The  ice  was  all  along  more  uneven  than  it  has 
been  the  last  few  days.  In  the  afternoon  the  weather  thickened, 
and  the  wind  increased  till,  at  about  3  o'clock,  a  regular  snow- 
storm was  raging.  No  way  was  to  be  seen,  only  whiteness  every- 
where, except  in  places  where  the  pointed  blue  ice  from  the 
ridges  stuck  up  through  the  snow-drifts.  After  a  while  the  ice 
grew  worse,  and  I  went  headlong  on  to  ridges  and  irregularities 
without  even  seeing  them.  I  hoped  this  was  only  rough  ice  which 
we  should  pass  through,  but  matters  did  not  improve,  and  we 
thought  there  was  no  sense  in  going  on.  Luckily  we  had  just 
then  dropped  on  a  good  sheltered  camping-ground  ;  otherwise  it 
would  have  been  difficult  enough  to  find  one  in  such  weather, 


404  FARTHEST  NORTH 

where  nothing  could  be  discerned.  Meanwhile  we  are  getting 
southward,  and  are  more  and  more  surprised  at  not  seeing 
signs  of  land.  We  reckon  now  to  have  left  the  84th  parallel 
behind  us. 

"Friday,  May  loth.  +16.2°  Fahr.  (-8.8°  C).  Our  life  has 
many  difficulties  to  combat.  Yesterday  promised  to  be  a  good 
day,  but  thick  weather  hindered  our  advance.  When  we  crept 
out  of  the  tent  yesterday  forenoon  it  was  fine,  the  sun  was  shin- 
ing, the  going  was  unusually  good,  and  the  ice  appeared  to  be 
unusually  even.  We  had  managed  in  the  snow-storm  of  the 
previous  evening  to  get  into  a  belt  of  foul  ice,  which  was  merely 
local.  Before  we  started  we  thought  of  taking  the  removable 
wooden  runners  off  the  sledges,  but  on  trying  mine  beforehand 
found  that  it  ran  well  as  it  was.  I  decided,  therefore,  to  wait  a 
little  longer,  as  I  was  afraid  that  removing  the  wooden  runners 
might  weaken  the  sledge.  Johansen,  meanwhile,  had  taken  them 
off  the  middle  sledge  ;  but  as  we  then  discovered  that  one  of  the 
birch  runners  had  split  right  across  under  one  of  the  uprights, 
there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  put  it  on  again.  It  was  a  pity, 
though,  as  the  sledge  would  have  run  much  better  on  the  newly 
tarred  runners  than  on  the  scratched  under-runners.  We  made 
fairly  good  progress,  in  spite  of  there  being  only  13  dogs  left — 4 
to  my  sledge,  4  to  the  birch  sledge,  and  5  to  Johansen's.  But 
later  in  the  afternoon  the  weather  thickened  rapidly  and  snow 
began  to  fall,  which  prevented  our  seeing  anything  before  us. 
The  ice,  however,  was  fairly  even,  and  we  kept  going.  We  came 
across  a  lane,  but  this  we  crossed  by  means  of  a  detour.  Not 
long  afterwards  again  we  got  among  a  number  of  abominable 
pressure-ridges,  and  ran  right  into  high  mounds  and  over  steep 
brinks  without  seeing  them.  Wherever  one  turned  there  were 
sudden  drops  and  pitfalls,  although  everything  looked  so  fair 
and  even  under  its  covering  of  still  -  falling  snow.  As  there 
seemed  to  be  little  good  in  continuing,  we  decided  to  camp,  have 
our  dinner  of  savory  hot  lobscouse,  make  out  our  longitude,  and 
then  pass  the  time  until  it  should  clear  again  ;  and  if  this  did 
not  take  place  soon,  then  have  a  good  sleep  and  be  ready  to  get 
under  way  as  soon  as  the  weather  should  permit.  After  having 
slept  for  a  couple  of  hours  (it  was  1  o'clock  in  the  morning),  I 
turned  out  of  the  tent  and  was  confronted  with  the  same  thick, 
overcast  weather,  with  only  a  strip  of  clear  blue  sky  down  by  the 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  405 

horizon  in  the  southwest,  so  I  let  Johansen  sleep  on  and  reck- 
oned out  our  longitude,  which  proved  to  be  64°  20'  E.  We  have 
drifted  considerably  westward  since  I  last  made  it  out,  if  my 
calculations  be  right.  While  I  was  thus  occupied  I  heard  a  sus- 
picious gnawing  noise  outside  in  the  direction  of  the  kayaks.  I 
listened,  and  —  quite  right  —  it  was  the  dogs  up  in  Johansen's 
kayak.  I  ran  out,  caught  '  Haren,'  who  was  just  lying  gnawing 
at  the  portions  of  fresh  dogs'  flesh  destined  for  to-morrow's  con- 
sumption, and  gave  him  a  good  thrashing  for  his  pains.  The 
casing  over  the  opening  in  the  kayak  was  then  properly  secured, 
and  snow-shoes  and  sticks  piled  on. 

"  The  weather  is  still  the  same,  overcast  and  thick  ;  but  the 
wind  has  veered  round  to  a  more  southerly  direction,  and  the 
clear  strip  of  blue  sky  in  the  southwest  has  risen  a  little  higher 
from  the  ice-margin  —  can  there  be  a  west  wind  in  prospect  ? 
Welcome,  indeed,  would  it  be,  and  longing  were  the  glances  I 
directed  towards  that  blue  strip  —  there  lay  sunshine  and  prog- 
ress ;  perhaps  even  land  was  beneath  it.  I  could  see  the  cumu- 
lus clouds  sailing  through  the  blue  atmosphere,  and  thought  if 
only  we  were  there,  only  had  land  under  us,  then  all  our  troubles 
would  sink  into  oblivion.  But  material  needs  must  not  be  for- 
gotten, and,  perhaps,  it  would  be  better  to  get  into  the  bag  and 
have  a  good  sleep  while  waiting.  Many  times  in  the  morning 
did  I  peep  out  of  the  tent,  but  always  saw  the  same  cloudy  sky 
and  the  same  white  prospect  wherever  the  eye  turned.  Down  in 
the  west  and  southwest  was  always  the  same  strip  of  clear  blue 
sky,  only  that  now  it  was  lower  again.  When  we  at  last  turned 
out  in  the  forenoon  the  weather  was  just  the  same,  and  the  azure 
strip  on  the  horizon  in  the  southwest  was  still  there.  I  think  it 
must  have  something  to  do  with  land,  and  it  gives  me  hope  that 
this  may  not  be  so  far  off.  It  is  a  tougher  job  than  we  thought, 
this  gaining  land,  but  we  have  had  many  enemies  to  make  head- 
way against  —  not  only  foul  ice  and  bad  going,  but  also  wind, 
water,  and  thick  weather — all  of  them  equally  obdurate  adver- 
saries to  overcome. 

"  Sunday,  May  12th.  +0.6°  Fahr.  (-17.5°  C).  Yesterday  we 
had  a  better  time  than  we  expected.  Overcast  and  thick  it  was 
the  whole  time,  and  we  felt  our  way  rather  than  saw  it.  The  ice 
was  not  particularly  good  either,  but  we  pressed  onward,  and  had 
the  satisfaction  now  and  then  of  travelling  over  several  long 


406  FARTHEST  NORTH 

stretches  of  flat  ice.  A  couple  of  channels  which  had  partly 
opened  hindered  us  somewhat.  Curiously  enough  the  strip  of 
clear  sky  was  still  there  in  the  S.S.W.  (true),  and  as  we  went 
along  rose  higher  in  the  heavens.  We  kept  expecting  it  to 
spread,  and  that  the  weather  would  clear  ;  we  needed  it  sorely  to 
find  our  way  ;  but  the  strip  never  rose  any  higher,  and  yet  re- 
mained there  equally  clear.  Then  it  sank  again,  and  only  a  small 
rim  was  left  visible  on  the  margin  of  the  sky.  Then  this  also 
disappeared.  I  cannot  help  thinking  that  this  strip  must  have 
had  something  to  do  with  land.  At  7  o'clock  this  morning 
we  came  to  a  belt  of  ice  as  bad,  almost,  as  I  have  ever  seen  it, 
and  as  I  thought  it  unadvisable  to  make  an  onslaught  in  such 
thick  weather,  we  encamped.  I  hope  we  did  our  14  miles,  and 
can  reckon  on  only  90  more  to  land,  if  it  lie  in  %i  latitude.  The 
ice  is  undoubtedly  of  a  different  character  from  what  it  was 
previously  :  it  is  less  even,  and  old  lanes  and  new  ones,  with 
ridges  and  rubble,  are  more  frequent — all  seeming  to  point  to 
the  vicinity  of  land. 

"  Meanwhile  time  is  going,  and  the  number  of  dogs  diminish- 
ing. We  have  now  12  left ;  yesterday  '  Katta '  was  killed.  And 
our  provisions  are  also  gradually  on  the  decrease,  though,  thank 
Heaven,  we  have  a  good  deal  remaining.  The  first  tin  of  petro- 
leum (2^  gallons)  came  to  an  end  three  days  ago,  and  we  shall 
soon  have  finished  our  second  sack  of  bread.  We  do  nothing 
but  scan  the  horizon  longingly  for  land,  but  see  nothing,  even 
when  I  climb  up  on  to  the  highest  hummocks  with  the  tele- 
scope. 

"  Monday,  May  13th.  +8.6°  Fahr.  (-13°  C.) ;  minimum  +6.  6° 
Fahr.  (  — 14.2°  C).  This  is,  indeed,  a  toilsome  existence.  The 
number  of  the  dogs,  and  likewise  their  hauling  powers,  diminish 
by  degrees,  and  they  are  inert  and  difficult  to  urge  on.  The  ice 
grows  worse  and  worse  as  we  approach  land,  and  is,  besides, 
covered  with  much  deeper  and  looser  snow  than  before.  It  is 
particularly  difficult  to  get  on  in  the  broken-up  ice,  where  the 
snow,  although  it  covers  up  many  irregularities,  at  the  same 
time  lets  one  sink  through  almost  up  to  one's  thighs  between 
the  pieces  of  ice  as  soon  as  one  takes  one's  snow-shoes  off  to  help 
the  sledge.  It  is  extremely  tiring  and  shaky  on  this  sort  of  sur- 
face to  use  one's  snow-shoes  not  firmly  secured  to  the  feet,  but 
one  cannot  have  them  properly  fastened  on  when  one  has  to 


A  HARD  STRUGGLE  407 

help  the  dogs  at  any  moment  or  pull  and  tug  at  these  eternal 
sledges.  I  think  in  snow  such  as  this  Indian  snow-shoes  would 
be  preferable,  and  I  only  wish  I  had  some.  Meanwhile,  however, 
we  covered  some  ground  yesterday,  and  if  I  reckon  20  miles  for 
yesterday  and  to-day  together  I  do  not  think  I  shall  be  very 
far  out.  We  should  thus  have  only  about  50  miles  to  the  83d 
parallel  and  the  land  which  Payer  determined.  We  are  keeping 
a  somewhat  southerly  course,  about  due  south  (true),  as  this 
continual  east  wind  is  certainly  driving  us  westward,  and  I  do 
not  like  the  idea  of  drifting  west  past  land.  It  is  beginning  to 
be  tolerably  warm  inside  the  bag  at  night  now,  and  last  night  I 
could  hardly  sleep  for  heat. 

"Tuesday,  May  14th.  +6.8°  Fahr.  (-14°  C).  Yesterday 
was  a  cosey  day  of  rest.  Just  as  we  were  about  to  get  under  way 
after  breakfast  it  clouded  over,  and  a  dense  snow-storm  set  in, 
so  that  to  start  out  in  such  weather,  in  the  uneven  ice  we  have 
now  before  us,  would  not  have  been  worth  while.  I  there- 
fore made  up  my  mind  to  halt  for  the  time  being  and  get  some 
trifles  done,  and  in  particular  the  shifting  of  the  load  from  the 
birch  sledge  on  to  the  two  others,  and  so  at  last  get  rid  of  this 
third  sledge,  for  which  we  can  no  longer  spare  any  dogs.  This 
took  some  time ;  and  as  it  was  absolutely  necessary  to  do  it,  we 
lost  nothing  by  stopping  for  a  day. 

"We  had  now  so  much  wood  from  the  sledge,  together  with 
broken  snow-shoe  staves  and  the  results  of  other  casualties,  that 
I  thought  we  should  be  able  to  use  it  as  fuel  for  some  time 
to  come  and  so  save  the  petroleum.  We  accordingly  made 
a  fire  of  it  to  cook  the  supper  with,  contrived  a  cooking-pot  out 
of  the  empty  petroleum  tin,  and  hung  it  over  in  the  approved 
fashion.  At  the  first  start-off  we  lighted  the  fire  just  outside  the 
tent  door,  but  soon  gave  that  up,  as,  for  the  first  thing,  we 
nearly  burned  up  the  tent,  and,  secondly,  the  smoke  came  in  till 
we  could  hardly  see  out  of  our  eyes.  But  it  warmed  well  and 
looked  wonderfully  cheerful.  Then  we  moved  it  farther  off,  where 
it  could  neither  burn  up  the  tent  nor  smoke  us  out ;  but  there- 
with all  the  joy  of  it  was  departed.  When  we  had  about  burned 
up  the  whole  sledge  and  succeeded  in  getting  a  pot  of  boiling 
water,  with  the  further  result  of  having  nearly  melted  the  floe 
through  on  which  we  were  living,  I  gave  up  the  idea  of  cooking 
with  sledges  and  went  back  to  our  trusty  friend,  the  *  Primus ' — 


408  FARTHEST  NORTH 

and  a  sociable  and  entertaining  friend,  too,  which  one  can  have 
by  one's  side  as  one  lies  in  the  bag.  We  have  as  much  petroleum, 
I  should  imagine,  as  we  shall  require  for  the  journey  before  us, 
and  why  bother  about  anything  else  ?  If  the  petroleum  should 
come  to  an  end  too  soon,  why,  then  we  can  get  as  much  train- 
oil  from  bear  and  seal  and  walrus  as  we  shall  require.  I  am 
very  anxious  to  see  the  result  of  our  reloading.  Our  two  kayak 
sledges  have  undoubtedly  become  somewhat  heavier,  but  then 
we  shall  have  six  dogs  to  each  as  long  as  they  last.  Our  patience 
has  been  rewarded  at  last  with  the  most  brilliant  sunshine  and 
sparkling  sky.  It  is  so  warm  in  the  tent  that  I  am  lying  basking 
in  the  heat.  One  might  almost  think  one's  self  under  an  awning 
on  a  summer's  day  at  home.  Last  night  it  was  almost  too  warm 
to  sleep." 

The  ice  kept  practicable  to  a  certain  extent  during  these 
days,  though  the  lanes  provided  us  with  many  an  obstacle  to 
overcome.  Then,  in  addition  to  this,  the  dogs'  strength  was 
failing,  they  were  ready  to  stop  at  the  slightest  unevenness,  and 
we  did  not  make  much  way.  On  Thursday,  May  i6th,  I  write 
in  my  diary  :  "  Several  of  the  dogs  seem  to  be  much  exhausted. 
'  Baro '  (the  leader  of  my  team)  gave  in  yesterday.  He  could 
hardly  move  at  last,  and  was  slaughtered  for  supper.  Poor  an- 
imal.    He  hauled  faithfully  to  th^  end. 

"  It  was  Johansen's  birthday  yesterday;  he  completed  his  twen- 
ty-eighth year,  and  of  course  a  feast  was  held  in  honor  of  the  oc- 
casion. It  consisted  of  lobscouse,  his  favorite  dish,  followed  by 
some  good  hot  lime-juice  grog.  The  mid-day  sun  made  it  warm 
and  comfortable  in  the  tent.     6  a.m.,  +3.6°  Fahr.  (  —  15.8°  C). 

"  Have  to-day  calculated  our  latitude  and  longitude  for  yes- 
terday, and  find  it  was  83°  36'  N.  and  59°  55'  E.  Our  latitude 
agrees  exactly  with  what  I  supposed,  according  to  the  dead 
reckoning,  but  our  longitude  is  almost  alarmingly  westerly,  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  our  course  has  been  the  whole  time  some- 
what southerly.  There  appears  to  be  a  strong  drift  in  the  ice 
here,  and  it  will  be  better  for  us  to  keep  east  of  the  south,  in 
order  not  to  drift  past  land.  To  be  quite  certain,  I  have  again 
reckoned  out  our  observations  of  April  7th  and  8th,  but  find  no 
error,  and  cannot  think  otherwise  than  that  we  are  about  right. 
Still  it  seems  remarkable  that  we  have  not  yet  seen  any  signs  of 
land.     10  P.M.,  +1.4°  Fahr.  (-17°  C). 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  409 

"Friday,  May  17th.  +12.4°  Fahr.  (  —  10.9°  C);  minimum, 
—  19°  C.  To-day  is  the  'Seventeenth  of  May' — Constitution- 
day.  I  felt  quite  certain  that  by  to-day,  at  any  rate,  we  should 
have  been  on  land  somewhere  or  other,  but  fate  wills  otherwise  ; 
we  have  not  even  seen  a  sign  of  it  yet.  Alas  !  here  I  lie  in  the 
bag,  dreaming  day-dreams  and  thinking  of  all  the  rejoicings  at 
home,  of  the  children's  processions  and  the  undulating  mass  of 
people  at  this  moment  in  the  streets.  How  welcome  a  sight  to 
see  the  flags,  with  their  red  bunting,  waving  in  the  blue  spring 
atmosphere,  and  the  sun  shining  through  the  delicate  young 
green  of  the  leaves.  And  here  we  are  on  drifting  ice,  not  know- 
ing exactly  where  we  are,  uncertain  as  to  our  distance  from  an 
unknown  land,  where  we  hope  to  find  means  of  sustaining  life 
and  thence  carve  our  way  on  towards  home,  with  two  teams 
of  dogs  whose  numbers  and  strength  diminish  day  by  day,  with 
ice  and  water  between  us  and  our  goal  which  may  cause  us 
untold  trouble,  with  sledges  which  now,  at  any  rate,  are  too 
heavy  for  our  own  powers.  We  press  laboriously  onward  mile 
by  mile  ;  and  meanwhile,  perhaps,  the  drift  of  ice  is  carrying  us 
westward  out  to  sea,  beyond  the  land  we  are  striving  for.  A 
toilsome  life,  undeniably,  but  there  will  be  an  end  to  it  some 
time ;  some  time  we  shall  reach  it,  and  meanwhile  our  flag  for 
the  'Seventeenth  of  May'  shall  wave  above  the  83d  parallel, 
and  if  fate  sends  us  the  first  sight  of  land  to  -  day  our  joy  will 
be  twofold. 

"  Yesterday  was  a  hard  day.  The  weather  was  fine,  even 
brilliant,  the  going  splendid,  and  the  ice  good,  so  that  one  had  a 
right  to  expect  progress  were  it  not  for  the  dogs.  They  pull  up 
at  everything,  and  for  the  man  ahead  it  is  a  continual  going  over 
the  same  ground  three  times  :  first  to  find  a  way  and  make  a 
track,  and  then  back  again  to  drive  on  the  dogs  ;  it  is  slow  work 
indeed.  Across  quite  flat  ice  the  dogs  keep  up  to  the  mark 
pretty  well,  but  at  the  first  difficulty  they  stop.  I  tried  harness- 
ing myself  in  front  of  them  yesterday,  and  it  answered  pretty 
well ;  but  when  it  came  to  finding  the  way  in  foul  ice  it  had  to 
be  abandoned. 

"  In  spite  of  everything,  we  are  pushing  forward,  and  eventu- 
ally shall  have  our  reward  ;  but  for  the  time  being  this  would  be 
ample  could  we  only  reach  land  and  land-ice  without  these  execra- 
ble lanes.   Yesterday  we  had  four  of  them.   The  first  that  stopped 


4IO  FARTHEST  NORTH 

us  did  not  cause  immoderate  trouble  ;  then  we  went  over  a  short 
bit  of  middling  ice,  though,  with  lane  after  lane  and  ridges. 
Then  came  another  bad  lane,  necessitating  a  circuit.  After  this 
we  traversed  some  fairly  good  ice,  this  time  considerably  more 
of  it  than  previously,  but  soon  came  to  a  lane,  or  rather  a  pool, 
of  greater  size  than  we  had  ever  seen  before — exactly  what  the 
Russians  would  call  a  '  polynja.'  It  was  covered  with  young  ice, 
too  weak  to  bear.  We  started  confidently  alongside  it  in  a  south- 
westerly direction  (true),  in  the  belief  that  we  should  soon  find 
a  way  across  ;  but  'soon  '  did  not  come.  Just  where  we  expected 
to  find  a  crossing  an  overwhelming  sight  presented  itself  to  our 
gaze  ;  the  pool  stretched  away  in  a  southwesterly  direction  to 
the  very  horizon,  and  we  could  see  no  end  to  it.  In  the  mirage 
on  the  horizon  a  couple  of  detached  blocks  of  ice  rose  above  the 
level  of  the  pool  ;  they  appeared  to  be  floating  in  open  water, 
changed  constantly  in  shape,  and  disappeared  and  reappeared. 
Everything  seemed  to  indicate  that  the  pool  debouched  right 
into  the  sea  in  the  west.  From  the  top  of  a  high  hummock  I 
could,  however,  with  the  glass,  see  ice  on  the  other  side,  height- 
ened by  the  looming.  But  it  was  anything  but  certain  that  it 
really  was  situated  at  the  western  end  of  the  pool  ;  more  prob- 
ably it  indicated  a  curve  in  the  direction  of  the  latter.  What 
was  to  be  done  here  ?  To  get  over  seemed  for  the  moment  an 
impossibility.  The  ice  was  too  thin  to  bear  and  too  thick  to 
set  the  kayaks  through,  even  if  we  should  mend  them.  How 
long  it  might  take  at  this  time  of  year  for  the  ice  to  become 
strong  enough  to  bear  I  did  not  know,  but  one  day  would 
scarcely  do  it.  To  settle  down  and  wait,  therefore,  seemed  too 
much.  How  far  the  pool  extended  and  how  long  we  might  have 
to  travel  along  it  before  we  found  a  crossing  and  could  again 
keep  to  our  course  no  one  could  tell ;  but  the  probability  was  a 
long  time — perhaps  days.  On  the  other  hand,  to  retreat  in  the 
direction  whence  we  came  seemed  an  unattractive  alternative ; 
it  would  lead  us  away  from  our  goal,  and  also  perhaps  necessi- 
tate a  long  journey  in  an  opposite  direction  before  we  could  find 
a  crossing.  The  pool  extended  true  S.  50°  W.  To  follow  it 
would  undoubtedly  take  us  out  of  our  course,  which  ought  now 
properly  to  be  east  of  south  ;  but  on  the  whole  this  direction  was 
nearest  the  line  of  our  advance,  and  consequently  we  decided  to 
try  it.     After  a  short  time  we  came  to  a  new  lane  running  in 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  4" 

a  transverse  direction  to  the  pool.  Here  the  ice  was  strong- 
enough  to  bear,  and  on  examining  the  ice  on  the  pool  itself  be- 
yond the  confluence  of  this  lane  I  found  a  belt  where  the  young 
ice  had,  through  pressure,  been  jammed  up  in  several  layers. 
This,  happily,  was  strong  enough  to  bear,  and  we  got  safely  over 
the  pool,  the  trend  of  which  we  had  been  prepared  to  follow  for 
days.  Then  on  we  went  again,  though  in  toil  and  tribulation, 
until  at  half-past  eight  in  the  evening  we  again  found  ourselves 
confronted  by  a  pool  or  lane  of  exactly  the  same  description  as 
the  former  one,  with  the  exception  only  that  this  time  the  view 
to  the  '  sea '  opened  towards  the  northeast,  while  in  the  south- 
west the  sky-line  was  closed  in  by  ice.  The  lane  also  was  cov- 
ered with  young  ice,  which  in  the  middle  was  obviously  of  the 
same  age  as  that  on  the  last  pool.  Near  the  edge  there  was  some 
thicker  and  older  ice,  which  would  bear,  and  over  which  I  went 
on  snow-shoes  to  look  for  a  crossing,  but  found  none  as  far  as  I 
went.  The  strip  of  ice  along  the  middle,  sometimes  broad  and 
sometimes  narrow,  was  everywhere  too  thin  to  risk  taking  the 
sledges  over.  We  consequently  decided  to  camp  and  wait  till  to- 
day, when  it  is  to  be  hoped  the  ice  will  be  strong  enough  to  bear. 
And  here  we  are  still  with  the  same  lane  in  front  of  us.  Heaven 
only  knows  what  surprises  the  day  will  bring. 

"  Sunday,  May  19th.  The  surprise  which  the  Seventeenth 
brought  us  was  nothing  less  than  that  we  found  the  lanes  about 
here  full  of  narwhals.  When  we  had  just  got  under  way,  and 
were  about  to  cross  over  the  lane  we  had  been  stopped  by  the 
previous  day,  I  became  aware  of  a  breathing  noise,  just  like  the 
blowing  of  whales.  I  thought  at  first  it  must  be  from  the  dogs, 
but  then  I  heard  for  certain  that  the  sound  came  from  the  lane. 
I  listened.  Johansen  had  heard  the  noise  the  whole  morning, 
he  said,  but  thought  it  was  only  ice  jamming  in  the  distance. 
No,  that  sound  I  knew  well  enough,  I  thought,  and  looked  over 
towards  an  opening  in  the  ice  whence  I  thought  it  proceeded. 
Suddenly  I  saw  a  movement  which  could  hardly  be  falling  ice, 
and — quite  right — up  came  the  head  of  a  whale  ;  then  came  the 
body  ;  it  executed  the  well-known  curve  and  disappeared.  Then 
up  came  another,  accompanied  by  the  same  sound.  There  was 
a  whole  school  of  them.  I  shouted  that  they  were  whales,  and, 
running  to  the  sledge,  had  my  gun  out  in  a  second.  Then  came 
the  adjusting  of  a  harpoon,  and  after  a  little  work  this  was  ac- 


412  FARTHEST  NORTH 

complished,  and  I  was  ready  to  start  in  pursuit.  Meanwhile  the 
animals  had  disappeared  from  the  opening  in  the  ice  where  I  had 
first  seen  them,  though  I  heard  their  breathing  from  some  open- 
ings farther  east.  I  followed  the  lane  in  that  direction,  but  did 
not  come  within  range,  although  I  got  rather  near  them  once  or 
twice.  They  came  up  in  comparatively  small  openings  in  the 
ice,  which  were  to  be  found  along  the  whole  length  of  the  lane. 
There  was  every  prospect  of  being  able  to  get  a  shot  at  them  if 
we  stopped  for  a  day  to  watch  the  holes  ;  but  we  had  no  time  to 
spare,  and  could  not  have  taken  much  with  us  had  we  got  one, 
as  the  sledges  were  heavy  enough  already.  We  soon  found  a 
passage  over,  and  continued  our  journey  with  the  flags  hoisted 
on  the  sledges  in  honor  of  the  day.  As  we  were  going  so  slowly 
now  that  it  was  hardly  possible  for  things  to  be  worse,  I  deter- 
mined at  our  dinner-hour  that  I  really  would  take  off  the  under- 
runners  from  my  sledge.  The  change  was  unmistakable  ;  it  was 
not  like  the  same  sledge.  Henceforth  we  got  on  well,  and  after 
a  while  the  under-runners  from  Johansen's  sledge  were  also  re- 
moved. As  we  furthermore  came  on  some  good  ice  later  in  the 
day,  our  progress  was  quite  unexpectedly  good,  and  when  we 
stopped  at  half -past  eleven  yesterday  morning  I  should  think 
we  had  gone  lo  miles  during  our  day's  march.  This  brings  us 
down  to  latitude  83°  20'  or  so. 

"  At  last,  then,  we  have  come  down  to  latitudes  which  have 
been  reached  by  human  beings  before  us,  and  it  cannot  possi- 
bly be  far  to  land.  A  little  while  before  we  halted  yesterday  we 
crossed  a  lane  or  pool  exactly  like  the  two  previous  ones,  only 
broader  still.  Here,  too,  I  heard  the  blowing  of  whales,  but  al- 
though I  was  not  far  from  the  hole  whence  the  noise  presumably 
came,  and  although  the  opening  there  was  quite  small,  I  could 
perceive  nothing.  Johansen,  who  came  afterwards  with  the  dogs, 
said  that  as  soon  as  they  reached  the  frozen  lane  they  got  scent 
of  something  and  wanted  to  go  against  the  wind.  Curious  that 
there  should  be  so  many  narwhals  in  the  lanes  here. 

"  The  ice  we  are  now  travelling  over  is  surprisingly  bad.  There 
are  few  or  no  new  ridges,  only  small  older  irregularities,  with  now 
and  then  deep  snow  in  between,  and  then  these  curious  broad,  end- 
less lanes,  which  resemble  each  other,  and  run  exactly  parallel, 
and  are  all  unlike  those  we  have  met  before.  They  are  remark- 
able from  the  fact  that,  while  formerly  I  always  observed  the  ice 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  413 

on  the  north  side  of  the  lane  to  drift  westward,  in  comparison 
with  that  which  lay  on  the  south  side,  the  reverse  was  here  the 
case.     It  was  the  ice  on  the  south  side  which  drifted  westward. 

'*  As  I  am  afraid  that  we  are  continually  drifting  rapidly  west- 
ward, I  have  kept  a  somewhat  easterly  course — S.S.E.  or  east  of 
that,  according  as  the  drift  necessitates.  We  kept  the  Seven- 
teenth of  May — on  the  i8th,  it  is  true — by  a  feast  of  unsurpassed 
magnificence,  consisting  of  lobscouse,  stewed  red  whortleberries 
mixed  with  vril-food,  and  stamina  lime-juice  mead  (i.  e.^  a  con- 
coction of  lime-juice  tablets  and  Frame  Food  stamina  tablets 
dissolved  in  water),  and  then,  having  eaten  our  fill,  crawled  into 
our  bag." 

As  we  gradually  made  our  way  southward  the  ice  became 
more  impracticable  and  difficult  to  travel  over.  We  still  came 
across  occasional  good  flat  plains,  but  they  were  often  broken 
up  by  broad  belts  of  jammed-up  ice,  and  in  a  measure  by  chan- 
nels, which  hindered  our  advance.  On  May  19th  I  write  :  "  I 
climbed  to  the  top  of  the  highest  hummock  I  have  yet  been  up. 
I  measured  it  roughly,  and  made  it  out  to  be  about  24  feet  above 
the  ice  whence  I  had  climbed  up  ;  but,  as  this  latter  was  consid- 
erably above  the  surface  of  the  water,  the  height  was  probably 
30  feet  or  so.  It  formed  the  crest  of  quite  a  short  and  crooked 
pressure-ridge,  consisting  of  only  small  pieces  of  ice." 

That  day  we  came  across  the  first  tracks  of  bears  which  we 
had  seen  on  our  journey  over  the  ice.  The  certainty  that  we 
had  got  down  to  regions  where  these  animals  are  to  be  found, 
and  the  prospect  of  a  ham,  made  us  very  joyous.  On  May  20th 
there  was  a  tremendous  snow-storm,  through  which  it  was  im- 
possible to  see  our  way  on  the  uneven  ice.  "  Consequently  there 
is  nothing  for  it  but  to  creep  under  the  cover  again  and  sleep  as 
long  as  one  can.  Hunger  at  last,  though,  is  too  much  for  us, 
and  I  turn  out  to  make  a  stew  of  delicious  liver  '  pat^.'  Then  a 
cup  of  whey  drink,  and  into  the  bag  again,  to  write  or  slumber 
as  we  list.  Here  we  are,  with  nothing  to  do  but  to  wait  till  the 
weather  changes  and  we  can  go  on. 

"We  can  hardly  be  far  from  83°  10'  N.,  and  should  have 
gained  Petermann's  Land  if  it  be  where  Payer  supposed.  Either 
we  must  be  unconscionably  out  of  our  bearings,  or  the  country 
very  small.  Meanwhile,  I  suppose,  this  east  wind  is  driving  us 
westward,  out  to  sea,  in  the  direction  of  Spitzbergen.     Heaven 


414  FARTHEST  NORTH 

alone  knows  what  the  velocity  of  the  drift  may  be  here.  Oh, 
well,  I  am  not  in  the  least  downhearted.  We  still  have  lo  dogs, 
and,  should  we  drift  past  Cape  Fligely,  there  is  land  enough  west 
of  us,  and  that  we  can  hardly  mistake.  Starve  we  scarcely  can  ; 
and  if  the  worst  should  come  to  the  worst,  and  we  have  to  make 
up  our  minds  to  winter  up  here,  we  can  face  that  too — if  only 
there  was  nobody  waiting  at  home.  But  we  shall  get  back  be- 
fore the  winter.  The  barometer  is  falling  steadily,  so  that  it  will 
be  a  case  of  patience  long  drawn  out,  but  we  shall  manage  all 
right." 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day  (May  21st)  we  were  at 
last  able  to  get  off,  though  the  weather  was  still  thick  and  snowy, 
and  we  often  staggered  along  like  blind  men.  ''  As  the  wind  was 
strong  and  right  at  our  back,  and  as  the  ice  was  fairly  even,  I  at 
last  put  a  sail  to  my  sledge.  It  almost  went  by  itself,  but  did 
not  in  the  least  change  the  dogs'  pace  ;  they  kept  the  same  slow 
time  as  before.  Poor  beasts,  they  become  more  and  more  tired, 
and  the  going  is  heavy  and  loose.  We  passed  over  many  newly 
frozen  pools  that  day,  and  some  time  previously  there  must  have 
been  a  remarkable  quantity  of  open  water. 

"  I  do  not  think  I  exceed  when  I  put  down  our  day's  march  at 
14  miles,  and  we  ought  to  have  latitude  83°  behind  us,  but  as  yet 
no  sign  of  land.     This  is  becoming  rather  exciting. 

"Friday,  May  24th.  +18.8°  Fahr.  (-7.4°  C).  Minimum 
—  11.4°  C.  Yesterday  was  the  worst  day  we  have  yet  had.  The 
lane  we  had  before  us  when  we  stopped  the  previous  day  proved 
to  be  worse  than  any  of  the  others  had  been.  After  breakfast 
at  I  A.M.,  and  while  Johansen  was  engaged  in  patching  the  tent, 
I  trudged  off  to  look  for  a  passage  across,  but  was  away  for  three 
hours  without  finding  any.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  fol- 
low the  bend  of  the  lane  eastward  and  trust  to  getting  over  event- 
ually, but  it  turned  out  to  be  a  longer  job  than  we  had  antici- 
pated. When  we  came  to  the  place  where  it  appeared  to  end, 
the  surrounding  ice  -  mass  was  broken  up  in  all  directions,  and 
the  floes  were  grinding  against  each  other  as  they  tore  along. 
There  was  no  safe  passage  across  to  be  found  anywhere.  Where 
at  one  moment,  perhaps,  I  might  have  crossed  over,  at  the  next, 
when  I  had  brought  the  sledges  up,  there  was  only  open  water. 
Meanwhile  we  executed  some  intricate  manoeuvring  from  floe  to 
floe,  always  farther  east,  in  order  to  get  round.    The  ice  jammed 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  415 

under  and  around  us,  and  it  was  often  a  difficult  matter  to  get 
through.  Often  did  we  think  we  were  well  across,  when  still  worse 
lanes  and  cracks  in  front  of  us  met  our  disappointed  gaze.  It 
was  enough  sometimes  to  make  one  despair. 

"There  seemed  to  be  no  end  to  it ;  wherever  one  turned  were 
yawning  channels.  On  the  overcast  sky  the  dark,  threatening 
reflection  of  water  was  to  be  seen  in  all  directions.  It  really 
seemed  as  if  the  ice  was  entirely  broken  up.  Hungry  and  almost 
tired  to  death  we  were,  but  determined,  if  possible,  to  leave  our 
troubles  behind  us  before  we  stopped  for  dinner.  But  at  last 
matters  came  to  a  hopeless  pitch,  and  at  i  o'clock,  after  nine 
hours'  work,  we  decided  to  have  a  meal.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact 
that,  let  things  be  as  bad  as  they  may,  once  in  the  bag,  and  with 
food  in  prospect,  all  one's  troubles  sink  into  oblivion.  The  hu- 
man being  becomes  a  happy  animal,  which  eats  as  long  as  it  can 
keep  its  eyes  open,  and  goes  to  sleep  with  the  food  in  its  mouth. 
Oh,  blissful  state  of  heedlessness  !  But  at  4  o'clock  we  had  to 
turn  to  again  at  the  apparently  hopeless  task  of  threading  the 
maze  of  lanes.  As  a  last  drop  in  our  cup  of  misery  the  weather 
became  so  thick  and  shadowless  that  one  literally  could  not  see 
if  one  were  walking  up  against  a  wall  of  ice  or  plunging  into  a 
pit.  Alas,  we  have  only  too  much  of  this  mist !  How  many 
lanes  and  cracks  we  went  across,  how  many  huge  ridges  we 
clambered  over,  dragging  the  heavy  sledges  after  us,  I  cannot 
say,  but  very  many.  They  twisted  and  turned  in  all  directions, 
and  water  and  slush  met  us  everywhere. 

"  But  everything  comes  to  an  end ;  so  did  this.  After  another 
two  and  a  half  hours'  severe  exertion  we  had  put  the  last  lane 
behind  us,  and  before  us  lay  a  lovely  plain.  Altogether  we  had 
now  been  at  this  sort  of  work  for  nearly  twelve  hours,  and  I  had, 
in  addition,  followed  the  lane  for  three  hours  in  the  morning, 
which  made  fifteen  altogether.  We  were  thoroughly  done,  and 
wet  too.  How  many  times  we  had  gone  through  the  deceptive 
crust  of  snow  which  hides  the  water  between  the  pieces  of  ice  it 
is  impossible  to  say.  Once  during  the  morning  I  had  had  a  nar- 
row escape.  I  was  going  confidently  along  on  snow-shoes  over 
what  I  supposed  to  be  solid  ice  when  suddenly  the  ground  began 
to  sink  beneath  me.  Happily  there  were  some  pieces  of  ice  not 
far  off  on  which  I  succeeded  in  throwing  myself,  while  the  water 
washed  over  the  snow  I  had  just  been  standing  on.    I  might  have 


4i6  FARTHEST  NORTH 

had  a  long  swim  for  it  through  the  slush,  which  would  have  been 
anything  but  pleasant,  particularly  seeing  that  I  was  alone. 

"  At  last  we  had  level  ice  before  us  ;  but,  alas  !  our  happiness 
was  destined  to  be  short-lived.  From  the  dark  belt  of  clouds  on 
the  sky  we  saw  that  a  new  channel  was  in  prospect,  and  at  eight 
in  the  evening  we  had  reached  it.  I  was  too  tired  to  follow  the 
trend  of  the  lane  (it  was  not  short)  in  order  to  find  a  crossing, 
particularly  as  another  channel  was  visible  behind  it.  It  was  also 
impossible  to  see  the  ice  around  one  in  the  heavily  falling  snow. 
It  was  only  a  question,  therefore,  of  finding  a  camping-place,  but 
this  was  easier  said  than  done.  A  strong  north  wind  was  blow- 
ing, and  no  shelter  was  to  be  found  from  it  on  the  level  ice  we 
had  just  got  on  to.  Every  mound  and  irregularity  was  examined 
as  we  passed  by  it  in  the  snow-storm,  but  all  were  too  small.  We 
had  to  content  ourselves  at  last  with  a  little  pressed  -  up  hum- 
mock, which  we  could  just  get  under  the  lee  of.  Then,  again, 
there  was  too  little  snow,  and  only  after  considerable  work  did 
we  succeed  in  pitching  the  tent.  At  last,  however,  the  '  Primus ' 
was  singing  cheerily  inside  it,  the  'fiskegratin'  diffusing  its 
savory  odor,  and  two  happy  beings  were  ensconced  comfortably 
inside  the  bag,  enjoying  existence  and  satisfied,  if  not,  indeed,  at 
having  done  a  good  day's  march,  yet  in  the  knowledge  of  having 
overcome  a  difficulty. 

"  While  we  were  having  breakfast  to-day  I  went  out  and  took 
a  meridian  altitude,  which,  to  our  delight,  made  us  82°  52'  N. 

"  Sunday,  May  26th.  When  the  ice  is  as  uneven  as  it  is  now, 
the  difficulty  of  making  headway  is  incredible.  The  snow  is 
loose,  and  if  one  takes  one's  snow-shoes  off  for  a  moment  one 
sinks  in  above  one's  knees.  It  is  impossible  to  fasten  them  on 
securely,  as  every  minute  one  must  help  the  dogs  with  the 
sledges.  Added  to  this,  if  the  weather  be  thick,  as  yesterday, 
one  is  apt  to  run  into  the  largest  ridges  or  snow-drifts  without 
seeing  them ;  everything  is  equally  white  under  its  covering  of 
new  snow,  and  the  light  comes  from  all  directions,  so  that  it 
throws  no  shadows.  Then  one  plunges  in  headlong,  and  with 
difficulty  can  get  up  and  on  to  one's  snow-shoes  again.  This 
takes  place  continually,  and  the  longer  it  lasts  the  worse  it  gets. 
At  last  one  literally  staggers  on  one's  snow-shoes  from  fatigue, 
just  as  if  one  were  drunk.  But  we  are  gaining  ground,  and  that 
is  the  chief  thing,  be   one's  shins  ever  so  bruised  and  tender. 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  41/ 

This  manner  of  progress  is  particularly  injurious  to  the  ankles, 
on  account  of  the  constant  unsteadiness  and  swerving  of  the 
snow-shoes,  and  many  a  day  have  mine  been  much  swollen.  The 
dogs,  too,  are  becoming  exhausted,  which  is  worse. 

"  I  have  to-day  reckoned  out  the  observations  made  yesterday, 
and  find,  to  our  joy,  that  the  longitude  is  6i°  27'  E.,  so  that  we 
have  not  drifted  westward,  but  have  come  about  south,  according 
to  our  course.  My  constant  fear  of  drifting  past  land  is  thus  un- 
founded, and  we  should  be  able  to  reckon  on  reaching  it  before 
very  long.  We  may  possibly  be  farther  east  than  we  suppose, 
but  hardly  farther  west,  so  that  if  we  now  go  due  south  for  a 
while,  and  then  southwest,  we  must  meet  with  land,  and  this 
within  not  many  days.  I  reckon  that  we  did  20  miles  southward 
yesterday,  and  should  thus  be  now  in  latitude  82°  40'  N.  A  couple 
more  days,  and  our  latitude  will  be  very  satisfactory. 

"  The  ice  we  have  before  us  looks  practicable,  but,  to  judge  by 
the  sky,  we  have  a  number  of  water-ways  a  little  farther  on ;  we 
must  manage  somehow  to  fight  our  way  across  them.  I  should 
be  very  reluctant  to  mend  the  kayaks  just  now,  before  we  have 
reached  land  and  firm  land  ice.  They  require  a  thorough  over- 
hauling, both  as  to  frames  and  covers.  My  one  thought  now  is  to 
get  on  while  we  still  have  some  dogs,  and  thus  use  them  up. 

"A  comfortable  Sunday  morning  in  the  tent  to-day.  These 
observations  put  me  in  good  spirits ;  life  seems  to  look  bright  be- 
fore us.  Soon  we  must  be  able  to  start  homeward  at  good  speed 
and  across  open  water.  Oh,  what  a  pleasure  it  will  be  to  handle 
paddle  and  gun  again,  instead  of  this  continual  toil  with  the 
sledges  !  Then,  too,  the  shouting  to  the  dogs  to  go  on — it  seems 
to  wear  and  tear  one's  ears  and  every  nerve  in  one's  body. 

"  Monday,  May  27th.  Ever  since  yesterday  morning  we  have 
seen  the  looming  of  water  on  the  sky ;  it  is  the  same  looming 
that  we  saw  on  the  previous  day,  and  I  set  our  course  direct  for 
the  place  where,  to  judge  by  it,  there  should  be  the  greatest  ac- 
cumulation of  ice,  and  where,  consequently,  a  crossing  should 
be  easiest.  During  the  course  of  the  afternoon  we  came  on  one 
lane  after  the  other,  just  as  the  water-sky  had  denoted,  and  tow- 
ards evening  the  dark  heavens  before  us  augured  open  water 
of  a  worse  kind.  The  reflection  was  particularly  dark  and  threat- 
ening, both  in  the  west  and  in  the  east.  By  7  o'clock  I  could 
see  a  broad  lane  before  us,  stretching  away  west  and  east  as  far 
27 


4i8  FARTHEST  NORTH 

as  the  eye  could  reach  from  the  highest  hummock.  It  was  broad, 
and  appeared  to  be  more  impracticable  than  any  of  the  previous 
ones.  As  the  dogs  were  tired,  our  day's  march  had  been  a  good 
one,  and  we  had  a  splendid  camping-place  ready  to  hand,  we  de- 
cided to  pitch  the  tent.  Well  satisfied  and  certain  that  we  were 
now  in  latitude  824°,  and  that  land  must  inevitably  be  near,  we 
disappeared  into  the  bag. 

"  During  breakfast  this  morning  I  went  out  and  took  a  meridian 
altitude.  It  proves  that  we  have  not  deceived  ourselves.  We  are 
in  latitude  82°  30'  N.,  perhaps  even  a  minute  or  two  farther  south. 
But  it  is  growing  more  and  more  remarkable  that  we  see  no  sign 
of  land.  I  cannot  explain  it  in  any  other  way  than  that  we  are 
some  degrees  farther  east  than  we  suppose.*  That  we  should  be  so 
much  farther  west  as  to  enable  us  to  pass  entirely  clear  of  Peter- 
mann's  Land  and  Oscar's  Land,  and  not  so  much  as  get  a  glimpse 
of  them,  I  consider  an  impossibility.  I  have  again  looked  at  our 
former  observations ;  have  again  gone  through  our  dead  reckon- 
ing, the  velocity  and  directions  of  the  wind,  and  all  the  possibili- 
ties of  drift  during  the  days  which  passed  between  our  last  certain 
observation  for  longitude  (April  8th)  and  the  day  when,  according 
to  the  dead  reckoning,  we  assumed  ourselves  to  be  in  longitude  86° 
E.  (April  13th).  That  there  should  be  any  great  mistake  is  incon- 
ceivable. The  -ice  can  hardly  have  had  such  a  considerable  drift 
during  those  particular  days,  seeing  that  our  dead  reckoning  in 
other  respects  tallied  so  well  with  the  observations. 

"  Yesterday  evening  '  Kvik '  was  slaughtered.  Poor  thing,  she 
was  quite  worn  out,  and  did  little  or  nothing  in  the  hauling  line. 
I  was  sorry  to  part  with  her,  but  what  was  to  be  done  ?  Even  if 
we  should  get  fresh  meat,  it  would  have  taken  some  time  to  feed 
her  up  again,  and  then,  perhaps,  we  should  have  had  no  use  for 
her,  and  should  only  have  had  to  kill  her,  after  all.  But  a  fine 
big  animal  she  was,  and  provided  food  for  three  days  for  our  re- 
maining eight  dogs. 

"  I  am  in  a  continual  state  of  wonderment  at  the  ice  we  are 
now  travelling  over.   It  is  flat  and  good,  with  only  smallish  pieces 

*  In  point  of  fact,  we  were  then  about  6°  farther  east  than  we  thought. 
I  had  on  April  14th,  it  will  be  remembered  (compare  my  notes  for  that 
day),  surmised  that  the  longitude  I  then  set  down  (86°  E.)  was  more  west- 
erly than  that  we  were  actually  in. 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  419 

of  broken-up  ice  lying  about,  and  a  large  mound  or  small  ridge 
here  and  there,  but  all  of  it  is  ice  which  can  hardly  be  winter-old, 
or  at  any  rate  has  been  formed  since  last  summer.  It  is  quite  a 
rarity  to  come,  across  a  small  tract  of  older  ice,  or  even  a  single 
old  floe  which  has  lain  the  summer  through — so  rare,  in  fact,  that 
at  our  last  camping-place  it  was  impossible  to  find  any  ice  which 
had  been  exposed  to  the  summer  sun,  and  consequently  freed 
from  salt.  We  were  obliged  to  be  content  with  snow  for  our 
drinking-water.*  Certain  it  is  that  where  these  great  expanses 
of  flat  ice  come  from  there  was  open  water  last  summer  or  au- 
tumn, and  that  of  no  little  extent,  as  we  have  passed  over  many 
miles  of  this  compact  ice  the  whole  day  yesterday  and  a  good 
part  of  the  previous  day,  besides  which  there  were  formerly  a 
considerable  number  of  such  tracts  in  between  older,  summer-old 
ice.  There  is  little  probability  that  this  should  have  been  formed 
in  the  vicinity  hereabouts.  More  probably  it  has  come  from  far- 
ther east  or  southeast,  and  was  formed  in  open  water  on  the  east 
side  of  Wilczek's  Land.  I  believe,  consequently,  that  this  must 
indicate  that  there  can  be  not  a  little  open  water  along  the  east 
or  northeast  coast  of  Wilczek^s  Land  in  the  summer  or  autumn 
months. \ 

"  Now  followed  a  time  when  the  lanes  grew  worse  than  ever, 
and  we  began  to  toil  in  grim  earnest.     Lanes  and  cracks  went 

*  For  melting  water  in  the  cooker  it  is  better  to  use  ice  than  snow,  par- 
ticularly if  the  latter  be  not  old  and  granular.  Newly  fallen  snow  gives 
little  water,  and  requires  considerably  more  heat  to  warm  it.  That  part  of 
salt-water  ice  which  is  above  the  surface  of  the  sea,  and,  in  particular, 
prominent  pieces  which  have  been  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun  during  a 
summer  and  are  thus  freed  from  the  greater  part  of  their  salt,  furnish  ex- 
cellent drinking-water.  Some  expeditions  have  harbored  the  superstition 
that  drinking-water  from  ice  in  which  there  was  the  least  salt  was  injuri- 
ous. This  is  a  mistake  which  cost,  for  instance,  the  members  of  the /^^«- 
nette  expedition  much  unnecessary  trouble,  as  they  thought  it  imperative 
to  distil  the  water  before  they  could  drink  it  without  incurring  the  risk  of 
scurvy. 

t  As  will  be  understood  by  our  later  discoveries,  my  surmises  were  not 
quite  correct.  We  really  were  at  that  time  north  or  northeast  of  Wilczek's 
Land,  which  seems  to  be  only  a  little  island.  Meanwhile  there  must  have 
been  extensive  open  water  the  previous  autumn  where  this  ice  was  formed. 
But  when  it  is  shown  later  how  much  open  water  we  saw  on  the  north- 
west coast  of  Franz  Josef  Land  even  in  winter,  this  can  easily  be  imagined. 


422  FARTHEST  NORTH 

beings  are  hardly  likely  to  be  near  us  here.*  A  little  while  later 
a  fulmar  came  sailing  towards  us,  and  flew  round  and  round  just 
over  our  heads.  I  got  out  my  gun,  but  before  I  had  a  cartridge 
in  the  bird  had  gone  again.  It  is  beginning  to  grow  lively  here  ; 
it  is  cheering  to  see  so  much  life,  and  gives  one  the  feeling  that 
one  is  approaching  land  and  kindlier  regions.  Later  on  I  saw  a 
seal  on  the  ice ;  it  was  a  little  ringed  seal,  which  it  would  have 
been  a  satisfaction  to  capture  ;  but  before  I  had  quite  made  out 
which  it  was  it  had  disappeared  into  the  water. 

"At  lo  o'clock  we  had  dinner,  which  we  shall  no  longer  eat  in 
the  bag,  in  order  to  save  time.  We  had  also  decided  to  shorten 
our  marches  to  eight  hours  or  so  in  the  day  on  account  of  the 
dogs.  At  II  o'clock,  after  dinner,  we  started  off  again,  and  at 
three  stopped  and  camped.  I  should  imagine  we  went  7  miles 
yesterday,  or  let  me  say  between  12  and  15  during  the  last  two 
days,  the  direction  being  about  southwest — every  little  counts. 

"  In  front  of  us  on  the  horizon  we  have  a  water-sky,  or  at  any 
rate  a  reflection  which  is  so  sharply  defined  and  remains  so 
immovable  that  it  must  either  be  over  open  water  or  dark  land ; 
our  course  just  bears  on  it.  It  is  a  good  way  off,  and  the  water 
it  is  over  can  hardly  be  of  small  extent ;  I  cannot  help  thinking 
that  it  must  be  under  land.  May  it  be  so  !  But  between  us,  to 
judge  by  the  sky,  there  seem  to  be  plenty  of  lanes. 

"  The  ice  is  still  the  same  nowadays,  barely  of  the  previous 
winter's  formation,  where  it  is  impossible  to  find  any  suitable 
for  cooking.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  here,  if  possible,  thinner 
than  ever,  with  a  thickness  of  from  2  to  3  feet.  The  reason  of 
this  I  am  still  at  a  loss  to  explain. 

"Friday,  May  31st.  It  is  wonderful ;  the  last  day  of  May— 
this  month  gone  too  without  our  reaching  land,  without  even 
seeing  it.  June  cannot  surely  pass  in  the  same  manner—it  is 
impossible  that  we  can  have  far  to  go  now.  I  think  everything 
seems  to  indicate  this.  The  ice  becomes  thinner  and  thinner, 
we  see  more  and  more  life  around  us,  and  in  front  is  the  same 
reflection  of  water  or  land,  whichever  it  may  be.  Yesterday  I 
saw  two  ringed  seals  {Phoca  fcetida)  in  two  small  lanes  ;  a  bird, 
probably  a  fulmar,  flew  over  a  lane  here  yesterday  evening,  and 

*  It  was  undoubtedly  from  seals,  which  often  utter  a  sound  like  a 
protracted  "  ho !" 


A   HARD  STRUGGLE  423 

at  mid-day  yesterday  we  came  on  the  fresh  tracks  of  a  bear  and 
two  small  cubs,  which  had  followed  the  side  of  a  lane.  There 
seemed  to  be  prospects  of  fresh  food  in  such  surroundings, 
though,  curiously  enough,  neither  of  us  has  any  particular  crav- 
ing for  it ;  we  are  quite  satisfied  with  the  food  we  have  ;  but  for 
the  dogs  it  would  be  of  great  importance.  We  had  to  kill  again 
last  night ;  this  time  it  was  *  Pan,'  our  best  dog.  It  could  not 
be  helped ;  he  was  quite  worn  out,  and  could  not  do  much  more. 
The  seven  dogs  we  have  left  can  now  live  three  days  on  the  food 
he  provided. 

"  This  is  quite  unexpected :  the  ice  is  very  much  broken  up 
here  —  mere  pack  -  ice,  were  it  not  for  some  large  floes  or  flat 
spaces  in  between.  If  this  ice  had  time  to  slacken  it  would  be 
easy  enough  to  row  between  the  floes.  Sometimes  when  we 
were  stopped  by  lanes  yesterday,  and  I  went  up  on  to  some  high 
hummock  to  look  ahead,  my  heart  sank  within  me,  and  I  thought 
we  should  be  constrained  to  give  up  the  hope  of  getting  farther; 
it  was  looking  out  over  a  very  chaos  of  lumps  of  ice  and  brash 
mixed  together  in  open  water.  To  jump  from  piece  to  piece  in 
such  waters,  with  dogs  and  two  heavy  sledges  following  one,  is 
not  exactly  easy  ;  but  by  means  of  investigation  and  experiment 
we  managed  eventually  to  get  over  this  lane  too,  and  after  going 
through  rubble  for  a  while  came  on  to  flat  ice  again  ;  and  thus 
it  kept  on  with  new  lanes  repeatedly. 

"  The  ice  we  are  now  travelling  over  is  almost  entirely  new 
ice  with  occasional  older  floes  in  between.  It  continues  to  grow 
thinner  (here  it  is  for  the  greater  part  not  more  than  3  feet 
in  thickness),  and  the  floes  are  as  flat  as  when  they  were  frozen. 
Yesterday  evening,  however,  we  got  on  to  a  stretch  of  old  ice, 
on  which  we  are  stationed  now,  but  how  far  it  extends  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  say.  We  camped  yesterday  at  half-past  six  in  the  even- 
ing and  found  fresh  ice  again  for  the  cooker,  which  was  distinctly 
a  pleasant  change  for  the  cook.  We  have  not  had  it  since  May 
25.*  A  disagreeable  wind  from  the  south,  it  is  true,  has  sprung 
up  this  evening,  and  it  will  be  hard  work  going  against  it.     We 

*  It  was  from  about  82°  52'  N.  south  to  82°  19'  N.  that  we  travelled 
over  young  ice  of  this  description ;  that  is  to  say,  there  must  have  been 
open  water  over  a  distance  of  fully  32  English  geographical  miles  (33'  of 
latitude).  We  also  found  ice  of  this  kind  farther  south  for  a  long  dis- 
tance, and  the  open  sea  must  have  been  considerably  greater. 


424  FARTHEST  NORTH 

have  a  great  deal  of  bad  weather  here  ;  it  is  overcast  nearly  every 
day,  with  wind — south  wind,  which,  above  everything,  is  least  de- 
sirable just  now.  But  what  are  we  to  do  ?  To  settle  down  we 
have  hardly  provender  enough ;  there  is  nothing  for  it,  I  sup- 
pose, but  to  grind  on. 

"Took  a  meridian  altitude  to-day,  and  we  should  be  in  82°  21' 
N.,  and  still  no  glimpse  of  land ;  this  is  becoming  more  and 
more  of  an  enigma.  What  would  I  not  give  to  set  my  foot  on 
dry  land  now  !     But  patience — always  patience." 


CHAPTER   XIV 
BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK 

*'  Saturday,  June  ist.  So  this  is  June.  What  has  it  in  store 
for  us  ?  Will  not  this  month,  either,  bring  us  the  land  we  are 
longing  for?  Must  hope  and  believe  so,  though  the  time  is 
drawing  out.  Luck,  for  the  matter  of  that,  is  a  wonderful  thing. 
I  expected  this  morning  as  little  of  the  day  as  was  well  possible  ; 
the  weather  was  thick  and  snowy,  and  we  had  a  strong  contrary 
wind.  It  was  no  better  when  we  came  on  a  lane  directly  after 
we  started,  which  appeared  to  be  nearly  impassable  ;  everything 
was  dark  and  dull.  However,  the  day  turned  out  to  be  better 
than  we  expected.  By  means  of  a  detour  to  the  northeast  I 
found  a  passage  across  the  lane,  and  we  got  on  to  long,  flat 
plains  which  we  went  over  until  quite  mid-day.  And  from  five 
this  afternoon  we  had  another  hour  and  a  half  of  good  ice,  but 
that  was  the  end  of  it ;  a  lane  which  ran  in  several  directions 
cut  off  every  means  of  advance,  and  although  I  spent  more  than 
an  hour  and  a  half  in  looking  for  a  crossing,  none  was  to  be 
found.  There  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  camp,  and  hope  that  the 
morrow  would  bring  an  improvement. 

Now  the  morrow  has  come,  but  whether  the  improvement  has 
come  likewise,  and  the  lane  has  closed  more  together,  I  do  not 
yet  know.  We  camped  about  nine  yesterday  evening.  As  usual 
latterly,  after  nearly  a  whole  day  of  dismal  snow,  it  suddenly 
cleared  up  as  soon  as  we  began  to  pitch  the  tent.  The  wind 
also  went  down,  and  the  weather  became  beautiful,  with  blue 
sky  and  light  white  clouds,  so  that  one  might  almost  dream 
one's  self  far  away  to  summer  at  home.  The  horizon  in  the 
west  and  southwest  was  clear  enough,  but  nothing  to  be  seen 
except  the  same  water  -  sky,  which  we  have  been  steering  for, 
and,  happily,  it  is  obviously  higher,  so  we  are  getting  under 
it.     If  only  we    had  reached  it !     Yonder    there   must   be   a 


426  FARTHEST  NORTH 

change;  that  I  have  no  doubt  of.  How  I  long  for  that 
change ! 

"Curious  how  different  things  are.  If  we  only  reach  land 
before  our  provisions  give  out  we  shall  think  ourselves  well  out 
of  danger,  while  to  Payer  it  stood  for  certain  starvation  if  he 
should  have  to  remain  there  and  not  find  Tegethoff  2ig3.\n.  But 
then  he  had  not  been  roaming  about  in  the  drift-ice  between  ^t,° 
and  86°  for  two  months  and  a  half  without  seeing  a  living  creat- 
ure. Just  as  we  were  going  to  break  up  camp  yesterday  morn- 
ing we  suddenly  heard  the  angry  cry  of  an  ivory  gull ;  there, 
above  us,  beautiful  and  white,  were  two  of  them  sailing  right 
over  our  heads.  I  thought  of  shooting  them,  but  it  seemed,  on 
the  whole,  hardly  worth  while  to  expend  a  cartridge  apiece  on 
such  birds  ;  they  disappeared  again,  too,  directly.  A  little  while 
afterwards  we  heard  them  again.  As  we  were  lying  in  the  bag 
to-day  and  waiting  for  breakfast  we  suddenly  heard  a  hoarse 
scream  over  the  tent — something  like  the  croaking  of  a  crow.  I 
should  imagine  it  must  have  been  a  gull  (Larus  argentatus  f). 

"  Is  it  not  curious  ?  The  whole  night  long,  whenever  I  was 
awake,  did  the  sun  smile  in  to  us  through  our  silken  walls,  and  it 
was  so  warm  and  light  that  I  lay  and  dreamed  dreams  of  sum- 
mer, far  from  lanes  and  drudgery  and  endless  toil.  How  fair  life 
seems  at  such  moments,  and  how  bright  the  future !  But  no 
sooner  do  I  turn  out  to  cook  at  half-past  nine  than  the  sun  veils 
his  countenance  and  snow  begins  to  fall.  This  happens  nearly 
every  day  now.  Is  it  because  he  will  have  us  settle  down  here 
and  wait,  for  the  summer  and  the  slackening  of  the  ice  and  open 
water  will  spare  us  the  toil  of  finding  a  way  over  this  hopeless 
maze  of  lanes?  I  am  loath,  indeed,  that  this  should  come  to 
pass.  Even  if  we  could  manage,  as  far  as  provisions  are  con- 
cerned, by  killing  and  eating  the  dogs,  and  with  a  chance  of 
game  in  prospect,  our  arrival  in  Spitzbergen  would  be  late,  and 
we  might  not  improbably  have  to  pass  the  winter  there,  and 
then  those  at  home  would  have  another  year  to  wait. 

"  Sunday,  June  2d.  So  it  is  on  Whitsunday  that  this  book  * 
finishes.  I  could  hardly  have  imagined  that  we  should  still  be  in 
the  drift-ice  without  seeing  land  ;  but  Fate  wills  otherwise,  and 
she  knows  no  mercy. 

*  It  was  the  first  diary  I  used  on  the  sledge  journey. 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  427 

"The  lane  which  stopped  us  yesterday  did  not  close,  but 
opened  wider  until  there  was  a  big  sea  to  the  west  of  us,  and  we 
were  living  on  a  floe  in  the  midst  of  it  without  a  passage  across 
anywhere.  So,  at  last,  what  we  have  so  often  been  threatened 
with  has  come  to  pass  :  we  must  set  to  work  and  make  our  ka- 
yaks seaworthy.  But  first  of  all  we  moved  the  tent  into  a  shel- 
tered nook  of  the  hummock,  where  we  are  lying  to,  so  that  the 
wind  does  not  reach  us,  and  we  can  imagine  it  is  quite  still  out- 
side, instead  of  a  regular  '  mill-breeze '  blowing  from  the  south- 
west. To  rip  off  the  cover  of  my  kayak  and  get  it  into  the  tent 
to  patch  it  was  the  work  of  a  very  short  time,  and  then  we  spent 
a  comfortable,  quiet  Whitsunday  evening  in  the  tent.  The  cook- 
er was  soon  going,  and  we  had  some  smoking -hot  lobscouse 
for  dinner,  and  I  hardly  think  either  of  us  regretted  he  was  not 
on  the  move ;  it  is  undeniably  good  to  make  a  halt  sometimes. 
The  cover  was  soon  patched  and  ready  ;  then  I  had  to  go  out  and 
brace  up  the  frame  of  my  kayak  where  most  of  the  lashings  are 
slack  and  must  be  lashed  over  again  ;  this  will  be  no  inconsider- 
able piece  of  work  ;  there  are  at  least  forty  of  them.  However, 
only  a  couple  of  the  ribs  are  split,  so  the  framework  can  easily  be 
made  just  as  good  as  before.  Johansen  also  took  the  cover  off 
his  kayak,  and  to-day  it  is  going  to  be  patched. 

"When  both  the  frames  are  put  in  order  and  the  covers  on 
we  shall  be  ready  to  start  afresh  and  to  meet  every  difficulty,  be 
it  lanes,  pools,  or  open  sea.  It  will,  indeed,  be  with  a  feeling  of 
security  that  we  shall  set  forth,  and  there  will  be  an  end  to  this 
continual  anxiety  lest  we  should  meet  with  impassable  lanes.  I 
cannot  conceive  that  anything  now  can  prevent  us  from  soon 
reaching  land.  It  can  hardly  be  long  now  before  we  meet  with 
lanes  and  open  water  in  which  we  can  row.  There  will  be  a 
difficulty  with  the  remaining  dogs,  however,  and  it  will  be  a  case 
of  parting  with  them.  The  dogs'  rations  were  portioned  out  yes- 
terday evening,  and  we  still  have  part  of  *  Pan '  for  supper  ;  but 
Klapperslangen  '  must  go,  too.  We  shall  then  have  six  dogs, 
which,  I  suppose,  we  can  keep  four  days,  and  still  get  on  a  good 
way  with  them. 

"  Whitsuntide  !— there  is  something  so  lovely  and  summer-like 
in  the  word.  It  is  hard  to  think  how  beautiful  everything  is 
now  at  home,  and  then  to  lie  here  still,  in  mist  and  wind  and  ice. 
How  homesick  one  grows ;  but  what  good  does  it  do  ?     Little 


428  FARTHEST  NORTH 

Liv  will  go  to  dinner  with  her  grandmother  to-day  —  perhaps 
they  are  dressing  her  in  a  new  frock  at  this  very  moment !  Well, 
well,  the  time  will  come  when  I  can  go  with  her  ;  but  when  ?  I 
must  set  to  work  on  the  lashings,  and  it  will  be  all  right." 

We  worked  with  ardor  during  the  following  days  to  get  our 
kayaks  ready,  and  even  grudged  the  time  for  eating.  Twelve 
hours  sometimes  went  by  between  each  meal,  and  our  working 
day  often  lasted  for  twenty-four  hours.  But  all  the  same  it  took 
time  to  make  these  kayaks  fully  seaworthy  again.  The  worst  of 
it  was  that  we  had  to  be  so  careful  with  our  materials,  as  the  op- 
portunities of  acquiring  more  were  not  immoderately  abundant. 
When,  for  instance,  a  rib  had  to  be  relashed  we  could  not  rip  up 
the  old  lashing,  but  had  to  unwind  it  carefully  in  order  not  to 
destroy  the  line  ;  and  when  there  are  many  scores  of  such  places 
to  be  relashed,  this  takes  time.  Then,  too,  several  of  the  bamboo 
ribs  which  run  along  the  side  of  the  framework  (particularly  in 
Johansen's  kayak)  were  split,  and  these  had  wholly  or  partly  to 
be  taken  out  and  new  ones  substituted,  or  to  be  strengthened  by 
lashings  and  side  splints.  When  the  covers  were  properly  patched, 
and  the  frames,  after  several  days'  work,  again  in  order,  the  cov- 
ers were  put  on  and  carefully  stretched.  All  this,  of  course,  had 
to  be  done  with  care,  and  was  not  quick  work  ;  but  then  we  had 
the  satisfaction  of  knowing  that  the  kayaks  were  fully  seaworthy, 
and  capable,  if  need  be,  of  weathering  a  storm  on  the  way  over 
to  Spitzbergen. 

Meanwhile  the  time  flew  by — our  precious  time  ;  but  then  we 
hoped  that  our  kayaks  would  render  us  important  assistance, 
and  that  we  should  get  on  all  the  quicker  in  them.  Thus,  on 
Tuesday,  June  4th,  I  wrote  in  my  diary  :  "  It  seems  to  me  that  it 
cannot  be  long  before  we  come  to  open  water  or  slack  ice.  The 
latter  is,  hereabouts,  so  thin  and  broken  up,  and  the  weather  so 
summer-like.  Yesterday  the  thermometer  was  a  little  below 
freezing-point,  and  the  snow  which  fell  was  more  like  sleet  than 
anything  else  ;  it  melted  on  the  tent,  and  it  was  difficult  to  keep 
things  from  getting  wet  inside  ;  the  walls  dripped  if  we  even 
went  near  them.  We  had  abominable  weather  the  whole  day 
yesterday,  with  falling  snow,  but  for  the  matter  of  that  we  are 
used  to  it ;  we  have  had  nothing  else  lately.  To-day,  however, 
it  is  brilliant,  clear  blue  sky,  and  the  sun  has  just  come  over  the 
top  of  our  hummock  and  down  into  the  tent.     It  will  be  a  glori- 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  429 

ous  day  to  sit  out  and  work  in  ;  not  like  yesterday,  when  all  one's 
tackle  got  wet ;  it  is  worst  of  all  when  one  is  lashing,  for  then 
one  cannot  keep  the  line  taut.  This  sun  is  a  welcome  friend ; 
I  thought  I  was  almost  tired  of  it  before  when  it  was  always 
there ;  but  how  glad  we  are  to  see  it  now,  and  how  it  cheers  one. 
I  can  hardly  get  it  out  of  my  head  that  it  is  a  glorious,  fresh 
June  morning  home  by  the  bay.  Only  let  us  soon  have  water, 
so  that  we  can  use  our  kayaks,  and  it  will  not  be  long  before  we 
are  home. 

"  To-day,*  for  the  first  time  on  the  whole  of  this  journey,  we 
have  dealt  out  rations  for  breakfast,  both  of  butter,  if  ounces, 
and  aleuronate  bread,  6f  ounces.  We  must  keep  to  weights  in 
order  to  be  certain  the  provisions  will  last  out,  and  I  shall  take 
stock  properly  of  what  we  have  left  before  we  go  farther. 

"  Happiness  is,  indeed,  short-lived.  The  sun  has  gone  again, 
the  sky  is  overcast,  and  snowflakes  are  beginning  to  fall. 

"  Wednesday,  June  5th.  Still  at  the  same  spot,  but  it  is  to  be 
hoped  it  will  not  be  long  before  we  are  able  to  get  off.  The 
weather  was  fine  yesterday,  after  all,  and  so  summer-like  to  sit 
out  and  work  and  bask  in  the  sun ;  and  then  to  look  out  over 
the  water  and  the  ice,  with  the  glittering  waves  and  snow  ! 

"Yesterday  we  shot  our  first  game.  It  was  an  ivory  gull 
{Larus  eburneus),  which  went  flying  over  the  tent.  There  were 
other  gulls  here,  yesterday,  too,  and  we  saw  as  many  as  four  at 
once ;  but  they  kept  at  a  distance.  I  went  after  them  once  and 
missed  my  mark.  One  cartridge  wasted  ;  this  must  not  be  re- 
peated. If  we  had  taken  the  trouble  we  could  easily  have  got 
more  gulls ;  but  they  are  too  small  game,  and  it  is  also  too  early 
to  use  up  our  ammunition.  In  the  pool  here  I  saw  a  seal,  and 
Johansen  saw  one  too.  We  have  both  seen  and  heard  narwhals. 
There  is  life  enough  here,  and  if  the  kayaks  were  in  order,  and 
we  could  row  out  on  the  water,  I  have  no  doubt  we  could  get 
something.  However,  it  is  not  necessary  yet.  We  have  pro- 
visions enough  at  present,  and  it  is  better  to  employ  the  time  in 
getting  on,  on  account  of  the  dogs,  though  it  would  be  well  if  we 

*  Until  this  day  we  had  eaten  what  we  required  without  weighing  out 
rations.  It  proved  that,  after  all,  we  did  not  eat  more  than  what  I  had 
originally  allowed  per  day — /.  <?.,  1  kilo  of  dried  food.  We  now  reduced 
these  day's  rations  considerably. 


430  FARTHEST  NORTH 

could  get  some  big  game,  and  not  kill  any  more  of  them  until 
our  ice  journey  is  over  and  we  take  to  the  kayaks  for  good. 
Yesterday  we  had  to  kill  '  Klapperslangen.'  He  gave  twenty- 
five  rations,  which  will  last  the  six  remaining  dogs  four  days. 
The  slaughtering  was  now  entirely  Johansen's  business ;  he  had 
achieved  such  celerity  that  with  a  single  thrust  of  my  long 
Lapp  knife  he  made  an  end  of  the  animal,  so  that  it  had  no 
time  to  utter  a  sound,  and  after  a  few  minutes,  with  the  help  of 
the  knife  and  our  little  axe,  he  had  divided  the  animal  into  suit- 
able doles.  As  I  mentioned  before,  we  left  the  skin  and  hair  on ; 
the  former  was  carefully  eaten  up,  and  the  only  thing  left  after 
the  dogs'  meal  was,  as  a  rule,  a  tuft  of  hair  here  and  there  on 
the  ice,  some  claws,  and,  perhaps,  a  well-gnawed  cranium,  the 
hard  skull  being  too  much  for  them. 

"  They  are  beginning  to  be  pretty  well  starved  now.  Yester- 
day '  Lilleraeven '  ate  up  the  toe-strap  (the  reindeer-skin  which  is 
placed  under  the  foot  to  prevent  the  snow  from  balling)  and  a 
little  of  the  wood  of  Johansen's  snow-shoes,  which  the  dog  had 
pulled  down  on  to  the  ice.  The  late  *  Kvik '  ate  up  her  sail-cloth 
harness,  and  I  am  not  so  sure  these  others  do  not  indulge  in  a 
fragment  of  canvas  now  and  then. 

*'  I  have  just  reckoned  out  our  longitude  according  to  an  ob- 
servation taken  with  the  theodolite  yesterday,  and  make  it  to  be 
6i°  16.5'  E. ;  our  latitude  was  82°  17.8'  N.  I  cannot  understand 
why  we  do  not  see  land.  The  only  possible  explanation  must  be 
that  we  are  farther  east  than  we  think,  and  that  the  land  stretches 
southward  in  that  direction ;  but  we  cannot  have  much  farther 
to  go  now.  Just  at  this  moment  a  bird  flew  over  us,  which  Johan- 
sen,  who  is  standing  just  outside  the  tent,  took  to  be  a  kind  of 
sandpiper. 

"  Thursday,  June  6th.  Still  on  the  same  spot.  I  am  longing 
to  get  off,  see  what  things  look  like,  and  have  a  final  solution  of 
this  riddle,  which  is  constantly  before  me.  It  will  be  a  real  pleas- 
ure to  be  under  way  again  with  whole  tackle,  and  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  we  shall  soon  be  able  to  use  our  kayaks  in  open 
water.  Life  would  be  another  thing  then  !  Fancy,  to  get  clear 
for  good  of  this  ice  and  these  lanes,  this  toil  with  the  sledges  and 
endless  trouble  with  the  dogs,  only  one's  self  in  a  light  craft  dan- 
cing over  the  waves  at  play  !  It  is  almost  too  much  to  think  of. 
Perhaps  we  have  still  many  a  hard  turn  before  we  reach  it,  many 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  43^ 

a  dark  hour  ;  but  some  time  it  must  come,  and  then — then  life 
will  be  life  again  ! 

"Yesterday,  at  last,  we  finished  mending  the  framework  of 
both  kayaks.  We  rigged  up  some  plaited  bamboo  at  the  bot- 
tom of  each  to  place  the  provisions  on,  in  order  to  prevent  them 
from  getting  wet  in  case  the  kayaks  should  leak.  To-day  we 
have  only  to  go  over  them  again,  test  the  lashings,  and  brace 
(support)  those  that  may  require  it,  and  finally  put  the  covers 
on.  To-morrow  evening  I  hope  we  shall  get  off.  This  repairing 
has  taken  it  out  of  the  cord  ;  of  our  three  balls  we  have  rather 
less  than  one  left.  This  I  am  very  anxious  to  keep,  as  we  may 
require  it  for  fishing,  and  so  forth. 

"  Our  various  provisions  are  beginning  to  dwindle.  Weighed 
the  butter  yesterday,  and  found  that  we  had  only  5  pounds  i 
ounce.  If  we  reckon  our  daily  ration  at  i^  ounces  per  man  it 
will  last  another  23  days,  and  by  that  time  we  shall  have  gone  a 
little  farther.  To-day,  for  the  first  time,  I  could  note  down  a 
temperature  above  freezing-point — t.  e.,  +35.6°  Fahr.  this  morn- 
ing. The  snow  outside  was  soft  all  through,  and  the  hummocks 
are  dripping.  It  will  not  be  long  now  before  we  find  water  on 
the  floes.  Last  night,  too,  it  absolutely  rained.  It  was  only  a 
short  shower ;  first  of  all  it  drizzled,  then  came  large,  heavy 
drops,  and  we  took  shelter  inside  the  tent  in  order  not  to  get 
wet — but  it  was  rain,  rain  !  It  was  quite  a  summer  feeling  to  sit 
in  here  and  listen  to  the  drops  splashing  on  the  tent  wall.  As 
regards  the  going,  this  thaw  will  probably  be  a  good  thing  if  we 
should  have  frost  again  ;  but  if  the  snow  is  to  continue  as  it  is 
now,  it  will  be  a  fine  mess  to  get  through  among  all  these  ridges 
and  hummocks.  Instead  of  such  a  contingency,  it  would  be  bet- 
ter to  have  as  much  rain  as  possible,  to  melt  and  wash  the  ice 
clear  of  snow.  Well,  well,  it  must  do  as  it  likes  !  It  cannot  be 
long  now  before  it  takes  a  turn  for  the  better  —  land  or  open 
water,  whichever  it  may  be. 

"Saturday,  June  8th.  Finished  and  tried  the  kayaks  yester- 
day at  last,  but  only  by  dint  of  sticking  to  our  work  from  the 
evening  of  the  day  before  yesterday  to  the  evening  of  yesterday. 
It  is  remarkable  that  we  are  able  to  continue  working  so  long 
at  a  stretch.  If  we  were  at  home  we  should  be  very  tired  and 
hungry,  with  so  many  working  hours  between  meals  ;  but  here 
it  does  not  seem  more  than  it  should  be,  although  our  appetites 


432  FARTHEST  NORTH 

certainly  are  first-rate  and  our  sleeping  powers  good.  It  does 
not  seem  as  if  we  were  growing  weak  or  sickening  for  scurvy 
just  yet.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  so  far  as  I  know,  we  are  unusually 
strong  and  healthy  just  now  and  in  full  elasticity. 

"  When  we  tried  the  kayaks  in  a  little  lane  just  here  we  found 
them  considerably  leaky  in  the  seams  and  also  in  the  canvas, 
from  their  rough  usage  on  the  way,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  no 
more  so  than  will  be  remedied  when  a  little  soaking  makes  the 
canvas  swell  out.  It  will  not  be  agreeable  to  ferry  over  lanes 
and  have  to  put  our  kayaks  dry  and  leaky  on  the  water.  Our 
provisions  may  not  improbably  be  reduced  to  a  pulp  ;  but  we 
shall  have  to  put  up  with  that,  too,  like  everything  else. 

"  And  so  we  really  mean  to  get  off  to-day,  after  a  week's  stay 
on  the  same  spot.  Yesterday  the  southeast  wind  set  in ;  it  has 
increased  to  -  day  and  become  rather  strong,  to  judge  by  the 
whistling  round  the  hummocks  outside.  I  lay  here  this  morning 
fancying  I  heard  the  sound  of  breakers  a  little  way  off.  All  the 
lanes  about  here  closed  yesterday,  and  there  was  little  open 
water  to  be  seen.  It  is  owing  to  this  wind,  I  suppose,  and  if  it 
is  going  to  close  lanes  for  us,  then  let  it  blow  on.  The  snow  is 
covered  with  a  crust  of  ice,  the  going  is  as  good  as  possible,  and 
the  ice,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  is  more  or  less  flat,  so  we  shall  be  all 
right. 

"  Johansen  shot  another  ivory  gull  yesterday,  and  we  had  it 
and  another  one  for  dinner.  It  was  our  first  taste  of  fresh  food, 
and  was,  it  cannot  be  denied,  very  good ;  but,  all  the  same,  not 
so  delightful  as  one  would  expect,  seeing  that  we  have  not  had 
fresh  meat  for  so  many  months.  It  is  a  proof,  no  doubt,  that 
the  food  we  have  is  also  good. 

"  Weighed  the  bread  yesterday  ;  found  we  had  26  pounds  4 
ounces  of  wheaten  bread  and  17  pounds  i  ounce  of  aleuronate 
bread ;  so,  for  that  matter,  we  can  manage  for  another  thirty- 
five  or  forty  days,  and  how  far  we  shall  then  have  got  the  gods 
alone  know,  but  some  part  of  the  way  it  must  be. 

"  Sunday,  June  9th.  We  got  away  from  our  camping-ground 
at  last  yesterday,  and  we  were  more  than  pleased.  In  spite  of 
the  weather,  which  was  as  bad  as  it  could  be,  with  a  raging 
snow-storm  from  the  east,  we  were  both  glad  to  begin  our  wan- 
derings again.  It  took  some  time  to  fix  grips  under  the  kayaks, 
consisting  of  sack,  sleeping-bag,  and  blankets,  and  so  load  the 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  433 

sledges ;  but  eventually  we  made  a  start.  We  got  well  off  the 
floe  we  had  lived  on  so  long,  and  did  not  even  have  to  use  the 
kayaks  which  we  had  spent  a  week  in  patching  for  that  purpose. 
The  wind  had  carefully  closed  the  lanes.  We  found  flat  ice-coun- 
try, and  made  good  way  in  spite  of  the  most  villanous  going, 
with  newly  fallen  snow,  which  stuck  to  one's  snow-shoes  merci- 
lessly, and  in  which  the  sledges  stood  as  if  fixed  to  the  spot  as 
soon  as  they  stopped.  The  weather  was  such  that  one  could  not 
see  many  hundred  feet  in  front  of  one,  and  the  snow  which  ac- 
cumulated on  one's  clothes  on  the  weather-side  wetted  one  to 
the  skin  ;  but  still  it  was  glorious  to  see  ourselves  making  prog- 
ress— progress  towards  our  stubborn  goal.  We  came  across  a 
number  of  lanes,  and  they  were  difficult  to  cross,  with  their  com- 
plicated network  of  cracks  and  ridges  in  all  directions.  Some 
of  them  were  broad  and  full  of  brash,  which  rendered  it  impos- 
sible to  use  the  kayaks.  In  some  places,  however,  the  brash  was 
pressed  so  tightly  together  that  we  could  walk  on  it.  But  many 
journeys  to  and  fro  are  nearly  always  necessary  before  any  rea- 
sonable opportunity  of  advance  is  to  be  found.  This  time  is 
often  long  to  the  one  who  remains  behind  with  the  dogs,  being 
blown  through  or  wetted  through  meanwhile,  as  the  case  may 
be.  Often,  when  it  seemed  as  if  I  were  never  coming  back,  did 
Johansen  think  I  had  fallen  through  some  lane  and  was  gone  for 
good.  As  one  sits  there  on  the  kayak,  waiting  and  waiting,  and 
gazing  in  front  of  one  into  solitude,  many  strange  thoughts  pass 
through  one's  brain.  Several  times  he  climbed  the  highest  hum- 
mock near  at  hand  to  scan  the  ice  anxiously ;  and  then,  when  at 
last  he  discovered  a  little  black  speck  moving  about  on  the  white 
flat  surface  far,  far  away,  his  mind  would  be  relieved.  As  Jo- 
hansen was  waiting  in  this  way  yesterday,  he  remarked  that  the 
sides  of  the  floe  in  front  of  him  were  slowly  moving  up  and 
down,*  as  they  might  if  rocked  by  a  slight  swell.  Can  open 
water  be  near  ?  Can  it  be  that  the  great  breakers  from  the  sea 
have  penetrated  in  here  ?  How  willingly  would  we  believe  it  ! 
But  perhaps  it  was  only  the  wind  which  set  the  thin  ice  we  are 
now  travelling  over  in  wave -like  motion.  Or  have  we  really 
open  water  to  the  southeast?    It  is  remarkable  that  this  wind 

*  It  was  probably  pressure  of  the  floes  against  each  other  which  caused 
this  movement.    We  noticed  the  same  motion  several  times  later. 
28 


434  FARTHEST  NORTH 

welds  the  ice  together,  while  the  southwest  wind  here  a  little 
while  ago  slackened  it.  When  all  is  said,  is  it  possible  that  we 
are  not  far  from  the  sea  ?  I  cannot  help  thinking  of  the  water- 
reflections  we  have  seen  on  the  sky  before  us.  Johansen  has  just 
left  the  tent,  and  says  that  he  can  see  the  same  reflection  in  the 
south  ;  it  is  higher  now,  and  the  weather  tolerably  clear.  What 
can  it  be  ?    Only  let  us  go  on  and  get  there. 

"  We  came  across  the  track  of  a  bear  again  yesterday.  How 
old  it  was  could  not  easily  be  determined  in  this  snow,  which 
obliterates  everything  in  a  few  minutes  ;  but  it  was  probably 
from  yesterday,  for  *  Haren  *  directly  afterwards  got  scent  of 
something  and  started  off  against  the  wind,  so  that  Johansen 
thought  the  bear  must  be  somewhere  near.  Well,  well,  old  or 
new,  a  bear  was  there  while  we  were  a  little  farther  north,  stitch- 
ing at  the  kayaks,  and  one  day  it  will  come  our  way,  too,  no 
doubt  ?  The  gull  which  Johansen  shot  brought  up  a  large  piece 
of  blubber  when  it  fell,  and  this  tends  to  confirm  us  in  the  belief 
that  bears  are  at  hand,  as  it  hardly  could  have  done  so  had  it  not 
been  in  such  company. 

"The  weather  was  wet  and  wretched,  and,  to  make  things 
worse,  there  was  a  thick  mist,  and  the  going  was  as  heavy  as 
could  be.  To  go  on  did  not  seem  very  attractive  ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  a  halt  for  dinner  in  this  slush  was  still  less  so.  We 
therefore  continued  a  little  while  longer  and  stopped  at  lo 
o'clock  for  good.  What  a  welcome  change  it  was  to  be  under 
the  tent  again  !  And  the  '  fiskegratin '  was  delicious.  It  gives 
one  such  a  sense  of  satisfaction  to  feel  that,  in  spite  of  every- 
thing, one  is  making  a  little  way.  The  temperature  is  beginning 
to  be  bad  now  ;  the  snow  is  quite  wet,  and  some  water  has  en- 
tered my  kayak,  which  I  suppose  melted  on  the  deck  and  ran 
down  through  the  open  side  where  the  lacing  is,  which  we  have 
not  yet  sewn  fast.  We  are  waiting  for  good  weather  in  order  to 
get  the  covers  thoroughly  dry  first,  and  then  stretch  them  well. 

"  Monday,  June  loth.  In  spite  of  the  most  impenetrable  mist 
and  the  most  detestable  going  on  soppy  snow,  which  has  not  yet 
been  sufficiently  exposed  to  frost  to  become  granular,  and  where 
the  sledges  rode  their  very  heaviest,  we  still  managed  to  make 
good,  even  progress  the  whole  day  yesterday.  There  were  in- 
numerable lanes,  of  course,  to  deal  with,  and  many  crossings  on 
loose  pieces  of  ice,  which  we  accomplished  at  a  pinch.     But  the 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  435 

ice  is  flat  here  everywhere,  and  every  little  counts.  It  is  the 
same  thin  winter-ice  of  about  three  feet  in  thickness.  I  only  saw 
a  couple  of  old  floes  yesterday — they  were  in  the  neighborhood 
of  our  camping-ground,  which  was  also  on  an  old  floe  ;  otherwise 
the  ice  is  new,  and  in  places  very  new.  We  went  over  some 
large  expanses  yesterday  of  ice  one  foot  or  less  in  thickness. 
The  last  of  these  tracts  in  particular  was  very  remarkable,  and 
must  at  one  time  have  been  an  immense  pool  ;  the  ice  on  it  was 
so  thin  that  it  cannot  be  long  before  it  melts  altogether.  There 
was  water  on  all  this  ice,  and  it  was  like  walking  through  gruel. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  ice  about  here  is  nothing  else  but  pure 
broken-up  sea-ice,  consisting  of  large  and  small  floes,  not  infre- 
quently very  small  floes  closely  aggregated  ;  but  when  they  have 
the  chance  of  slackening  they  will  spread  over  the  whole  sea 
hereabouts,  and  we  shall  have  water  enough  to  row  in  any  di- 
rection we  please. 

"  The  weather  seems  to-day  to  be  of  the  same  kind  as  yester- 
day, with  a  southwest  wind,  which  is  tearing  and  rattling  at  the 
tent  walls.  A  thaw  and  wet  snow.  I  do  not  know  if  we  shall 
get  any  more  frost,  but  it  would  make  the  snow  in  splendid  con- 
dition for  our  snow-shoes.  I  am  afraid,  however,  that  the  con- 
trary will  rather  be  the  case,  and  that  we  shall  soon  be  in  for 
the  worst  break-up  of  the  winter.  The  lanes  otherwise  are  be- 
ginning to  improve ;  they  are  no  longer  so  full  of  brash  and 
slush ;  it  is  melting  away,  and  bridges  and  such  like  have  a  bet- 
ter chance  of  forming  in  the  clearer  water. 

"We  scan  the  horizon  unremittingly  for  land  every  time  there 
is  a  clear  interval ;  but  nothing,  never  anything,  to  be  seen. 
Meanwhile  we  constantly  see  signs  of  the  proximity  of  land  or 
open  water.  The  gulls  increase  conspicuously  in  number,  and 
yesterday  we  saw  a  /tUle  auk  {Mergulus  alle)  in  a  lane.  The 
atmosphere  in  the  south  and  southwest  is  always  apt  to  be  dark, 
but  the  weather  has  been  such  that  w^  can  really  see  nothing. 
Yet  I  feel  that  the  solution  is  approaching.  But,  then,  how  long 
have  I  not  thought  so?  There  is  nothing  for  it  but  the  noble 
virtue  of  patience. 

"What  beautiful  ice  this  would  have  been  to  travel  over  in 
April  before  all  these  lanes  were  formed  —  endless  flat  plains  ! 
For  the  lanes,  as  far  as  we  know,  are  all  newly  formed  ones,  with 
some  ridges  here  and  there,  which  are  also  new. 


43^  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"Tuesday,  June  nth.  A  monotonous  life  this  on  the  whole, 
as  monotonous  as  one  can  well  imagine  it — to  turn  out  day  after 
day,  week  after  week,  month  after  month,  to  the  same  toil,  over 
ice  which  is  sometimes  a  little  better,  sometimes  a  little  worse 
(it  now  seems  to  be  steadily  getting  worse),  always  hoping  to 
see  an  end  to  it,  but  always  hoping  in  vain — ever  the  same  mo- 
notonous range  of  vision  over  ice,  and  again  ice.  No  sign  of 
land  in  any  direction  and  no  open  water,  and  now  we  should  be 
in  the  same  latitude  as  Cape  Fligely,  or  at  most  a  couple  of  min- 
utes farther  north.  We  do  not  know  where  we  are,  and  we  do 
not  know  when  this  will  end.  Meanwhile  our  provisions  are 
dwindling  day  by  day,  and  the  number  of  our  dogs  is  growing 
seriously  less.  Shall  we  reach  land  while  we  yet  have  food,  or 
shall  we,  when  all  is  said,  ever  reach  it  ?  It  will  soon  be  impos- 
sible to  make  any  way  against  this  ice  and  snow.  The  latter  is 
only  slush ;  the  dogs  sink  through  at  every  step,  and  we  our- 
selves splash  through  it  up  above  our  knees  when  we  have  to 
help  the  dogs  or  take  a  turn  at  the  heavy  sledges,  which  happens 
frequently.  It  is  hard  to  go  on  hoping  in  such  circumstances, 
but  still  we  do  so  ;  though  sometimes,  perhaps,  our  hearts  fail  us 
when  we  see  the  ice  lying  before  us  like  an  impenetrable  maze  of 
ridges,  lanes,  brash,  and  huge  blocks  thrown  together  pell-mell, 
and  one  might  imagine  one's  self  looking  at  suddenly  congealed 
breakers.  There  are  moments  when  it  seems  impossible  that 
any  creature  not  possessed  of  wings  can  get  farther,  and  one 
longingly  follows  the  flight  of  a  passing  gull,  and  thinks  how  far 
away  one  would  soon  be  could  he  borrow  its  wings.  But  then, 
in  spite  of  everything,  one  finds  a  way,  and  hope  springs  eternal. 
Let  the  sun  peep  out  a  moment  from  the  bank  of  clouds,  and 
the  ice  -  plains  glitter  in  all  their  whiteness  ;  let  the  sunbeams 
play  on  the  water,  and  life  seems  beautiful  in  spite  of  all,  and 
worthy  a  struggle. 

"  It  is  wonderful  how  little  it  takes  to  give  one  fresh  courage. 
Yesterday  I  found  dead  in  a  lane  a  little  polar  cod  {Gadus poiaris)^ 
and  my  eyes,  I  am  sure,  must  have  shone  with  pleasure  when  I 
saw  it.  It  was  real  treasure-trove.  Where  there  is  fish  in  the 
water  one  can  hardly  starve,  and  before  I  crept  into  the  tent  this 
morning  I  set  a  line  in  the  lane  beside  us.  But  what  a  number 
of  these  little  fish  it  would  require  to  feed  one ;  many  more  in 
one  day  than  one  could  catch  in  a  week,  or  perhaps  in  a  month  ! 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  M7 

Yet  one  is  hopeful,  and  lies  counting  the  chances  of  there  being 
larger  fish  in  the  water  here,  and  of  being  able  to  fish  to  one's 
heart's  content. 

"  Advance  yesterday  was  more  difficult  than  on  the  previous 
days,  the  ice  more  uneven  and  massive,  and  in  some  places  with 
occasional  old  floes  in  between.  We  were  stopped  by  many  bad 
lanes,  too,  so  did  not  make  much  way — I  am  afraid  not  more  than 
three  or  four  miles.  I  think  we  may  now  reckon  on  being  in  lati- 
tude 82°  8'  or  9'  N.  if  this  continual  southeast  wind  has  not  sent 
us  northward  again.  The  going  is  getting  worse  and  worse. 
The  snow  is  water-soaked  to  the  bottom,  and  will  not  bear  the 
dogs  any  longer,  though  it  has  become  a  little  more  granular 
lately,  and  the  sledges  run  well  on  it  when  they  do  not  cut 
through,  which  happens  very  often,  and  then  they  are  almost 
immovable.  It  is  heavy  for  the  dogs,  and  would  be  so  even  if 
they  were  not  so  wretchedly  worn  out  as  they  are :  they  stop  at 
the  slightest  thing,  and  have  to  be  helped  or  driven  forward  with 
the  whip.  Poor  animals,  they  have  a  bad  time  of  it !  *  Lillerae- 
ven,'  the  last  of  my  original  team,  will  soon  be  unable  to  go  far- 
ther—  and  such  a  good  animal  to  haul!  We  have  5  dogs  left 
(*  Lilleraeven,'  '  Storraeven,'  and  '  Kaifas '  to  my  sledge,  '  Suggen  ' 
and  '  Haren  '  to  Johansen's).  We  still  have  enough  food  for  them 
for  three  days,  from  '  Isbjon,'  who  was  killed  yesterday  morning; 
and  before  that  time  Johansen  thinks  the  riddle  will  be  solved. 
Vain  hope,  I  am  afraid,  although  the  water-sky  in  the  southeast 
or  south-southeast  (magnetic)  seems  always  to  keep  in  the  same 
position  and  has  risen  much  higher. 

"  We  began  our  march  at  half-past  six  yesterday  afternoon, 
and  stopped  before  a  lane  at  a  quarter-past  three  this  morning, 
I  saw  fresh-water  pools  on  the  ice  under  some  hummocks  yester- 
day for  the  first  time.  Where  we  stopped,  however,  there  were 
none  to  be  found,  so  we  had  to  melt  water  again  this  morning ; 
but  it  will  not  often  be  necessary  hereafter,  I  hope,  and  we  can 
save  our  oil,  which,  by-the-way,  is  becoming  alarmingly  reduced. 
Outside,  the  weather  and  snow  are  the  same ;  no  pleasure  in 
turning  out  to  the  toils  of  the  day.  I  lie  here  thinking  of  our 
June  at  home — how  the  sun  is  shining  over  forest  and  fjord  and 
wooded  hills,  and  there  is —  But  some  time  we  shall  get  back  to 
life,  and  then  it  will  be  fairer  than  it  has  ever  been  before. 

"Wednesday,  June  12th.     This  is  getting  worse  and  worse. 


438  FARTHEST  NORTH 

Yesterday  we  did  nothing,  hardly  advanced  more  than  a  mile. 
Wretched  snow,  uneven  ice,  lanes,  and  villanous  weather  stopped 
us.  There  was  certainly  a  crust  on  the  snow,  on  which  the 
sledges  ran  well  when  they  were  on  it ;  but  when  they  broke 
through  —  and  they  did  it  constantly  —  they  stood  immovable. 
This  crust,  too,  was  bad  for  the  dogs,  poor  things !  They  sank 
through  it  into  the  deep  snow  between  the  irregularities,  and  it 
was  like  swimming  through  slush  for  them.  But  all  the  same  we 
made  way.  Lanes  stopped  us,  it  is  true,  but  we  cleared  them 
somehow.  Over  one  of  them,  the  last,  which  looked  nasty,  we 
got  by  making  a  bridge  of  small  floes,  which  we  guided  to  the 
narrowest  place.  But  then  a  shameless  storm  of  wet  snow,  or, 
more  correctly,  sleet,  with  immense  flakes,  set  in,  and  the  wind 
increased.  We  could  not  see  our  way  in  this  labyrinth  of  lanes 
and  hummocks,  and  were  as  soaked  as  ducked  crows,  as  we  say. 
The  going  was  impossible,  and  the  sledges  as  good  as  immovable 
in  the  wet  snow,  which  was  soon  deep  enough  to  cling  to  our  *ski' 
underneath  in  great  lumps,  and  prevent  them  from  running. 
There  was  hardly  any  choice  but  to  find  a  camping-ground  as 
soon  as  possible,  for  to  force  one's  way  along  in  such  weather  and 
on  such  snow,  and  make  no  progress,  was  of  little  use.  We  found 
a  good  camping  -  ground  and  pitched  our  tent  after  only  four 
hours'  march,  and  went  without  our  dinner  to  make  up. 

"  Here  we  are,  then,  hardly  knowing  what  to  do  next.  What 
the  going  is  like  outside  I  do  not  know  yet,  but  probably  not 
much  better  than  yesterday,  and  whether  we  ought  to  push  on  the 
little  we  can,  or  go  out  and  try  to  capture  a  seal,  I  cannot  decide. 
The  worst  of  it  is  that  there  do  not  seem  to  be  many  seals  in  the 
ice  where  we  now  are.  We  have  seen  none  the  last  few  days. 
Perhaps  it  is  too  thick  and  compact  for  them  (?).  The  ice  here  is 
strikingly  different  in  character  from  that  we  have  been  travelling 
over  of  late.  It  is  considerably  more  uneven,  for  one  thing,  with 
mounds  and  somewhat  old  ridges — among  them  some  very  large 
ones.  Nor  does  it  look  so  very  old — in  general,  I  should  say,  of 
last  winter's  formation,  though  there  are  occasional  old  floes  in 
between.  They  appear  to  have  been  near  land,  as  clay  and  earthy 
matter  are  frequently  to  be  seen,  particularly  in  the  newly  formed 
ridges. 

. "  Johansen,  who  has  gone  out,  says  the  same  water-sky  is  to  be 
seen  in  the  south.   Why  is  it  we  cannot  reach  it  ?    But  there  it  is, 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  439 

all  the  same,  an  alluring  goal  for  us  to  make  for,  even  if  we  do 
not  reach  it  very  soon.  We  see  it  again  and  again,  looking  so 
blue  and  beautiful ;  for  us  it  is  the  color  of  hope. 

"  Friday,  June  14th.  It  is  three  months  to-day  since  we  left 
the  Pram.  A  quarter  of  a  year  have  we  been  wandering  in  this 
desert  of  ice,  and  here  we  are  still.  When  we  shall  see  the  end 
of  it  I  can  no  longer  form  any  idea ;  I  only  hope  whatever  may 
be  in  store  for  us  is  not  very  far  off,  open  water  or  land — Wilczek 
Land,  Zichy  Land,  Spitzbergen,  or  some  other  country. 

"Yesterday  was  not  quite  so  bad  a  day  as  I  expected.  We 
really  did  advance,  though  not  very  far — hardly  more  than  a 
couple  of  miles — but  we  must  be  content  with  that  at  this  time 
of  year.  The  dogs  could  not  manage  to  draw  the  sledges  alone ; 
if  there  was  nobody  beside  them  they  stopped  at  every  other 
step.  The  only  thing  to  be  done  was  to  make  a  journey  to  and 
fro,  and  thus  go  over  the  ground  three  times.  While  I  went  on 
ahead  to  explore,  Johansen  drove  the  sledges  as  far  as  he  could ; 
first  mine,  and  then  back  again  after  his  own.  By  that  time  I 
had  returned  and  drove  my  own  sledge  as  far  as  I  had  found  a 
way ;  and  then  this  performance  was  repeated  all  over  again.  It 
was  not  rapid  progress,  but  progress  it  was  of  a  kind,  and  that 
was  something.  The  ice  we  are  going  over  is  anything  but 
even ;  it  is  still  rather  massive  and  old,  with  hummocks  and  ir- 
regularities in  every  direction,  and  no  real  flat  tracts.  When, 
added  to  this,  after  going  a  short  distance,  we  came  to  a  place 
where  the  ice  was  broken  up  into  small  floes,  with  high  ridges 
and  broad  lanes  filled  with  slush  and  brash,  so  that  the  whole 
thing  looked  like  a  single  mass  of  debris,  where  there  was  hardly 
standing-room,  to  say  nothing  of  any  prospect  of  advance,  it  was 
only  human  to  lose  courage  and  give  up,  for  the  time  being, 
trying  to  get  on.  Wherever  I  turned  the  way  was  closed,  and 
it  looked  as  if  advance  was  denied  us  for  good.  To  launch  the 
kayaks  would  be  of  no  avail,  for  we  could  hardly  expect  to  propel 
them  through  this  accumulation  of  fragments,  and  I  was  on  the 
point  of  making  up  my  mind  to  wait  and  try  our  luck  with  the 
net  and  line,  and  see  if  we  could  not  manage  to  find  a  seal  some- 
where in  these  lanes. 

"These  are  moments  full  of  anxiety,  when  from  some  hummock 
one  looks  doubtingly  over  the  ice,  one's  thoughts  continually  re- 
verting to  the  same  question :  have  we  provisions  enough  to  wait 


440  FARTHEST  NORTH 

for  the  time  when  the  snow  will  have  melted  and  the  ice  have 
become  slacker  and  more  intersected  with  lanes,  so  that  one  can 
row  between  the  floes  ?  Or  is  there  any  probability  of  our  being 
able  to  obtain  sufficient  food,  if  that  which  we  have  should  fall 
short  ?  These  are  great  and  important  questions  which  I  cannot 
yet  answer  for  certain.  That  it  will  take  a  long  time  before  all 
this  snow  melts  away  and  advance  becomes  fairly  practicable  is 
certain ;  at  what  time  the  ice  may  become  slacker,  and  progress 
by  means  of  the  lanes  possible,  we  cannot  say  ;  and  up  to  this  we 
have  taken  nothing,  with  the  exception  of  two  ivory  gulls  and  a 
small  fish.  We  did,  indeed,  see  another  fish  swimming  near  the 
surface  of  the  water,  but  it  was  no  larger  than  the  other.  Where 
we  are  just  now  there  seems  to  be  little  prospect  of  capturing 
anything.  I  have  not  seen  a  single  seal  the  last  few  days  ;  though 
yesterday  I  saw  the  snowed-down  track  of  a  bear.  Meanwhile 
we  see  ivory  gulls  continually ;  but  they  are  still  too  small  to  be 
worth  a  cartridge ;  yesterday,  however,  I  saw  a  large  gull,  prob- 
ably Larus  argentatus. 

"  I  determined  to  make  one  more  attempt  to  get  on  by  strik- 
ing farther  east,  and  this  time  I  was  successful  in  finding  a  pas- 
sage across  by  way  of  a  number  of  small  floes.  On  the  other  side 
there  was  rather  old  compact  ice,  partially  of  formation  a  summer 
old,  which  seemed  to  have  been  near  land,  as  it  was  irregular,  and 
much  intermixed  with  earthy  matter.  We  have  travelled  over 
this  ice-field  ever  since  without  coming  on  lanes ;  but  it  was  un- 
even, and  we  came  to  grief  several  times.  In  other  places  again 
it  was  pretty  good. 

"  We  began  our  march  at  8  o'clock  on  Wednesday  afternoon, 
and  halted  here  at  5  o'clock  this  morning.*  Later  on  in  the 
forenoon  the  wind  went  over  to  the  northeast  and  the  tempera- 
ture fell.  The  snow  froze  hard,  and  eventually  the  going  be- 
came pretty  good.  The  crust  on  the  snow  bore  the  dogs  up, 
and  also  the  sledges  to  a  certain  extent,  and  we  looked  forward 
to  good  going  on  the  following  day  ;  but  in  this  we  were  doomed 
to  disappointment.  No  sooner  had  we  got  inside  the  tent  than 
it  began  to  snow,  and  kept  briskly  at  it  the  whole  day  while 
we  slept ;  and  yesterday  evening,  when  we  turned  out  to  get 

*  We  found  water  on  the  ice  here  suitable  for  cooking  for  the  first  time. 
It  was  somewhat  salt,  so  that  the  "fiskegratin"  was  too  well  seasoned. 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  44i 

breakfast  ready  and  start  off,  it  was  still  snowing,  and  deep, 
loose  snow  covered  everything — a  state  of  things  bad  beyond 
description.  There  was  no  sense  in  going  on,  and  we  decided  to 
wait  and  see  how  matters  would  turn  out.  Meanwhile  we  were 
hungry,  but  a  full  breakfast  we  could  not  afford,  so  I  prepared  a 
small  portion  of  fish  soup,  and  we  returned  to  the  bag  again — 
Johansen  to  sleep  on,  I  to  rereckon  all  my  observations  from  the 
time  we  left  the  Frani^  and  see  if  some  error  might  not  explain 
the  mystery  why  no  land  was  yet  to  be  found.  The  sun  had 
partially  appeared,  and  I  tried,  though  in  vain,  to  take  an  obser- 
vation. I  stood  waiting  for  more  than  an  hour  with  the  theodo- 
lite up,  but  the  sun  went  in  again  and  remained  out  of  sight.  I 
have  calculated  and  calculated  and  thought  and  thought,  but 
can  find  no  mistake  of  any  importance,  and  the  whole  thing  is  a 
riddle  to  me.  I  am  beginning  seriously  to  doubt  that  we  may 
be  too  far  west,  after  all.  I  simply  cannot  conceive  that  we  are 
too  far  east ;  for  in  such  a  case  we  cannot,  at  any  rate,  be  more 
than  5°  farther  east  than  our  observaions*  make  us.  Supposing, 
for  instance,  that  our  watches  have  gone  too  fast,  *  Johannsen  'f 
cannot,  at  all  events,  have  gained  more  than  double  its  previous 
escapement.  I  have  assumed  an  escapement  of  five  seconds; 
but  supposing  that  the  escapement  has  been  ten  seconds,  this 
does  not  make  more  difference  than  6'  40"  in  eighty  days  (the 
time  from  our  departure  from  the  Pram  till  the  last  observation) 
— that  is,  1°  40'  farther  east  than  we  ought  to  be.  Assuming, 
too,  that  I  have  calculated  our  days'  marches  at  too  great  length, 
in  the  days  between  April  8th  and  13th,  and  that  instead  of  2i(> 
English  geographical  miles,'  or,  rather,  more  than  40  statute 
miles,  we  have  only  gone  24  English  geographical  miles,  or  28 
statute  miles  (less  we  cannot  possibly  have  gone),  we  should 
then  have  been  in  89°  E.  instead  of  86°  E.  on  the  13th,  as  we 
supposed.  That  is  3°  farther  east,  or  with  the  figures  above,  let 
us  say  together  5°  farther  east — i.  ^.,  we  now  instead  of  being  in 
longitude  6i°  E.  should  be  in  66°  E.,t  or  about  70  miles  from 


*  As  it  proved  later,  we  were,  in  reality,  about  6°  farther  east  than  we 
thought. 

t  I  called  my  watch  thus  after  Johannsen,  the  watchmaker  in  London 
who  supplied  it. 

X  In  reality  we  were  somewhat  near  the  point  I  here  assume  (we  were 


440  FARTHEST  NORTH 

for  the  time  when  the  snow  will  have  melted  and  the  ice  have 
become  slacker  and  more  intersected  with  lanes,  so  that  one  can 
row  between  the  floes?  Or  is  there  any  probability  of  our  being 
able  to  obtain  sufficient  food,  if  that  which  we  have  should  fall 
short  ?  These  are  great  and  important  questions  which  I  cannot 
yet  answer  for  certain.  That  it  will  take  a  long  time  before  all 
this  snow  melts  away  and  advance  becomes  fairly  practicable  is 
certain ;  at  what  time  the  ice  may  become  slacker,  and  progress 
by  means  of  the  lanes  possible,  we  cannot  say  ;  and  up  to  this  we 
have  taken  nothing,  with  the  exception  of  two  ivory  gulls  and  a 
small  fish.  We  did,  indeed,  see  another  fish  swimming  near  the 
surface  of  the  water,  but  it  was  no  larger  than  the  other.  Where 
we  are  just  now  there  seems  to  be  little  prospect  of  capturing 
anything.  I  have  not  seen  a  single  seal  the  last  few  days  ;  though 
yesterday  I  saw  the  snowed-down  track  of  a  bear.  Meanwhile 
we  see  ivory  gulls  continually ;  but  they  are  still  too  small  to  be 
worth  a  cartridge ;  yesterday,  however,  I  saw  a  large  gull,  prob- 
ably Larus  argentatus. 

*'  I  determined  to  make  one  more  attempt  to  get  on  by  strik- 
ing farther  east,  and  this  time  I  was  successful  in  finding  a  pas- 
sage across  by  way  of  a  number  of  small  floes.  On  the  other  side 
there  was  rather  old  compact  ice,  partially  of  formation  a  summer 
old,  which  seemed  to  have  been  near  land,  as  it  was  irregular,  and 
much  intermixed  with  earthy  matter.  We  have  travelled  over 
this  ice-field  ever  since  without  coming  on  lanes ;  but  it  was  un- 
even, and  we  came  to  grief  several  times.  In  other  places  again 
it  was  pretty  good. 

"  We  began  our  march  at  8  o'clock  on  Wednesday  afternoon, 
and  halted  here  at  5  o'clock  this  morning.*  Later  on  in  the 
forenoon  the  wind  went  over  to  the  northeast  and  the  tempera- 
ture fell.  The  snow  froze  hard,  and  eventually  the  going  be- 
came pretty  good.  The  crust  on  the  snow  bore  the  dogs  up, 
and  also  the  sledges  to  a  certain  extent,  and  we  looked  forward 
to  good  going  on  the  following  day  ;  but  in  this  we  were  doomed 
to  disappointment.  No  sooner  had  we  got  inside  the  tent  than 
it  began  to  snow,  and  kept  briskly  at  it  the  whole  day  while 
we  slept ;  and  yesterday  evening,  when  we  turned  out  to  get 

*  We  found  water  on  the  ice  here  suitable  for  cooking  for  the  first  time. 
It  was  somewhat  salt,  so  that  the  "fiskegratin"  was  too  well  seasoned. 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  44i 

breakfast  ready  and  start  off,  it  was  still  snowing,  and  deep, 
loose  snow  covered  everything — a  state  of  things  bad  beyond 
description.  There  was  no  sense  in  going  on,  and  we  decided  to 
wait  and  see  how  matters  would  turn  out.  Meanwhile  we  were 
hungry,  but  a  full  breakfast  we  could  not  afford,  so  I  prepared  a 
small  portion  of  fish  soup,  and  we  returned  to  the  bag  again — 
Johansen  to  sleep  on,  I  to  rereckon  all  my  observations  from  the 
time  we  left  the  Fram^  and  see  if  some  error  might  not  explain 
the  mystery  why  no  land  was  yet  to  be  found.  The  sun  had 
partially  appeared,  and  I  tried,  though  in  vain,  to  take  an  obser- 
vation. I  stood  waiting  for  more  than  an  hour  with  the  theodo- 
lite up,  but  the  sun  went  in  again  and  remained  out  of  sight.  I 
have  calculated  and  calculated  and  thought  and  thought,  but 
can  find  no  mistake  of  any  importance,  and  the  whole  thing  is  a 
riddle  to  me.  I  am  beginning  seriously  to  doubt  that  we  may 
be  too  far  west,  after  all.  I  simply  cannot  conceive  that  we  are 
too  far  east ;  for  in  such  a  case  we  cannot,  at  any  rate,  be  more 
than  5°  farther  east  than  our  observaions*  make  us.  Supposing, 
for  instance,  that  our  watches  have  gone  too  fast,  '  Johannsen  'f 
cannot,  at  all  events,  have  gained  more  than  double  its  previous 
escapement.  I  have  assumed  an  escapement  of  five  seconds; 
but  supposing  that  the  escapement  has  been  ten  seconds,  this 
does  not  make  more  difference  than  6'  40"  in  eighty  days  (the 
time  from  our  departure  from  the  Pram  till  the  last  observation) 
— that  is,  1°  40'  farther  east  than  we  ought  to  be.  Assuming, 
too,  that  I  have  calculated  our  days'  marches  at  too  great  length, 
in  the  days  between  April  8th  and  13th,  and  that  instead  of  36 
English  geographical  miles,'  or,  rather,  more  than  40  statute 
miles,  we  have  only  gone  24  English  geographical  miles,  or  28 
statute  miles  (less  we  cannot  possibly  have  gone),  we  should 
then  have  been  in  89°  E.  instead  of  86°  E.  on  the  13th,  as  we 
supposed.  That  is  3°  farther  east,  or  with  the  figures  above,  let 
us  say  together  5°  farther  east — i.  e.^  we  now  instead  of  being  in 
longitude  61°  E.  should  be  in  66°  E.,J  or  about  70  miles  from 

*  As  it  proved  later,  we  were,  in  reality,  about  6°  farther  east  than  we 
thought. 

t  I  called  my  watch  thus  after  Johannsen,  the  watchmaker  in  London 
who  supplied  it. 

\  In  reality  we  were  somewhat  near  the  point  I  here  assume  (we  were 


442  FARTHEST  NORTH 

Cape  Fligely.  But  it  seems  to  me  we  ought  to  see  land  south  of 
us  just  the  same.  Wilczek  Land  cannot  be  so  low  and  trend 
suddenly  so  far  to  the  south,  when  Cape  Budapest  is  said  to 
lie  in  about  6i°  E.  and  82°  N.,  and  should  thus  be  not  so  much 
as  50  miles  from  us.  No,  this  is  inconceivable.  On  the  other 
hand,  it  is  not  any  easier  to  suppose  ourselves  west  of  it ;  we 
must  have  drifted  very  materially  between  April  8th  and  13th, 
or  my  watch  must  have  stopped  for  a  time  before  April  2d.  The 
observations  from  April  2d,  4th,  and  8th  seem,  indeed,  to  indicate 
that  we  drifted  considerably  westward.  On  the  2d  we  appeared 
to  be  in  103°  6'  E.,  on  the  4th  in  99°  59'  E.,  and  April  8th  in 
95°  7'  E.  Between  these  dates  there  were  no  marches  of  impor- 
tance ;  between  the  observations  on  the  2d  and  the  4th  there 
was  only  a  short  half-day's  march  ;  and  between  the  4th  and  the 
7th  a  couple,  which  amounted  to  nothing,  and  could  only  have 
carried  us  a  little  westward.  This  is  as  much  as  to  say  that  we 
must  have  drifted  8°,  or  let  us  reckon  at  any  rate  7°,  westward 
in  the  six  days  and  nights.  Assuming  that  the  drift  was  the 
same  during  the  five  days  and  nights  between  the  8th  and  13th, 
we  then  get  7°  farther  west  than  we  suppose.  We  should  con- 
sequently now  be  in  54°  E.,  instead  of  in  61°  E.,  and  not  more 
than  36  to  40  miles  from  Cape  Fligely,  and  close  by  Oscar's  Land. 
We  ought  to  see  something  of  them,  I  think.  Let  us  assume 
meanwhile  that  the  drift  westward  was  strong  in  the  period 
before  April  2d  also,  and  grant  the  possibility  that  my  watch 
did  stop  at  that  time  (which,  I  fear,  is  not  excluded),  and  we  may 
then  be  any  distance  west  for  all  we  can  tell.  It  is  this  possibil- 
ity which  I  begin  to  think  of  more  and  more.  Meanwhile,  appar- 
ently there  is  nothing  for  it  but  to  continue  as  we  have  done  al- 
ready— perhaps  a  little  more  south — and  a  solution  must  come. 

"  When,  after  having  concluded  my  calculations,  I  had  taken 
a  nap  and  again  turned  out  at  mid-day  to-day,  the  condition  of 
the  snow  proved  to  be  no  better  ;  in  fact,  rather  worse.  The  new 
snow  was  wet  and  sticky  and  the  going  as  heavy  as  it  well  could 
be.  However,  it  was  necessary  to  make  an  attempt  to  get  on ; 
there  was  nothing  gained  by  waiting  there,  and  progress  is  prog- 
ress be  it  ever  so  little. 

in  d-j"  E.,  approximately).  The  reason  why  we  did  not  see  the  land  here 
mentioned  was  because  it  does  not  exist,  as  was  proved  later. 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  443 

"  I  took  a  single  altitude  about  mid-day,  but  it  was  not  sharp. 

"  Saturday,  June  15th.  The  middle  of  June,  and  still  no 
prospect  of  an  end  to  this ;  things  only  became  worse  instead. 
So  bad  as  yesterday,  though,  it  had  never  been,  and  worse,  hap- 
pily, it  can  hardly  be.  The  sledges  ran  terribly  heavy  in  the 
loose,  wet,  newly  fallen  snow,  which  was  deep  to  boot ;  and 
sometimes  when  they  stopped — and  that  was  continually — they 
stuck  as  if  glued  to  the  spot.  It  was  all  we  could  do  to  move 
them  when  we  pushed  with  all  our  might.  Then  to  this  was 
added  the  fact  that  one's  snow-shoes  ran  equally  badly,  and 
masses  of  snow  collected  underneath  them  the  minute  one 
stopped  ;  one's  feet  kept  twisting  continually  from  this,  and  ice 
formed  under  them,  so  that  one  suddenly  slid  off  the  snow-shoes 
and  into  the  snow,  till  far  above  one's  knees,  when  one  tried 
to  pull  or  help  the  sledges  ;  but  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to 
scramble  up  and  on  to  them  again.  To  wade  along  in  such  snow 
without  them  is  an  impossibility,  and,  as  I  have  said  before, 
though  fastening  them  on  securely  would  have  been  a  better 
plan,  yet  it  would  have  been  too  troublesome,  seeing  that  we  had 
to  take  them  off  continually  to  get  the  sledges  over  ridges  and 
lanes.  In  addition  to  all  this,  wherever  one  turns,  the  ice  is  un- 
even and  full  of  mounds  and  old  ridges,  and  it  is  only  by  wrig- 
gling along  like  an  eel,  so  to  speak,  that  one  can  get  on  at  all. 
There  are  lanes,  too,  and  they  compel  one  to  make  long  detours 
or  go  long  distances  over  thin,  small  floes,  ridges,  and  other 
abominations.  We  struggled  along,  however,  a  little  way,  work- 
ing on  our  old  plan  of  two  turns,  but  a  quick  method  it  could 
not  be  called.  The  dogs  are  becoming  more  and  more  worn  out. 
*  Killeraeven,'  the  last  survivor  of  my  team,  can  now  hardly  walk 
— hauling  there  is  no  question  of:  he  staggers  like  a  drunken 
man,  and  when  he  falls  can  hardly  rise  to  his  feet  again.  To-day 
he  is  going  to  be  killed,  I  am  thankful  to  say,  and  one  will  be 
spared  seeing  him.  '  Storraeven,'  too,  is  getting  very  slack  in 
the  traces ;  the  only  one  of  mine  which  pulls  at  all  is  '  Kaifas,' 
and  that  is  only  as  long  as  one  of  us  is  helping  behind.  To  keep 
on  longer  in  such  circumstances  is  only  wearing  out  men  and 
dogs  to  no  purpose,  and  is  also  using  up  more  provender  than  is 
necessary.  We  therefore  renounced  dinner,  and  halted  at  about 
ten  yesterday  evening,  after  having  begun  the  march  at  half- 
past  four  in  the  afternoon.     I  had,  however,  stopped  to  take  an 


444  FARTHEST  NORTH 

observation  on  the  way.  It  is  not  easy  to  get  hold  of  the  sun 
nowadays,  and  one  must  make  the  most  of  him  when  he  is  to  be 
seen  through  the  driving  clouds  ;  clear  he  will  never  be.  Yester- 
day afternoon,  after  an  unconscionable  wait,  and  after  having 
put  up  the  instrument  in  vain  a  couple  of  times,  I  finally  got  a 
wretched  single  altitude. 

"  Yesterday  evening  I  reckoned  out  these  observations  and 
find  that,  contrary  to  our  expectations,  we  have  drifted  strongly 
westward,  having  come  from  6i°  i6'  E.,  which  was  our  longitude 
on  June  4th,  right  to  about  57°  40'  E.  But  then  we  have  also 
drifted  a  good  way  north  again,  up  to  82°  26'  N.,  after  being 
down  in  82°  17.7'  on  the  same  date,  and  we  have  been  pushing 
southward  as  hard  as  we  could  the  whole  time.  However,  we  are 
glad  to  see  that  there  is  so  much  movement  in  the  ice,  for  then 
there  is  hope  of  our  drifting  out  eventually  towards  open  water  ; 
for  that  we  can  get  there  by  our  own  efforts  alone  over  this 
shocking  ice  I  am  beginning  to  doubt.  This  country  and  this 
going  are  too  bad,  and  my  hope  now  is  in  lanes  and  slack  ice. 
Happily,  a  northeast  wind  has  sprung  up.  Yesterday  there  was 
a  fresh  breeze  from  the  north  -  northwest  (magnetic),  and  the 
same  again  to-day.  Only  let  it  blow  on  ;  if  it  has  set  us  north- 
west it  can  also  set  us  southwest,  and  eventually  out  towards 
our  goal — towards  Franz  Josef  Land  or  Spitzbergen.  I  doubt 
more  than  ever  our  being  east  of  Cape  Fligely  after  this  obser- 
vation, and  I  begin  to  believe  more  and  more  in  the  possibility 
that  the  first  land  we  shall  see — if  we  see  any,  and  I  hope  we 
may — will  be  Spitzbergen.  In  that  case  we  should  not  even  get 
a  glimpse  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  the  land  of  which  I  have  dreamed 
golden  dreams  day  and  night.  But  still  if  is  not  to  be,  then  well 
and  good.  Spitzbergen  is  good  enough,  and  if  we  are  as  far  west 
as  we  seem  to  be,  I  have  greater  hope  than  before  of  finding 
slacker  ice  and  open  water ;  and  then  for  Spitzbergen !  But 
there  is  still  a  serious  question  to  be  faced,  and  that  is  to  pro- 
cure ourselves  enough  food  for  the  journey. 

"  I  have  slept  here  some  time  on  purpose,  after  having  spent 
a  good  while  on  my  calculations  and  speculations  as  to  our 
drift  and  our  future.  We  have  nothing  to  hurry  for  in  this 
state  of  the  snow  ;  it  is  hardly  better  to-day  than  it  was  yester- 
day, and  then,  on  account  of  the  mild  temperature,  it  is  better 
to  travel  by  night  than  by  day.     The  best  thing  to  do  is  to  spin 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  445 

out  the  time  as  long  as  possible  without  consuming  more  than 
absolutely  necessary  of  the  provisions  ;  the  summer  cannot  but 
improve  matters,  and  we  have  still  three  months  of  it  before  us. 
The  question  is,  can  we  procure  ourselves  food  during  that  time  ? 
It  would  be  strange,  I  think,  if  we  could  not.  There  are  birds 
about  continually  ;  I  saw  another  large  gull  yesterday,  probably 
the  herring  or  silver  gull  {Larus  argentatus) ;  but  to  support  life 
for  any  length  of  time  on  such  small  fry,  we  have  not  cartridges 
enough.  On  seal  or  bear  all  my  hopes  are  fixed  ;  just  one  before 
our  provisions  give  out,  and  the  evil  hour  is  warded  off  for  a 
long  time  to  come. 

"Sunday,  June  i6th.  Yesterday  was  as  bad  as  it  well  could 
be — the  surface  enough  to  make  one  desperate  and  the  ice  rough. 
I  very  much  doubted  whether  the  wisest  thing  would  not  be  to 
kill  the  dogs  and  keep  them  as  food  for  ourselves,  and  try  to 
make  our  way  on  as  best  we  could  without  them.  In  that  man- 
ner we  should  have  provender  for  fifteen  or  perhaps  twenty  days 
longer,  and  should  be  able  to  make  some  progress  at  the  same 
time.  There  does  not  seem  much  to  be  done  in  that  line,  how- 
ever, and  perhaps  the  right  thing  to  do  is  to  wait.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  perhaps,  it  is  not  far  to  land  or  open  water,  or,  at  any 
rate,  to  slack  ice,  and  then  every  mile  we  can  make  southward  is 
of  importance.  I  have  therefore  come  to  the  conclusion  that  we 
must  use  the  dogs  to  get  on  with  as  best  we  can — perhaps  there 
will  be  a  change  before  we  expect  it ;  if  nothing  else,  then,  per- 
haps, some  better  ice,  like  that  we  had  before.  Meanwhile  we 
were  obliged  to  kill  two  dogs  yesterday.  *  Lilleraeven  '  could  hard- 
ly go  when  we  started  ;  his  legs  seemed  to  be  quite  paralyzed, 
and  he  fell  down  and  could  not  get  up  again.  After  I  had 
dragged  him  and  the  sledge  for  a  time  and  had  tried  in  vain  to 
make  him  go,  I  had  to  put  him  on  the  load,  and  when  we  came 
to  some  hummocks  where  there  was  shelter  from  the  north  wind, 
Johansen  killed  him,  while  I  went  forward  to  find  a  way.  Mean- 
while my  other  dog,  *  Storraeven,'  was  in  almost  as  bad  a  plight. 
Haul  he  could  not,  and  the  difficulty  was  to  make  him  go  on  so 
that  he  was  not  dragged  with  the  sledge.  He  went  a  little  way, 
stumbling  and  falling,  and  being  helped  up  repeatedly  ;  but  soon 
he  was  just  as  bad  as  '  Lilleraeven '  had  been,  lagged  behind,  got 
the  traces  under  the  sledge  runners,  and  was  dragged  with  it. 
As  I  thought  I  had  enough  to  do  in  hauling  the  sledge,  I  let  him 


446  FARTHEST  NORTH 

go,  in  the  hope  that  he  would,  at  any  rate,  follow  us.  He  did  so 
for  a  little  while,  but  then  stopped  behind,  and  Johansen  was 
compelled  to  fetch  him  and  put  him  on  his  load,  and  when  we 
camped  he  was  killed  too. 

"'Kaifas*  is  the  only  dog  I  have  left  to  help  me  haul  my 
sledge,  and  Johansen  has  '  Haren '  and  *  Suggen.'  We  have  ra- 
tions for  them  for  ten  days  from  the  two  slaughtered  dogs,  but 
how  far  we  shall  be  able  to  get  with  them  the  gods  alone  know. 
Not  very  far,  I  am  afraid.  Meanwhile  our  hitherto  somewhat 
primitive  method  of  hauling  had  to  be  improved  on.  With  two 
dog-harnesses  we  accordingly  made  ourselves  proper  hauling- 
gear,*  and  therewith  all  idea  of  using  snow-shoes  not  securely 
fastened  on  had  to  be  abandoned.  One's  feet  twisted  and  slipped 
and  slid  off  the  snow-shoes  and  deep  down  into  the  bottom- 
less snow,  which,  in  addition,  turned  to  ice  under  our  feet,  and 
with  our  smooth  '  komager '  soles  was  as  slippery  as  eelskin  to 
stand  on.  Then  we  fastened  them  on,  and  where  the  ice  was 
even  it  really  was  possible  to  drag  the  sledge,  even  with  only  one 
dog  beside  one.  I  saw  that,  given  passable  snow  and  passable 
country  to  work  on,  we  could  make  some  progress  during  the 
day,  though  as  soon  as  there  was  the  slightest  irregularity  in  the 
ice  the  sledges  stood  perfectly  still.  It  was  necessary  to  strain 
at  the  harness  all  one  knew,  and  then  perhaps  fail  to  make  the 
sledge  budge  an  inch.  Then  back  one  had  to  go  to  it,  and  after 
exerting  one's  strength  to  the  utmost  it  would  finally  glide  over 
the  obstacle  and  on  towards  a  new  one,  where  exactly  the  same 
process  had  to  be  gone  through.  If  it  was  wished  to  turn  the 
sledge  in  the  deep  snow  where  it  stood  embedded,  matters  were 
no  better  ;  it  was  only  by  lifting  it  bodily  that  one  could  get  it 

*  A  proper  hauling  harness  is  an  important  item,  and  in  the  long-run 
is  much  less  trying  than  the  ordinary  hauling  strap  or  rope  crosswise  over 
the  chest  and  one  shoulder.  The  form  of  harness  I  use  consists  of  two 
straps,  which  are  passed  over  both  shoulders,  like  the  straps  of  a  knap- 
sack, and  are  fastened  crosswise  over  the  back  to  a  leather  belt,  where 
the  hauling -rope  from  the  sledge  is  also  attached.  It  is  thus  in  one's 
power  during  the  work  of  hauling  to  distribute  the  strain  equally  between 
both  shoulders  and  the  belt  (/.  e.,  the  thighs  and  abdomen).  The  hauling 
"  centre  of  gravity  "  is  in  this  manner  lower  in  the  body,  just  above  the 
legs,  which  do  the  work,  and  the  hauling-rope  does  not,  as  is  usually  the 
case,  press  only  on  the  upper  part  of  the  body. 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  447 

on  at  all.  So  we  went  on  step  by  step  until  perhaps  we  came  on 
a  small  extent  of  level  ice  where  we  could  increase  the  pace.  If, 
however,  we  came  on  lanes  and  ridges,  things  were  worse  than 
ever ;  one  man  cannot  manage  a  sledge  alone,  but  two  must  be 
put  to  each  sledge.  Then  when  we  have  followed  up  the  track  I 
have  marked  out  beforehand  I  have  to  start  off  again  and  find  a 
way  between  the  hummocks.  To  go  direct,  hauling  the  sledge, 
is  not  advisable  where  the  ice  is  uneven,  as  it  only  means  getting 
into  difficulties  and  being  constrained  eventually  to  turn  back. 
In  this  way  we  are  grinding  along,  but  it  goes  without  saying 
that  speed  and  long  marches  are  not  the  order  of  the  day.  But 
still,  as  it  is  we  make  a  little  way,  and  that  is  better  than  noth- 
ing ;  it  is,  besides,  the  only  thing  we  can  do,  seeing  that  it  is  im- 
possible to  crawl  into  a  lair  and  hibernate  for  a  month  or  so  till 
progress  is  possible  again. 

"  To  judge  by  the  sky,  there  must  be  a  number  of  lanes  in  the 
south  and  southwest.  Perhaps  our  trying  mode  of  advance  is 
leading  us  to  something  better.  We  began  at  about  ten  yes- 
terday evening,  and  stopped  at  six  this  morning.  We  have  not 
had  dinner  the  last  few  days,  in  order  to  save  a  meal,  as  we  do 
not  think  this  ice  and  our  progress  generally  are  worth  much 
food.  With  the  same  object,  we  this  morning  collected  the  blood 
of  '  Storraeven '  and  converted  it  into  a  sort  of  porridge  instead 
of  the  '  fiskegratin.'  It  was  good,  even  if  it  was  only  dog's  blood, 
and  at  any  rate  we  have  a  portion  of  fish  flour  to  the  good.  Be- 
fore we  turned  into  the  bag  last  night  we  inspected  our  cartridges, 
and  found,  to  our  joy,  that  we  had  148  shot-gun  cartridges,  181 
rifle  cartridges,  and  in  addition  14  spherical  -  shot  cartridges. 
With  so  much  ammunition,  we  should  be  able  to  increase  our 
provisions  for  some  time  to  come,  if  necessary  ;  for  if  nothing 
else  should  fall  to  our  guns  there  would  always  be  birds,  and 
148  birds  will  go  a  long  way.  If  we  use  half -charges  we  can 
eke  out  our  ammunition  still  further.  We  have,  moreover,  half 
a  pound  of  gunpowder  and  some  spherical  shot  for  the  rifles,  also 
caps  for  reloading  the  cartridges.  This  discovery  has  put  me  in 
good  spirits,  for,  truth  to  tell,  I  did  not  think  our  prospects  were 
inordinately  bright.  We  shall  now,  perhaps,  be  able  to  manage 
for  three  months,  and  within  that  time  something  must  happen; 
In  addition  to  what  we  can  shoot,  we  can  also  catch  gulls  with  a 
hook,  and  if  the  worst  should  come  to  the  worst,  and  we  set  seri- 


448  FARTHEST  NORTH 

ously  to  work,  we  can  probably  take  some  animalcula  and  the 
like  with  the  net.  It  may  happen  that  we  shall  not  get  to  Spitz- 
bergen  in  time  to  find  a  vessel,  and  must  winter  there,  but  it  will 
be  a  life  of  luxury  compared  with  this  in  the  drift-ice,  not  know- 
ing where  we  are  nor  whither  drifting,  and  not  seeing  our  goal, 
be  it  never  so  far  away.  I  should  not  like  to  have  this  time  over 
again.  We  have  paid  dearly  for  letting  our  watches  run  down 
that  time.  If  there  was  no  one  waiting  at  home,  a  winter  in 
Spitzbergen  would  be  quite  enticing.  I  lie  here  and  dream  of 
how  comfortably  and  well  we  could  manage  there.  Everything 
outside  of  this  ice  seems  rosy,  and  out  of  it  we  shall  be  some  time 
or  other.  We  must  comfort  ourselves  with  the  adage  that  night 
is  darkest  before  the  dawn.  Of  course  it  somewhat  depends  on 
how  dark  the  night  is  to  be,  and  considerably  darker  than  it  is 
now  it  might  very  well  be.  But  our  hopes  are  fixed  on  the  sum- 
mer.    Yes,  it  must  be  better  as  summer  gradually  comes  on." 

So  on  we  went  forward  ;  and  day  after  day  we  were  going 
through  exactly  the  same  toil,  in  the  same  heavy  snow,  in  which 
the  sledges  stuck  fast  ceaselessly.  Dogs  and  men  did  their  best, 
but  with  little  effect,  and  in  addition  we  began  to  be  uneasy  as 
to  our  means  of  subsistence.  The  dogs'  rations  were  reduced  to 
a  minimum,  to  enable  us  to  keep  life  going  as  long  as  possible. 
We  were  hungry  and  toil-worn  from  morning  to  night  and  from 
night  to  morning,  all  five  of  us.  We  determined  to  shoot  what- 
ever came  in  our  way,  even  gulls  and  fulmars;  but  now,  of  course, 
none  of  this  game  ever  came  within  range. 

The  lanes  grew  worse  and  worse,  filled  generally  with  slush 
and  brash.  We  were  often  compelled  to  go  long  distances  over 
nothing  but  small  pieces,  where  one  went  through  continually. 
On  June  i8th"a  strong  wind  from  the  west  (magnetic)  sprang 
up,  which  tears  and  rattles  at  the  tent.  We  are  going  back,  I 
suppose,  whence  we  came,  only  farther  north  perhaps.  So  we 
are  buffeted  by  wind  and  current,  and  so  it  will  go  on,  perhaps, 
the  whole  summer  through,  without  our  being  able  to  master  it." 
A  meridian  altitude  that  day  made  us  in  82°  19'  N.,  so  we  had 
come  down  again  a  little.  I  saw  and  shot  a  couple  of  fulmars 
and  a  Briinnich's  guillemot  {Uria  brminichii)^  and  these  eked 
out  our  rations  ;  but,  to  our  distress,  I  fired  at  a  couple  of  seals 
in  the  lanes  and  missed  my  mark.  How  we  wished  we  could  get 
hold  of  such  a  prize  !     "  Meanwhile  there  is  a  good  deal  of  life 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  449 

here  now,"  I  write  on  June  20th.  "  Little  auks  fly  backward  and 
forward  in  numbers,  and  they  sit  and  chatter  and  show  them- 
selves just  outside  the  tent  door  ;  it  is  quite  a  pleasure  to  see 
them,  but  a  pity  they  are  so  small  that  they  are  not  worth  a  shot. 
We  have  not  seen  them  in  flocks  yet,  but  in  couples,  as  a  rule. 
It  is  remarkable  how  bird-life  has  increased  since  the  west  wind 
set  in  the  day  before  yesterday.  It  is  particularly  striking  how 
the  little  auks  have  suddenly  appeared  in  myriads ;  they  whiz 
past  the  tent  here  with  their  cheery  twitter,  and  it  gives  one  the 
feeling  of  having  come  down  to  more  hospitable  regions.  This 
sudden  finding  of  Brlinnich's  guillemots  seems  also  curious,  but 
it  does  no  good.  Land  is  not  to  be  descried,  and  the  snow  is 
in  as  wretched  a  condition  as  it  can  be.  A  proper  thaw,  so  that 
the  snow  can  disappear  more  quickly,  does  not  come.  Yesterday 
morning  before  breakfast  I  went  for  a  walk  southward  to  see 
what  were  our  chances  of  advance.  The  ice  was  flat  and  good 
for  a  little  way,  but  lanes  soon  began  which  were  worse  than 
ever.  Our  only  expedient  now  is  to  resort  to  strong  measures 
and  launch  the  kayaks,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  leak  ;  we 
must  then  travel  as  much  as  possible  by  way  of  the  lanes,  and 
with  this  resolution  I  turn  back.  The  snow  is  still  the  same, 
very  wet,  so  that  one  sank  deep  in  between  the  hummocks,  and 
there  are  plenty  of  them.  We  could  not  afford  a  proper  break- 
fast, so  we  took  if  ounces  bread  and  if  ounces  pemmican  per 
man,  and  then  set  to  work  to  mend  the  pumps  and  put  the 
kayaks  in  order  for  ferrying,  so  that  their  contents  should  not 
be  spoiled  by  water  leaking  in.  Among  other  things,  a  hole  had 
to  be  patched  in  mine,  which  I  had  not  seen  before. 

"We  had  a  frugal  supper — 2  ounces  aleuronate  bread  and  i 
ounce  butter  per  man — and  crept  into  the  bag  to  sleep  as  long  as 
possible  and  kill  the  time  without  eating.  The  only  thing  to  be 
done  is  to  try  and  hold  out  till  the  snow  has  melted  and  advance 
is  more  practicable.  At  one  in  the  afternoon  we  turned  out  to  a 
rather  more  abundant  breakfast  of  '  fiskegratin,'  but  we  do  not 
dare  to  eat  as  much  as  we  require  any  longer.  We  are  looking 
forward  to  trying  our  new  tactics,  and  instead  of  attempting  to 
conquer  nature,  obeying  her  and  taking  advantage  of  the  lanes. 
We  must  get  some  way,"  at  any  rate,  by  this  means  ;  and  the 
farther  south  the  more  prospect  of  lanes  and  the  greater  chance 
of  something  falling  to  our  guns. 
29 


450  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  Otherwise  it  is  a  dull  existence  enough,  no  prospect  for  the 
moment  of  being  able  to  get  on,  impassable  packed  ice  in  every 
direction,  rapidly  diminishing  provisions,  and  now,  too,  nothing 
to  be  caught  or  shot.  An  attempt  I  made  at  fishing  with  the 
net  failed  entirely — a  pteropod  {Clio  borealis)  and  a  few  Crustacea 
were  the  whole  result.  I  lie  awake  at  night  by  the  hour  racking 
my  brain  to  find  a  way  out  of  our  difficulties.  Well,  well,  there 
will  be  one  eventually  ! 

"  Saturday,  June  2  2d.  Half-past  9  a.  m.  ;  after  a  good  break- 
fast of  seal's  flesh,  seal-liver,  blubber,  and  soup,  here  I  lie  dream- 
ing dreams  of  brightness ;  life  is  all  sunshine  again.  What  a 
little  incident  is  necessary  to  change  the  whole  aspect  of  affairs ! 
Yesterday  and  the  last  few  days  were  dull  and  gloomy  ;  every- 
thing seemed  hopeless,  the  ice  impassable,  no  game  to  be  found ; 
and  then  comes  the  incident  of  a  seal  rising  near  our  kayaks  and 
rolling  about  round  us.  Johansen  has  time  to  give  it  a  ball  just 
as  it  is  disappearing,  and  it  floats  while  I  harpoon  it — the  first 
and  only  bearded  seal  {Phoca  barbatd)  we  have  seen  yet — and  we 
have  abundance  of  food  and  fuel  for  upward  of  a  month.  We 
need  hurry  no  longer  ;  we  can  settle  down,  adapt  the  kayaks  and 
sledges  better  for  ferrying  over  the  lanes,  capture  seals  if  pos- 
sible, and  await  a  change  in  the  state  of  the  ice.  We  have  eaten 
our  fill  both  at  supper  and  breakfast,  after  being  ravenous  for 
many  days.  The  future  seems  bright  and  certain  now  ;  no  clouds 
of  darkness  to  be  seen  any  longer. 

"  It  was  hardly  with  great  expectations  that  we  started  off  on 
Tuesday  evening.  A  hard  crust  which  had  formed  on  the  top  of 
the  soft  snow  did  not  improve  matters  ;  the  sledges  often  cut 
through  this,  and  were  not  to  be  moved  before  one  lifted  them 
forward  again,  and  when  it  was  a  case  of  turning  amid  the  un- 
even ice  they  stuck  fast  in  the  crust.  The  ice  was  uneven  and 
bad,  and  the  snow  loose  and  water  -  soaked,  so  that,  even  with 
snow-shoes  on,  we  sank  deep  into  it  ourselves.  There  were  lanes 
besides,  and  though  tolerably  easy  to  cross,  as  they  were  often 
packed  together,  they  necessitated  a  winding  route.  We  saw 
clearly  that  to  continue  in  this  way  was  impossible.  The  only 
resource  was  to  disburden  ourselves  of  everything  which  could  in 
any  way  be  dispensed  with,  and  start  afresh  as  quickly  as  we 
could,  with  only  provisions,  kayaks,  guns,  and  the  most  neces- 
sary clothing,  in  order,  at  any  rate,  to  reach  land  before  our  last 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  45 1 

crumb  of  food  was  eaten  up.  We  went  over  the  things  to  see 
what  we  could  part  with  ;  the  medicine-bag,  the  spare  horizon- 
tal bars  belonging  to  the  sledges,  reserve  snow-shoes,  and  thick, 
rough  socks,  soiled  shirts,  and  the  tent.  When  it  came  to  the 
sleeping-bag  we  drew  a  long  sigh,  but,  wet  and  heavy  as  it  al- 
ways is  now,  that  had  to  go,  too.  We  had,  moreover,  to  contrive 
wooden  grips  under  the  kayaks,  so  that  we  can  without  further 
trouble  set  the  whole  thing  afloat  when  we  have  to  cross  a  lane 
and  be  able  to  drag  the  sledges  up  on  the  other  side  and  go  on 
at  once.  If  it  should  then,  as  now,  be  impossible  for  us  to  launch 
the  sledges,  because  sleeping-bag,  clothes,  and  sacks  of  provender, 
etc.,  are  lying  on  them  as  a  soft  dunnage  for  the  kayaks,  it  will 
take  too  much  time.  At  every  lane  we  should  be  obliged  to  un- 
lash  the  loads,  lift  the  kayaks  off  the  sledges  and  into  the  water, 
lash  them  together  there,  then  place  the  sledges  across  them, 
and  finally  go  through  the  same  manoeuvres  in  inverse  order  on 
the  other  side.  We  should  not  get  very  far  in  the  day  in  that 
manner. 

"  Firmly  determined  to  make  these  alterations,  the  very  next 
day  we  started  off.  We  soon  came  to  a  long  pool,  which  it  was 
necessary  to  ferry  over.  The  kayaks  were  soon  launched  and 
lying  side  by  side  on  the  water,  well  stiffened,  with  the  snow- 
shoes  under  the  straps,*  a  thoroughly  steady  fleet.  Then  the 
sledges,  with  their  loads,  were  run  out  to  them,  one  forward,  one 
astern.  We  had  been  concerned  about  the  dogs  and  how  we 
should  get  them  to  go  with  us,  but  they  followed  the  sledges  out 
onto  the  kayaks  and  lay  down  as  if  they  had  done  nothing  else 
all  their  lives.  '  Kaifas'  seated  himself  in  the  bow  of  my  kayak, 
and  the  two  others  astern. 

"  A  seal  had  come  up  near  us  while  we  were  occupied  with  all 
this,  but  I  thought  to  wait  before  shooting  it  till  the  kayaks  were 
ready,  and  thus  be  certain  of  getting  it  before  it  sank.  Of  course 
it  did  not  show  itself  again.  These  seals  seem  to  be  enchanted,  and 
as  if  they  were  only  sent  to  delay  us.  Twice  that  day  before  I  had 
seen  them  and  watched  for  them  to  appear  again  in  vain.     I  had 

*  Certain  straps  which  are  fixed  on  the  kayak,  just  in  front  of  the 
occupant,  and  through  which  the  paddle  is  passed  when  shooting,  etc. 
The  blade  thus  lying  laterally  on  the  water  very  much  increases  the 
steadiness  of  the  occupants. 


452  FARTHEST  NORTH 

even  achieved  missing  one — the  third  time  I  have  missed  my  mark. 
It  looks  bad  for  the  ammunition  if  I  am  going  on  like  this,  but  I 
have  discovered  that  I  aimed  too  high  for  these  short  ranges,  and 
had  shot  over  them.  So  then  we  set  off  across  the  blue  waves  on 
our  first  long  voyage.  A  highly  remarkable  convoy  we  must  have 
been,  laden  as  we  were  with  sledges,  sacks,  guns,  and  dogs ;  a  tribe 
of  gypsies,  Johansen  said  it  was.  If  any  one  had  suddenly  come 
upon  us  then,  he  would  hardly  have  known  what  to  make  of  the 
troupe,  and  certainly  would  not  have  taken  us  for  polar  explorers. 
Paddling  between  the  sledges  and  the  snow-shoes,  which  project- 
ed far  out  on  either  side,  was  not  easy  work ;  but  we  managed  to 
get  along,  and  were  soon  of  the  opinion  that  we  should  think  our- 
selves lucky  could  we  go  on  like  this  the  whole  day,  instead  of 
hauling  and  wading  through  the  snow.  Our  kayaks  could  hardly 
have  been  called  water-tight,  and  we  had  recourse  to  the  pumps 
several  times ;  but  we  could  easily  have  reconciled  ourselves  to 
that,  and  only  wished  we  had  more  open  water  to  travel  over. 
At  last  we  reached  the  end  of  the  pool ;  I  jumped  ashore  on  the 
edge  of  the  ice,  to  pull  up  the  kayaks,  and  suddenly  heard  a  great 
splash  beside  us.  It  was  a  seal  which  had  been  lying  there.  Soon 
afterwards  I  heard  a  similar  splash  on  the  other  side,  and  then 
for  the  third  time  a  huge  head  appeared,  blowing  and  swimming 
backward  and  forward,  but,  alas !  only  to  dive  deep  under  the 
edge  of  the  ice  before  we  had  time  to  get  the  guns  out.  It  was 
a  fine,  large  blue  or  bearded  seal  {Phoca  barbatd). 

**  We  were  quite  sure  that  it  had  disappeared  for  good,  but  no 
sooner  had  I  got  one  of  the  sledges  half-way  up  the  side  than  the 
immense  head  came  up  again  close  beside  the  kayaks,  blowing 
and  repeating  the  same  manoeuvres  as  before.  I  looked  round 
for  my  gun,  but  could  not  reach  it  where  it  was  lying  on  the 
kayak.  '  Take  the  gun,  Johansen,  quick,  and  blaze  away ;  but 
quick  !  look  sharp,  quick  !'  In  a  moment  he  had  thrown  the  gun 
to  his  cheek,  and  just  as  the  seal  was  on  the  point  of  disappear- 
ing under  the  edge  I  heard  the  report.  The  animal  made  a  little 
turn,  and  then  lay  floating,  the  blood  flowing  from  its  head.  I 
dropped  the  sledge,  seized  the  harpoon,  and,  quick  as  lightning, 
threw  it  deep  into  the  fat  back  of  the  seal,  which  lay  quivering 
on  the  surface  of  the  water.  Then  it  began  to  move ;  there  was 
still  life  in  it ;  and,  anxious  lest  the  harpoon  with  its  thin  line 
should  not  hold  if  the  huge  animal  began  to  quicken  in  earnest, 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  453 

I  pulled  my  knife  out  of  its  sheath  and  stuck  it  into  the  seal's 
throat,  whence  a  stream  of  blood  came  flowing  out.  The  water 
was  red  with  it  for  a  long  distance,  and  it  made  one  quite  sorry 
to  see  the  wherewithal  for  a  good  meal  being  wasted  like  this. 
But  there  was  nothing  to  be  done ;  not  on  any  account  would  I 
lose  that  animal,  and  for  the  sake  of  safety  gave  it  another  har- 
poon. Meanwhile  the  sledge,  which  had  been  half  dragged  up 
onto  the  ice,  slid  down  again,  and  the  kayaks,  with  Johansen  and 
the  dogs,  came  adrift.  He  tried  to  pull  the  sledge  up  onto  the 
kayak,  but  without  success,  and  so  it  remained  with  one  end  in 
the  water  and  one  on  the  canoe.  It  heeled  the  whole  fleet  over, 
and  Johansen's  kayak  canted  till  one  side  was  in  the  water ;  it 
leaked,  however,  like  a  sieve,  and  the  water  rose  in  it  with  alarm- 
ing rapidity.  The  cooker,  which  was  on  the  deck,  fell  off  and 
drifted  gayly  away  before  the  wind  with  all  its  valuable  contents, 
borne  high  up  in  the  water  by  the  aluminium  cap,  which  happily 
was  water-tight.  The  '  ski '  fell  off  and  floated  about,  and  the 
fleet  sank  deeper  and  deeper  in.  Meanwhile  I  stood  holding  our 
precious  prize,  pot  daring  to  let  go.  The  whole  thing  was  a  scene 
of  the  most  complete  dissolution.  Johansen's  kayak  had  by  this 
time  heeled  over  to  such  an  extent  that  the  water  reached  the 
open  seam  on  the  deck,  and  the  craft  filled  immediately.  I  had 
no  choice  left  but  to  let  go  the  seal  and  drag  up  the  kayak  before 
it  sank.  This  done,  heavy  as  it  was  and  full  of  water,  the  seal's 
turn  came  next,  and  this  was  much  worse.  We  had  our  work  cut 
out  to  haul  the  immense  animal  hand  over  hand  up  onto  the  ice ; 
but  our  rejoicings  were  loud  when  we  at  last  succeeded,  and  we 
almost  fell  to  dancing  round  it  in  the  excess  of  our  delight.  A 
water-logged  kayak  and  soaked  effects  we  thought  nothing  of  at 
such  a  supreme  moment.  Here  were  food  and  fuel  for  a  long  time. 
"  Then  came  the  rescuing  and  drying  of  our  things.  First 
and  foremost,  of  course,  the  ammunition  ;  it  was  all  our  stock. 
But  happily  the  cartridges  were  fairly  water-tight,  and  had  not 
suffered  much  damage.  Even  the  shot-cartridges,  the  cases  of 
which  were  of  paper,  had  not  lain  long  enough  to  become  wholly 
permeated.  Such,  however,  was  not  the  case  with  a  supply  of 
powder  ;  the  small  tin  box  in  which  we  kept  it  was  entirely  full 
of  water.  The  other  things  were  not  so  important,  though  it 
was  hardly  a  comforting  discovery  to  find  that  the  bread  was 
soaked  through  with  salt-water. 


454  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  We  found  a  camping-ground  not  far  off.  The  tent  was  soon 
pitched,  our  catch  cut  up  and  placed  in  safety,  and,  I  may  say, 
seldom  has  the  drift-ice  housed  beings  so  well  satisfied  as  the  two 
who  sat  that  morning  in  the  bag  and  feasted  on  seal's  flesh,  blub- 
ber, and  soup  as  long  as  they  had  any  room  to  stow  it  in.  We  con- 
curred in  the  opinion  that  a  better  meal  we  could  not  have  had. 
Then  down  we  crawled  into  the  dear  bag,  which  for  the  present 
there  was  no  need  to  part  with,  and  slept  the  sleep  of  the  just  in 
the  knowledge  that,  for  the  immediate  future  at  any  rate,  we 
need  have  no  anxiety. 

"  It  is  my  opinion  that  for  the  time  being  we  can  do  nothing 
better  than  remain  where  we  are,  live  on  our  catch,  without  en- 
croaching on  the  sledge  provisions,  and  thus  await  the  time  when 
the  ice  shall  slacken  more  or  the  condition  of  the  snow  improve. 
Meanwhile  we  will  rig  up  wooden  grips  on  our  sledges,  and  try 
to  make  the  kayaks  water-tight.  Furthermore,  we  will  lighten 
our  equipment  as  much  as  we  possibly  can.  If  we  were  to  go 
on  we  should  only  be  obliged  to  leave  a  great  deal  of  our  meat 
and  blubber  behind  us,  and  this,  in  these  circumstances,  I  think 
would  be  madness. 

"  Sunday,  June  23d.  So  this  is  St.  John's  eve,  and  Sunday, 
too.  How  merry  and  happy  all  the  school-boys  are  to-day  !  how 
the  folk  at  home  are  starting  forth  in  crowds  to  the  beautiful 
Norwegian  woods  and  valleys  !  .  .  .  And  here  are  we  still  in  the 
drift-ice  ;  cooking  and  frying  with  blubber,  eating  it  and  seal's 
flesh  until  the  train-oil  drips  off  us,  and,  above  all,  not  knowing 
when  there  will  be  an  end  to  it  all.  Perhaps  we  still  have  a  win- 
ter before  us.  I  could  hardly  have  conceived  that  we  should  be 
here  now  ! 

"  It  is  a  pleasing  change,  however,  after  having  reduced  our 
rations  and  fuel  to  a  minimum,  to  be  able  to  launch  out  into  ex- 
cesses, and  eat  as  much  and  as  often  as  we  like.  It  is  a  state  of 
things  hardly  to  be  realized  at  present.  The  food  is  agreeable 
to  the  taste,  and  we  like  it  better  and  better.  My  own  opinion 
is  that  blubber  is  excellent  both  raw  and  fried,  and  it  can  well 
take  the  place  of  butter.  The  meat,  in  our  eyes,  is  as  good  as 
meat  can  be.  We  had  it  yesterday  for  breakfast,  in  the  shape  of 
meat  and  soup  served  with  raw  blubber.  For  dinner  I  fried  a 
highly  successful  steak,  not  to  be  surpassed  by  the  '  Grand  ' 
[Hotel],  though  a  good  '  seidel '  of  bock-beer  would  have  been  a 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  455 

welcome  addition.  For  supper  I  made  blood-pancakes  fried  in 
blubber  instead  of  butter,  and  they  were  a  success,  inasmuch  as 
Johansen  pronounced  them  'first  class,'  to  say  nothing  of  my 
own  sentiments.  This  frying,  however,  inside  the  tent  over  a 
train-oil  lamp,  is  a  doubtful  pleasure.  If  the  lamp  itself  does  not 
smoke  the  blubber  does,  causing  the  unfortunate  cook  the  most 
excruciating  pain  in  the  eyes ;  he  can  hardly  keep  them  open, 
and  they  water  copiously.  But  the  consequences  could  be  even 
worse.  The  train-oil  lamp  which  I  had  contrived  out  of  a  sheet 
of  German  silver  became  over-heated  one  day  under  the  hot  fry- 
ing-pan, and  at  last  the  whole  thing  caught  fire,  both  the  lumps 
of  blubber  and  the  train-oil.  The  flame  shot  up  into  the  air, 
while  I  tried  by  every  means  in  my  power  to  put  it  out,  but  it 
only  grew  worse.  The  best  thing  would  have  been  to  convey 
the  whole  lamp  outside,  but  there  was  no  time  for  it.  The  tent 
began  to  fill  with  suffocating  smoke,  and  as  a  last  resort  I  unfort- 
unately seized  a  handful  of  snow  and  threw  it  on  the  burning 
train-oil.  It  spluttered  and  crackled,  boiling  oil  flew  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  from  the  lamp  itself  rose  a  sea  of  flames  which  filled 
the  whole  tent  and  burned  everything  they  came  near.  Half- 
suffocated,  we  both  threw  ourselves  against  the  closed  door, 
bursting  off  the  buttons,  and  dashed  headlong  into  the  open  air 
— glad,  indeed,  to  have  escaped  with  our  lives.  With  this  explo- 
sion the  lamp  went  out ;  but  when  we  came  to  examine  the  tent 
we  found  an  enormous  hole  burned  in  the  silk  wall  above  the 
place  where  the  frying-pan  had  stood.  One  of  our  sledge-sails 
had  to  pay  the  penalty  for  that  hole.  We  crept  back  into  the 
tent  again,  congratulating  ourselves,  however,  on  having  got  off 
so  easily,  and,  after  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  rekindled  a  fire  so 
that  I  could  fry  the  last  pancake.  We  then  ate  it  with  sugar,  in 
the  best  of  spirits,  and  pronounced  it  the  most  delicious  fare  we 
had  ever  tasted.  We  had  good  reason,  too,  to  be  in  good  spirits, 
for  our  observation  for  the  day  made  us  in  82°  4.3'  north  latitude 
and  57°  48'  east  longitude.  In  spite  of  westerly,  and  in  a  meas- 
ure southwesterly,  winds,  we  had  come  nearly  14  south  in  three 
days  and  next  to  nothing  east.  A  highly  surprising  and  satis- 
factory discovery.  Outside,  the  north  wind  was  still  blowing, 
and  consequently  we  were  drifting  south  towards  more  clement 
regions. 

"  Wednesday,  June  26th.     June  24th  was  naturally  celebrated 


456  FARTHEST  NORTH 

with  great  festivities.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  that  day  two 
years  since  we  started  from  home ;  secondly,  it  was  a  hundred 
days  since  we  left  the  Fram  (not  really,  it  was  two  days  more); 
and,  thirdly,  it  was  Midsummer-day.  It  was,  of  course,  a  holi- 
day, and  we  passed  it  in  dreaming  of  good  times  to  come,  in 
studying  our  charts,  our  future  prospects,  and  in  reading  any- 
thing readable  that  was  to  be  found — i.  e.^  the  almanac  and  navi- 
gation-tables. Johansen  took  a  walk  along  the  lanes,  and  also 
managed  to  miss  a  ringed  seal,  or  *  snad,*  as  we  call  it  in  Norwe- 
gian, in  a  pool  here  east  of  us.  Then  came  supper — rather  late 
in  the  night  —  consisting  of  blood-pancakes  with  sugar,  and  un^ 
surpassed  in  flavor.  The  frying  over  the  oil-lamp  took  a  long 
time,  and  in  order  to  have  them  hot  we  had  to  eat  each  one  as  it 
was  fried,  a  mode  of  procedure  which  promoted  a  healthy  appe- 
tite between  each  pancake.  Thereafter  we  stewed  some  of  our 
red  whortleberries,  and  they  tasted  no  less  good,  although  they 
had  been  soaked  in  salt-water  in  Johansen's  kayak  during  the 
catastrophe  of  a  couple  of  days  ago  ;  and  after  a  glorious  meal 
we  turned  into  the  bag  at  8  o'clock  yesterday  morning. 

"  At  mid-day,  again,  I  got  up  and  went  out  to  take  a  meridian 
altitude.  The  weather  was  brilliant,  and  it  was  so  long  since  we 
had  had  anything  of  the  kind  that  I  could  hardly  remember  it.  I 
sat  upon  the  hummock,  waiting  for  the  sun  to  come  to  the  me- 
ridian, basking  in  its  rays,  and  looking  out  over  the  stretches  of 
ice,  where  the  snow  glittered  and  sparkled  on  all  sides,  and  at  the 
pool  in  front  of  me  lying  shining  and  still  as  a  mountain  lake, 
and  reflecting  its  icy  banks  in  the  clear  water.  Not  a  breath  of 
wind  stirred — so  still,  so  still ;  and  the  sun  baked,  and  I  dreamed 
myself  at  home.  .  .  . 

"  Before  going  into  the  tent  I  went  to  fetch  some  salt-water 
for  the  soup  we  were  to  have  for  breakfast  ;  but  just  at  that  mo- 
ment a  seal  came  up  by  the  side  of  the  ice,  and  I  ran  back  for  my 
gun  and  kayak.  Out  on  the  water  I  discovered  that  it  was  leak- 
ing like  a  sieve  from  lying  in  the  sun,  and  I  had  to  paddle  back 
faster  than  I  had  come  out,  to  avoid  sinking.  As  I  was  emptying 
the  kayak,  up  came  the  seal  again  in  front  of  me,  and  this  time 
my  shot  took  effect ;  the  animal  lay  floating  on  the  water  like  a 
cork.  It  was  not  many  minutes  before  I  had  the  leaking  craft  on 
the  water  again  and  my  harpoon  in  the  animal's  neck.  I  towed 
it  in  while  the  kayak  gradually  filled,  and  my  legs — or  rather 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  457 

that  part  which  follows  closely  above  the  legs  when  one  is  sit- 
ting in  a  canoe — became  soaked  with  water,  and  my  *  komager ' 
gradually  filled.  After  having  dragged  the  seal  up  to  the  tent, 
*  flensed'  it,  collected  all  the  blood  which  was  to  be  had,  and  cut 
it  up,  I  crept  into  the  tent,  put  on  some  dry  underclothes,  and 
into  the  bag  again,  while  the  wet  ones  were  drying  outside  in  the 
sun.  It  is  easy  enough  to  keep  one's  self  warm  in  the  tent  now. 
The  heat  was  so  great  inside  it  last  night  that  we  could  hardly 
sleep,  although  we  lay  on  the  bag  instead  of  in  it.  When  I  came 
back  with  the  seal  I  discovered  that  Johansen's  bare  foot  was 
sticking  out  of  the  tent  at  a  place  where  the  peg  had  given  way  ; 
he  was  sleeping  soundly,  and  had  no  idea  of  it.  After  having  a 
small  piece  of  chocolate  to  commemorate  the  happy  capture  and 
looking  over  my  observations,  we  again  settled  down  to  rest. 

"  It  appears,  remarkably  enough,  from  our  latitude  that  we 
are  still  on  the  same  spot,  without  any  farther  drifts  southward, 
in  spite  of  the  northerly  winds.  Can  the  ice  be  landlocked  ?  It 
is  not  impossible  ;  far  off  land,  at  any  rate,  we  cannot  be. 

"Thursday,  June  27th.  The  same  monotonous  life,  the  same 
wind,  the  same  misty  weather,  and  the  same  cogitations  as  to 
what  the  future  will  bring.  There  was  a  gale  from  the  north  last 
night,  with  a  fall  of  hard  granular  snow,  which  lashed  against 
the  tent  walls  so  that  one  might  think  it  to  be  good  honest  rain. 
It  melted  on  the  walls  directly,  and  the  water  ran  down  them.  It 
is  cosey  in  here, however,  and  the  wind  does  not  reach  us;  we  can 
lie  in  our  warm  bag,  and  listen  to  the  flapping  of  the  tent,  and 
imagine  that  we  are  drifting  rapidly  westward,  although  perhaps 
we  are  not  moving  from  the  spot.  But  if  this  wind  does  not 
move  us,  the  only  explanation  is  that  the  ice  is  landlocked,  and 
that  we  cannot  be  far  off  shore.  We  must  wait  for  an  east  wind, 
I  suppose,  to  drive  us  farther  west,  and  then  afterwards  south. 
My  hope  is  that  we  shall  drift  into  the  channel  between  Franz 
Josef  Land  and  Spitzbergen  while  we  are  lying  here.  The  weather 
was  raw  and  windy  with  snowfall,  so  that  it  was  hardly  suitable 
for  out-door  work,  particularly  as,  unfortunately,  there  was  no 
need  to  hurry. 

"  The  lanes  have  changed  very  much  of  late  ;  there  is  hardly 
anything  left  of  the  pool  in  front  of  us,  over  which  we  paddled, 
and  there  has  been  pressure  around  us  in  all  directions.  I  hope 
the  ice  will  be  well  ground  into  pieces,  as  this  enables  it  to  slacken 


458  FARTHEST  NORTH 

more  quickly  when  the  time  comes  ;  but  that  will  not  be  before 
far  on  in  July,  and  we  ought  to  have  the  patience  to  wait  for  it 
perhaps. 

"  Yesterday  we  cut  some  of  the  seal's  flesh  into  thin  slices  and 
hung  them  up  to  dry.  We  must  increase  our  travelling  store 
and  prepare  pemmican  or  dried  meat ;  it  will  be  the  easiest  way  of 
carrying  it  with  us.  Johansen  yesterday  found  a  pond  of  fresh 
water  close  by,  which  is  very  convenient,  and  we  need  no  longer 
melt  ice  ;  it  is  the  first  good  water  we  have  found  for  cooking 
purposes.  If  the  seals  are  few  and  far  between,  there  are  birds 
still,  I  am  thankful  to  say.  Last  night  a  couple  of  ivory  gulls 
{Larus  ebtirneus)  were  bold  enough  to  settle  down  on  our  sealskin,- 
close  beside  the  tent  wall,  and  pecked  at  the  blubber.  They  were 
sent  off  once  or  twice,  but  returned.  If  the  meat  falls  short  we 
must  resort  to  catching  birds." 

Thus  the  days  passed  by,  one  exactly  like  the  other ;  we 
waited  and  waited  for  the  snow  to  melt,  and  worked  desultorily 
meanwhile  at  getting  ourselves  ready  to  proceed.  This  life  re- 
minded me  of  some  Eskimos  who  journeyed  up  a  fjord  to  col- 
lect grass  for  hay  ;  but  when  they  arrived  at  their  destination 
found  it  quite  short,  and  so  settled  down  and  waited  till  it  was 
long  enough  to  cut.  A  suitable  condition  of  the  snow  was  long 
in  coming.  On  June  29th  I  write  :  "  Will  not  the  temperature 
rise  sufficiently  to  make  something  like  an  effectual  clearance  of 
the  snow  ?  We  try  to  pass  the  time  as  best  we  can  in  talking  of 
how  delightful  it  will  be  when  we  get  home,  and  how  we  shall 
enjoy  life  and  all  its  charms,  and  go  through  a  calculation  of 
chances  as  to  how  soon  that  may  be  ;  but  sometimes,  too,  we 
talk  of  how  well  we  will  arrange  for  the  winter  in  Spitzbergen, 
if  we  should  not  reach  home  this  year.  If  it  should  come  to 
that,  we  may  not  even  get  so  far,  but  have  to  winter  on  some 
place  ashore  here — no,  it  can  never  come  to  that ! 

"Sunday,  June  30th.  So  this  is  the  end  of  June,  and  we  are 
about  the  same  place  as  when  we  began  the  month.  And  the 
state  of  the  snow  ?  Well,  better  it  certainly  is  not ;  but  the  day 
is  fine.  It  is  so  warm  that  we  are  quite  hot  lying  here  inside 
the  tent.  Through  the  open  door  we  can  see  out  over  the  ice 
where  the  sun  is  glittering  through  white  sailing  cirrus  clouds 
on  the  dazzling  whiteness.  And  then  there  is  a  Sunday  calm, 
with  a  faint  breeze  mostly  from  the  southeast,  I  think.     Ah  me! 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  459 

it  is  lovely  at  home  to-day,  I  am  sure,  with  everything  in  bloom 
and  the  fjord  quivering  in  the  sunlight ;  and  you  are  sitting 
out  on  the  point  with  Liv,  perhaps,  or  are  on  the  water  in  your 
boat.  And  then  one's  eye  wanders  out  through  the  door  again, 
and  I  am  reminded  there  is  many  an  ice-floe  between  now  and 
then,  before  the  time  when  I  shall  see  it  all  again. 

"  Here  we  lie  far  up  in  the  north  ;  two  grim,  black,  soot- 
stained  barbarians,  stirring  a  mess  of  soup  in  a  kettle  and  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  ice ;  by  ice  and  nothing  else — shining 
and  white,  possessed  of  all  the  purity  we  ourselves  lack.  Alas,  it  is 
all  too  pure  !  One's  eye  searched  to  the  very  horizon  for  a  dark 
spot  to  rest  on,  but  in  vain.  When  will  it  really  come  to  pass  ? 
Now  we  have  waited  for  it  two  months.  All  the  birds  seemed 
to  have  disappeared  to-day ;  not  even  a  cheery  little  auk  to  be 
seen.  They  were  here  until  yesterday,  and  we  have  heard  them 
flying  north  and  south,  probably  to  and  from  land,  where  they 
have  gone,  I  suppose,  now  that  there  is  so  little  water  about  in 
these  parts.     If  only  we  could  move  as  easily  as  they  ! 

"  Wednesday,  July  3d.  Why  write  again  ?  What  have  I  to 
commit  to  these  pages?  Nothing  but  the  same  overpowering 
longing  to  be  home  and  away  from  this  monotony.  One  day 
just  like  the  other,  with  the  exception,  perhaps,  that  before  it 
was  warm  and  quiet,  while  the  last  two  days  there  has  been  a 
south  wind  blowing,  and  we  are  drifting  northward.  Found 
from  a  meridian  altitude  yesterday  that  we  have  drifted  back  to 
82°  8.4'  N.,  while  the  longitude  is  about  the  same.  Both  yester- 
day and  the  day  before  we  had  to  a  certain  extent  really  brilliant 
sunshine,  and  this  for  us  is  a  great  rarity.  The  horizon  in  the 
south  was  fairly  clear  yesterday,  which  it  had  not  been  for  a 
long  time  ;  but  we  searched  it  in  vain  for  land.  I  do  not  under- 
stand it.  .  .  . 

"  We  had  a  fall  of  snow  last  night  and  it  dripped  in  here  so 
that  the  bag  became  wet.  This  constant  snowfall,  which  will 
not  turn  to  rain,  is  enough  to  make  one  despair.  It  generally 
takes  the  form  of  a  thick  layer  of  new  snow  on  the  top  of  the 
old,  and  this  delays  the  thaw. 

"This  wind  seems  to  have  formed  some  lanes  in  the  ice 
again,  and  there  is  a  little  more  bird-life.  We  saw  some  little 
auks  again  yesterday  ;  they  came  from  the  south,  probably  from 
land. 


4^0  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  Saturday,  July  6th.  +3.38°  Fahr.  (+1°  C).  Rain.  At  last, 
after  a  fortnight,  we  seem  to  have  got  the  weather  we  have  been 
waiting  for.  It  has  rained  the  whole  night  and  forenoon,  and  is 
still  at  it  —  real,  good  rain  ;  so  now,  perhaps,  this  everlasting 
snow  will  take  itself  off  ;  it  is  as  soft  and  loose  as  scum.  If  only 
this  rain  would  go  on  for  many  days  !  But  before  we  have  time 
to  look  round  there  will  be  a  cold  wind  with  snow,  a  crust  will 
form,  and  again  we  must  wait.  I  am  too  used  to  disappointment 
to  believe  in  anything.  This  is  a  school  of  patience  ;  but  never- 
theless the  rain  has  put  us  in  good  spirits. 

"The  days  drag  wearily  by.  We  work  in  an  intermittent 
way  at  the  kayak  grips  of  wood  for  our  sledges,  and  at  calking 
and  painting  our  kayaks  to  make  them  water-tight.  The  paint- 
ing, however,  causes  me  a  good  deal  of  trouble.  I  burned  bones 
here  for  many  days  till  the  whole  place  smelled  like  the  bone- 
dust  works  at  Lysaker;  then  came  the  toilsome  process  of 
pounding  and  grating  them  to  make  them  perfectly  fine  and 
even.  The  bone-dust  was  thereupon  mixed  with  train-oil,  and 
at  last  I  got  as  far  as  a  trial,  but  the  paint  proved  uncompro- 
misingly to  be  perfectly  useless.  So  now  I  must  mix  it  with 
soot,  as  I  had  first  intended,  and  add  more  oil.  I  am  now  occu- 
pied in  smoking  the  place  out  in  my  attempts  to  make  soot ;  but 
all  my  exertions,  when  it  comes  to  collecting  it,  only  result  in  a 
little  pinch,  although  the  smoke  towered  in  the  air,  and  they 
might  have  seen  it  in  Spitzbergen.  There  is  a  great  deal  to  do 
battle  with  when  one  has  not  a  shop  next  door.  What  would  I 
not  give  for  a  little  bucket  of  oil-paint,  only  common  lampblack! 
Well,  well ;  we  shall  find  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty  eventually, 
but  meanwhile  we  are  growing  like  sweeps. 

"  On  Wednesday  evening  '  Haren  '  was  killed  ;  poor  beast,  he 
was  not  good  for  much  latterly,  but  he  had  been  a  first-rate  dog, 
and  it  was  hard,  I  fancy,  for  Johansen  to  part  with  him ;  he 
looked  sorrowfully  at  the  animal  before  it  went  to  the  happy 
hunting  -  grounds,  or  wherever  it  may  be  draught  -  dogs  go  to. 
Perhaps  to  places  where  there  are  plains  of  level  ice  and  no 
ridges  and  lanes.  There  are  only  two  dogs  left  now — 'Suggen' 
and  '  Kaifas ' — and  we  must  keep  them  alive  as  long  as  we  can, 
and  have  use  for  them. 

"  The  day  before  yesterday,  in  the  evening,  we  suddenly  dis- 
covered a  black  hillock  to  the  east.    We  examined  it  through  the 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  461 

glass  and  it  looked  absolutely  like  a  black  rock  emerging  from 
the  snows.  It  also  somewhat  exceeded  the  neighboring  hum- 
mocks in  height.  I  scrutinized  it  carefully  from  the  highest 
ridge  hereabouts,  but  could  not  make  it  out.  I  thought  it  too 
big  to  be  only  a  piled-up  hummock  mixed  with  black  ice  or 
earthy  matter,  and  I  had  never  seen  anything  of  the  kind  before. 
That  it  is  an  island  seems  highly  improbable ;  for  although  we 
are  certainly  drifting,  it  remains  in  the  same  position  in  relation 
to  us.  We  saw  it  yesterday,  and  see  it  still  to-day  in  the  same 
quarter.  I  think  the  most  reasonable  supposition  is  that  it  is  an 
iceberg. 

"  No  sooner  does  the  horizon  clear  in  the  south  than  one  of  us 
may  be  seen  taking  his  customary  walk  to  the  '  watch-tower '  (a 
hummock  beside  the  tent)  to  scan  for  land,  sometimes  with  a 
glass,  sometimes  without  it ;  but  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen  but 
the  same  bare  horizon.* 

"  Every  day  I  take  a  turn  round  the  ice-  in  our  neighborhood 
to  see  if  the  snow  has  decreased,  but  it  always  seems  to  be  about 
the  same,  and  sometimes  I  have  moments  of  doubt  as  to  whether 
it  will  clear  away  at  all  this  summer.  If  hot,  our  prospects  will 
be  more  than  dark.  The  best  we  can  hope  for  will  then  be  a 
winter  somewhere  or  other  on  Franz  Josef  Land.  But  now  the 
rain  has  come.  It  is  pouring  down  the  tent  walls  and  dripping 
on  the  ice.  Everything  looks  hopeful  again,  and  we  are  picturing 
the  delights  of  the  autumn  and  winter  at  home. 

"  Wednesday,  July  loth.  It  is  a  curious  thing  that  now,  when 
I  really  have  something  of  a  little  more  interest  than  usual  to 
relate,  I  have  less  inclination  to  write  than  ever.  Everything 
seems  to  become  more  and  more  indifferent.  One  longs  only 
for  one  single  thing,  and  still  the  ice  is  lying  out  there  covered 
with  impassable  snow. 

"  But  what  was  it  I  had  to  say  ?  Oh  yes,  that  we  made  our- 
selves such  a  good  bed  yesterday  with  bear-skins  under  the  bag ; 
that  we  slept  the  clock  round  without  knowing  it,  and  I  thought 
it  was  six  in  the  morning  when  I  turned  out.  When  I  came  out 
of  the  tent  I  thought  there  was  something  remarkable  about  the 
position  of  the  sun,  and  pondered  over  it  for  a  little  while,  until  I 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  six  in  the  evening,  and  that  we 

*  Compare,  however,  what  I  say  on  this  subject  later — /.  e.,  July  24th. 


4^2  FARTHEST  NORTH 

had  slumbered  for  twenty-two  hours.  We  have  not  slept  much 
of  late,  as  we  have  been  broken  on  the  wheel,  so  to  speak,  by  the 
snow-shoes  we  had  to  place  under  the  bag,  in  order  to  keep  it 
clear  of  the  pools  of  water  under  us.  The  apologies  for  hair  still 
existing  here  and  there  on  the  skin  at  the  bottom  of  the  bag  do 
not  afford  much  protection  against  the  sharp  edges  of  the  snow- 
shoes. 

"  This  beneficent  rain  continued  the  whole  day  on  Saturday, 
doing  away  with  a  fair  amount  of  snow,  and  we  rejoice  to  hear 
it.  To  celebrate  the  good  weather  we  determined  to  have  choc- 
olate for  supper ;  otherwise  we  live  entirely  on  our  catch.  We 
had  the  chocolate  accordingly,  and  served  with  raw  blubber  it 
tasted  quite  excellent.  It  was  the  cause  of  a  great  disappoint- 
ment, however,  for  after  having  looked  forward  immoderately  to 
this,  now  so  rare,  treat,  I  managed  clumsily  to  upset  my  whole 
cup,  so  that  all  the  precious  contents  ran  out  over  the  ice.  While 
1  was  lying  waiting  for  a  second  cup— it  was  boiling  over  the 
train-oil  lamp  —  'Kaifas'  began  to  bark  outside.  Not  doubting 
but  that  he  had  seen  an  animal,  I  jumped  up  to  hurry  off  to  the 
lookout  hummock  to  scan  the  ice.  Not  a  little  surprised  was  I 
when  I  poked  my  head  out  of  the  tent  door  to  see  a  bear  come 
jogging  up  to  the  dogs  and  begin  sniffing  at  *  Kaifas.'  I  sprang 
to  the  gun,  which  stood  ready  in  the  snow  beside  the  tent,  and 
pulled  off  the  case,  the  bear  meanwhile  standing  astonished  and 
glaring  at  me.  I  sent  it  a  ball  through  the  shoulder  and  chest, 
certain  that  it  would  drop  on  the  spot.  It  half  staggered  over, 
and  then  turned  round  and  made  off,  and  before  I  could  extract 
a  new  cartridge  from  my  pocket,  which  was  full  of  everything 
€lse,  was  away  among  the  hummocks.  I  could  not  get  a  shot 
at  it  where  it  was,  and  set  off  in  pursuit.  I  had  not  gone  many 
steps  before  we  saw  (Johansen  had  followed  me)  two  more  heads 
appearing  a  little  way  farther  on.  They  belonged  to  two  cubs, 
which  were  standing  on  their  hind -legs  and  looking  at  their 
mother,  who  came  reeling  towards  them,  with  a  trail  of  blood 
behind  her.  Then  off  they  went,  all  three,  over  a  lane,  and  a 
ivild  chase  began  over  plains  and  ridges  and  lanes  and  every  kind 
•of  obstacle,  but  it  made  no  difference  to  their  pace.  A  wonder- 
ful thing  this  love  of  sport ;  it  is  like  setting  fire  to  a  fuse.  Where 
at  other  times  it  would  be  laborious  work  to  get  on  at  all,  where 
one  sinks  to  the  knees  in  the  snow,  and  where  one  would  hesitate 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  4^3 

before  choosing  a  way  over  the  lane,  let  only  the  spark  be  kin- 
dled, and  one  clears  every  obstacle  without  thinking  about  it. 
The  bear  was  severely  wounded,  and  dragged  her  left  fore-leg ; 
she  did  not  go  fast,  but  always  so  fast  that  I  had  my  work  cut 
out  to  keep  near  her.  The  cubs  ran  round  her  in  their  solicitude, 
and  generally  a  little  way  in  front,  as  if  to  get  her  to  come  with 
them  ;  they  little  knew  what  was  the  matter  with  her.  Sudden- 
ly they  all  three  looked  back  at  me,  as  I  was  crashing  after  them 
as  fast  as  I  could.  I  had  been  within  range  many  times,  but  the 
bear  had  had  her  hind  quarters  towards  me,  and  when  I  fired  I 
meant  to  be  sure  of  making  an  end  of  her,  as  I  only  had  three 
cartridges  with  me,  one  for  each  of  them.  At  last,  on  the  top  of 
a  huge  hummock,  I  got  a  sight  of  her  broadside  on,  and  there, 
too,  she  dropped.  The  cubs  hurried  anxiously  up  to  her  when 
she  fell  —  it  made  one  sorry  to  see  them  —  they  sniffed  at  and 
pushed  her,  and  ran  round  and  round,  at  a  loss  what  to  do  in 
their  despair.  Meanwhile  I  had  put  another  cartridge  in  the 
rifle,  and  picked  off  one  of  the  cubs  as  it  was  standing  on  a  pro- 
jection. It  fell  over  the  declivity  with  a  growl,  and  down  on  to 
its  mother.  Still  more  frightened  than  before,  the  other  cub 
hastened  to  its  succor  ;  but,  poor  thing,  what  could  it  do  ?  While 
its  brother  rolled  over,  growling,  it  stood  there  looking  sorrow- 
fully sometimes  at  it,  sometimes  at  the  mother,  who  lay  dying  in 
a  pool  of  blood.  When  I  approached,  it  turned  its  head  away  in- 
differently ;  what  did  it  care  about  me  now  ?  All  its  kindred, 
everything  it  held  dear,  lay  there  mutilated  and  destroyed.  It 
no  longer  knew  whither  to  go,  and  did  not  move  from  the  spot. 
I  went  right  up  to  it,  and,  with  a  spherical  ball  through  the 
breast,  it  fell  dead  beside  its  mother. 

"  Johansen  soon  came  up.  A  lane  had  detained  him,  so  that  he 
had  lost  ground.  We  opened  the  animals,  took  out  the  entrails, 
and  then  went  back  to  the  tent  to  fetch  the  sledges  and  dogs  and 
proper  flaying-knives.  Our  second  cup  of  chocolate  in  the  tent 
tasted  very  good  after  this  interruption.  When  we  had  skinned 
and  cut  up  two  of  the  bears  we  left  them  in  a  heap,  covered 
over  with  the  skins  to  protect  the  meat  from  the  gulls ;  the  third 
one  we  took  back  with  us.  The  next  day  we  fetched  the  others, 
and  now  have  more  meat  food  than  we  shall  be  able  to  consume, 
I  hope.  It  is  a  good  thing,  though,  that  we  can  give  the  dogs  as 
much  raw  meat  as  they  will  eat ;  they  certainly  require  it.   *  Sug- 


464  FARTHEST  NORTH 

gen,'  poor  thing,  is  in  a  very  bad  way,  and  it  is  a  question  whether 
we  can  get  any  more  work  out  of  him.  When  we  took  him  with 
us  after  the  bears  the  first  day,  he  could  not  walk,  and  we  had  to 
place  him  on  the  sledge ;  but  then  he  howled  so  terrifically,  as 
much  as  to  say  it  was  beneath  his  dignity  to  be  transported  in 
this  way,  that  Johansen  had  to  take  him  home  again.  The  dogs 
seem  to  be  attacked  with  a  paralysis  of  the  legs  ;  they  fall  down, 
and  have  the  greatest  difficulty  in  rising.  It  has  been  the  same 
with  all  of  them,  from  *  Gulen  '  downward.  '  Kaifas,'  however,  is 
as  fresh  and  well  as  ever. 

"  It  is  remarkable  how  large  these  cubs  were.  I  could  hardly 
imagine  that  they  were  born  this  year,  and  should  without  hesi-, 
tation  have  put  them  down  as  a  year  old  if  the  she-bear  had  not 
been  in  milk,  and  it  is  hardly  to  be  supposed  that  the  cubs  would 
suck  for  a  year  and  a  half.  Those  we  shot  by  the  Frajti  on  No- 
vember 4th  last  year  were  hardly  half  the  size  of  these.  It  would 
seem  as  if  the  polar  bear  produces  its  young  at  different  times  of 
the  year.  In  the  paunches  of  the  cubs  were  pieces  of  skin  from 
a  seal. 

"Monday,  July  15th.  As  we  were  working  at  the  kayaks  yes- 
terday a  Ross's  gull  {Rhodostethia  rosea)  came  flying  by.  It  was 
a  full-grown  bird,  and  made  a  turn  when  just  over  us,  showing 
its  pretty  rose-colored  breast,  and  then  disappeared  again  in  the 
mist  southward.  On  Thursday  I  saw  another  adult  Ross's  gull, 
with  a  black  ring  round  its  neck ;  it  came  from  the  northeast, 
and  flew  in  a  southwesterly  direction.  Otherwise  it  is  remarkable 
how  all  the  birds  have  disappeared  from  here.  The  little  auk  is 
no  longer  to  be  seen  or  heard ;  the  only  birds  are  an  ivory  gull 
now  and  then,  and  occasionally  a  fulmar. 

"Wednesday,  July  17th.  At  last  the  time  is  drawing  near 
when  we  can  be  off  again  and  start  homeward  in  earnest.  The 
snow  has  decreased  sufficiently  to  make  advance  fairly  easy.  We 
are  doing  our  utmost  to  get  ready.  The  grips  on  the  sledges 
are  nicely  arranged,  and  provided  with  cushions  of  bearskin  on 
Johansen's  and  of  cloth  on  mine.  This  is  in  order  to  give  the 
kayaks  a  firm  and  soft  bed  and  prevent  chafing.  The  kayaks 
are  painted  with  soot  and  train-oil,  and  have  been  calked  with 
pastels  (for  drawing),  crushed  and  also  mixed  with  train-oil ;  that 
is  to  say,  as  far  as  these  various  ingredients  would  go.  We  are 
now  using  a  mixture  of  stearine,  pitch,  and  resin,  to  finish  up 


BY  SLEDGE  AND  KAYAK  465 

with.*  A  thorough  revision  of  our  equipment  will  take  place,  and 
everything  not  absolutely  invaluable  will  be  left  behind.  We 
must  say  good-bye  here  to  the  sleeping-bag  and  tent.f  Our  days 
of  comfort  are  past,  and  henceforth  until  we  are  on  board  the 
sloopi  we  will  live  under  the  open  sky. 

"'  Meanwhile  we  have  lain  here — '  Longing  Camp,'  as  we  call  it 
and  let  the  time  slip  by.  We  have  eaten  bear -meat  morning, 
noon,  and  night,  and,  so  far  from  being  tired  of  it,  have  made 
the  discovery  that  the  breast  of  the  cubs  is  quite  a  delicacy.  It 
is  remarkable  that  this  exclusive  meat  and  fat  diet  has  not  caused 
us  the  slightest  discomfort  in  any  way,  and  we  have  no  craving 
for  farinaceous  food,  although  we  might,  perhaps,  regard  a  large 
cake  as  the  acme  of  happiness.  Every  now  and  then  we  cheer 
ourselves  up  with  lime-juice  grog,  a  blood-pancake,  or  some  stewed 
whortleberries,  and  let  our  imaginations  run  riot  over  all  the 
amenities  of  civilization,  which  we  mean  to  enjoy  to  the  full  when 
we  get  home  !  Perhaps  it  will  be  many  a  long  day  before  we 
get  there  ;  perhaps  there  will  be  many  a  hard  trial  to  overcome. 
But,  no  ;  I  will  believe  the  best.  There  are  still  two  months  of 
summer  left,  and  in  them  something  can  be  done. 

"  Friday,  July  19th.  Two  full-grown  Ross's  gulls  flew  over 
here  from  the  northeast  and  went  west  this  morning.  When  far 
off  they  uttered  cries  which  reminded  me  of  that  of  the  wryneck, 
and  which  I  at  first  thought  came  from  a  little  auk.  They  flew 
quite  low,  just  over  my  head,  and  the  rose-color  of  their  under- 
parts  could  be  seen  plainly.  Another  Ross's  gull  flew  by  here 
yesterday.  It  is  strange  that  there  should  be  so  many  of  them. 
Where  are  we  ? 

"Tuesday,  July  23d.  Yesterday  forenoon  we  at  last  got  clear 
of  '  Longing  Camp,'  and  now,  I  am  thankful  to  say,  we  are  again 
on  the  move.  We  have  worked  day  and  night  to  get  off.  First 
we  thought  it  would  be  on  the  19th,  then  the  20th,  and  then  the 
2ist,  but  something  always  cropped  up  that  had  to  be  done  be- 
fore we  could  leave.  The  bread,  which  had  been  soaked  in  sea- 
water,  had  to  be  carefully  dried  in  the  frying-pan  over  the  lamp, 
and  this  took  several  days ;   then  the  socks  had  to  be  patched, 

*  This  was  taken  in  case  it  might  be  wanted  for  soldering  the  cooking 
apparatus  or  the  German-silver  plates  under  the  sledge- runners. 
t  We  eventually  decided  to  retain  this,  however. 
X  The  vessel  we  expected  to  catch  in  Spitzbergen. 
30 


466  FARTHEST  NORTH 

and  the  kayaks  carefully  looked  over,  etc.  We  were  determined 
to  start  on  our  last  journey  home  in  good  repair,  and  so  we  did. 
Everything  goes  like  wildfire.  The  chances  of  progress  are  bet- 
ter than  we  expected,  although  the  ice  is  anything  but  even  ;  the 
sledges  are  lighter  to  draw,  now  that  everything  that  can  be  dis- 
pensed with  is  left  behind,  and  the  snow,  too,  has  decreased  con- 
siderably. On  the  last  part  of  the  journey  yesterday  we  could 
even  go  without  snow-shoes,  and,  as  a  matter  of  course,  progress 
among  the  ridges  and  irregularities,  where  they  are  difficult  to 
manage,  is  quicker  without  them.  Johansen  performed  a  feat 
by  crossing  a  lane  alone  in  his  kayak,  with  *  Suggen '  lying  on 
the  fore-deck,  while  he  himself  knelt  on  the  after-deck  and  bal- 
anced the  craft  as  he  paddled.  I  began  to  try  the  same  with 
mine,  but  found  it  too  cranky  to  risk  the  attempt,  and  preferred 
to  tow  it  over,  with  '  Kaifas '  on  the  deck,  while  I  went  carefully 
alongside  and  jumped  over  on  some  pieces  of  ice. 

"  We  have  now  the  advantage  of  finding  drinking-water  every- 
where. We  are  also  eating  our  old  provender  again  ;  but  curious- 
ly enough,  neither  Johansen  nor  I  think  the  farinaceous  food  as 
good  as  one  might  suppose  after  a  month  of  meat  diet.  It  is 
good  to  be  under  way  again,  and  not  the  least  pleasant  part 
about  it  is  our  lighter  sledges  ;  but  then  we  certainly  left  a  good 
deal  behind  at  *  Longing  Camp.'  In  addition  to  a  respectable 
mound  of  meat  and  blubber,  we  left  three  fine  bear-skins.  Our 
friend,  the  bag,  too,  is  lying  on  the  top  of  the  bears  ;  a  quantity 
of  wood,  consisting  of  the  boards  from  under  the  sledges,  the 
snow-shoes  and  other  things,  more  than  half  of  Blessing's  fine 
medicaments  —  plaster-of- Paris  bandages,  soft  steam  -  sterilized 
gauze  bandages,  hygroscopic  cotton  wadding  —  to  say  nothing 
of  a  good  aluminium  horizon-glass,  rope,  our  combined  frying- 
pan  and  melter,  half  an  aluminium  cap  belonging  to  the  cooker, 
sheets  of  German  silver,  a  train-oil  lamp  of  the  same,  bags,  tools, 
sail-cloth,  Finn  shoes,  our  wolfskin  fingerless  gloves,  also  woollen 
ones,  a  geological  hammer,  half  a  shirt,  socks,  and  other  sundries, 
all  strewn  about  in  chaotic  confusion.  Instead  of  all  these  we 
have  an  augmentation  in  the  form  of  a  sack  of  dried  seal's  and 
bear's  flesh  and  the  other  half  of  the  aluminium  cap  full  of  blub- 
ber. We  are  now  thoroughly  divested  of  all  superfluous  articles, 
and  there  is  hardly  so  much  as  a  bit  of  wood  to  be  had  if  one 
should  want  a  stick  to  slip  through  the  end  of  the  hauling-rope." 


CHAPTER  XV 

LAND    AT    LAST 

"  Wednesday,  July  24th.  At  last  the  marvel  has  come  to  pass 
—land,  land !  and  after  we  had  almost  given  up  our  belief  in  it ! 
After  nearly  two  years,  we  again  see  something  rising  above  that 
never-ending  white  line  on  the  horizon  yonder  —  a  white  line 
which  for  millennium  after  millennium  has  stretched  over  this 
sea,  and  which  for  millenniums  to  come  shall  stretch  in  the  same 
way.  We  are  leaving  it,  and  leaving  no  trace  behind  us,  for  the 
track  of  our  little  caravan  across  the  endless  plains  has  long  ago 
disappeared.  A  new  life  is  beginning  for  us  ;  for  the  ice  it  is 
ever  the  same. 

"  It  has  long  haunted  our  dreams,  this  land,  and  now  it  comes 
like  a  vision,  like  fairy-land.  Drift-white,  it  arches  above  the 
horizon  like  distant  clouds,  which  one  is  afraid  will  disappear 
every  minute.  The  most  wonderful  thing  is  that  we  have  seen 
this  land  all  the  time  without  knowing  it.  I  examined  it  several 
times  with  the  telescope  from  '  Longing  Camp  *  in  the  belief  that 
it  might  be  snow-fields,  but  always  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  was  only  clouds,  as  I  could  never  discover  any  dark  point. 
Then,  too,  it  seemed  to  change  form,  which,  I  suppose,  must  be 
attributed  to  the  mist  which  always  lays  over  it ;  but  it  always 
came  back  again  at  the  same  place  with  its  remarkable  regular 
curves.  I  now  remember  that  dark  crag  we  saw  east  of  us  at 
the  camp,  and  which  I  took  to  be  an  iceberg.  It  must  certainly 
have  been  a  little  islet*  of  some  kind. 

"  The  ice  was  worse  and  more  broken  than  ever  yesterday ; 
it  was,  indeed,  a  labor  to  force  one's  way  over  pressure-ridges 
like  veritable  mountains,  with  valleys  and  clefts  in  between  ;  but 
on  we  went  in  good  spirits,  and  made  some  progress.     At  lanes 

*  This  supposition  is  extremely  doubtful. 


468  FARTHEST  NORTH 

where  a  crossing  was  difficult  to  find  we  did  not  hesitate  to 
launch  kayaks  and  sledges,  and  were  soon  over  in  this  manner. 
Sometimes  after  a  very  bad  bit  we  would  come  across  some  flat 
ice  for  a  short  distance,  and  over  this  we  would  go  like  wild-fire, 
splashing  through  ponds  and  puddles.  While  I  was  on  ahead  at 
one .  time  yesterday  morning,  Johansen  went  up  on  to  a  hum- 
mock to  look  at  the  ice,  and  remarked  a  curious  black  stripe 
over  the  horizon  ;  but  he  supposed  it  to  be  only  a  cloud,  he  said, 
and  I  thought  no  more  about  the  matter.  When,  some  while 
later,  I  also  ascended  a  hummock  to  look  at  the  ice,  I  became 
aware  of  the  same  black  stripe  ;  it  ran  obliquely  from  the  hori- 
zon up  into  what  I  supposed  to  be  a  white  bank  of  clouds.  The 
longer  I  looked  at  this  bank  and  stripe  the  more  unusual  I 
thought  them,  until  I  was  constrained  to  fetch  the  glass.  No 
sooner  had  I  fixed  it  on  the  black  part  than  it  struck  me  at  once 
that  this  must  be  land,  and  that  not  far  off.  There  was  a  large 
snow-field  out  of  which  black  rocks  projected.  It  was  not  long 
before  Johansen  had  the  glass  to  his  eye,  and  convinced  himself 
that  we  really  had  land  before  us.  We  both  of  us  naturally  be- 
came in  the  highest  spirits.  I  then  saw  a  similar  white  arching 
outline  a  little  farther  east ;  but  it  was  for  the  most  part  covered 
with  white  mist,  from  which  it  could  hardly  be  distinguished, 
anl.  moreover,  was  continually  changing  form.  It  soon,  how- 
ever, came  out  entirely,  and  was  considerably  larger  and  higher 
than  the  former,  but  there  was  not  a  black  speck  to  be  seen  on 
it.  So  this  was  what  land  looked  like,  now  that  we  had  come  to 
it !  I  had  imagined  it  in  many  forms,  with  high  peaks  and  glit- 
tering glaciers,  but  never  like  this.  There  was  nothing  kindly 
about  this,  but  it  was  indeed  no  less  welcome ;  and  on  the  whole 
we  could  not  expect  it  to  be  otherwise  than  snow-covered,  with 
all  the  snow  which  falls  here. 

"  So  then  we  pitched  the  tent  and  had  a  feast  suited  to  the 
occasion  :  lobscouse  made  of  potatoes  (for  the  last  time  but  one  ; 
we  had  saved  them  long  for  this  occasion),  pemmican,  dried 
bear's  and  seal's  flesh,  and  bear  tongues,  chopped  up  together. 
After  this  was  a  second  course,  consisting  of  bread-crumbs  fried 
in  bear's  grease,  also  vril-f  ood  and  butter,  and  a  piece  of  chocolate 
to  wind  up." 

We  thought  this  land  so  near  that  it  could  not  possibly  take 
long  to  reach  it,  certainly  not  longer  than  till  next  evening. 


LAND  AT  LAST  469 

Johansen  was  even  certain  that  we  should  do  it  the  same  day, 
but  nevertheless  thirteen  days  were  to  elapse,  occupied  in  the 
same  monotonous  drudgery  over  the  drift-ice. 

On  July  25th  I  write  :  "  When  we  stopped  in  the  fog  yester- 
day evening  we  had  a  feeling  that  we  must  have  come  well  under 
land.  This  morning,  when  we  turned  out,  the  first  thing  Johan- 
sen did  when  he  went  to  fetch  some  water  for  me  to  cook  with 
was,  of  course,  to  climb  up  on  the  nearest  hummock  and  look  at 
the  land.  There  it  lay,  considerably  nearer  than  before,  and  he 
is  quite  certain  that  we  shall  reach  it  before  night."  I  also  dis- 
covered a  new  land  to  our  west  (S.  60°  W.  magnetic)  that  day  ;  a 
regular,  shield-like,  arched  outline,  similar  to  the  other  land ;  and 
it  was  low  above  the  horizon,  and  appeared  to  be  a  long  way  off.* 

We  went  on  our  way  as  fast  as  we  could  across  lanes  and 
rough  ice,  but  did  not  get  far  in  the  day,  and  the  land  did  not 
seem  to  be  much  nearer.  In  reality  there  was  no  difference  to 
be  seen,  although  we  tried  to  imagine  that  it  was  steadily  grow- 
ing higher.  On  Saturday,  July  27th,  I  seem  to,  have  a  suspicion 
that  in  point  of  fact  we  were  drifting  away  from  land,  I  write  : 
"The  wind  began  to  blow  from  the  S.S.W.  (magnetic)  just  as  we 
were  getting  off  yesterday,  and  increased  as  the  day  went  on. 
It  was  easy  to  perceive  by  the  atmosphere  that  the  wind  was 
driving  the  ice  off  the  land,  and  land-lanes  formed  particularly 
on  the  east  side  pf  it.  When  I  was  up  on  a  hummock  yesterday 
evening  I  observed  a  black  stripe  on  the  horizon  under  land ;  I 
examined  it  with  the  glass,  and,  as  I  had  surmised,  there  was  an 
ice-edge  or  glacier  stretching  far  in  a  westerly  direction  ;  and 
there  was  plainly  a  broad  lane  in  front  of  it,  to  judge  by  the 
dark  bank  of  mist  which  lay  there.  It  seems  to  me  that  land 
cannot  be  far  off,  and  if  the  ice  is  tolerably  passable  we  may 
reach  it  to-day.  The  wind  continued  last  night,  but  it  has 
quieted  down  now,  and  there  is  sunshine  outside.  We  try  by 
every  means  in  our  power  to  get  a  comfortable  night's  rest  in 
our  new  bag  of  blankets.  We  have  tried  lying  on  the  bare  ice, 
on  the  *  ski,*  and  to-night  on  the  bare  ice  again  ;  but  it  must  be 
confessed  that  it  is  hard  and  never  will  be  very  comfortable ;  a 
little  chilly,  too,  when  one  is  wet ;  but  we  shall  appreciate  a  good 
warm  bed  all  the  more  when  we  get  it. 

*  It  proved  later  that  this  must  be  Crown  Prince  Rudolf  Land. 


470  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  Tuesday,  July  30th.  We  make  incredibly  slow  progress ; 
but  we  are  pushing  our  way  nearer  land  all  the  same,*  Every 
kind  of  hinderance  seems  to  beset  us :  now  I  am  suffering  so 
much  from  my  back  (lumbago  ?)  that  yesterday  it  was  only  by 
exerting  all  my  strength  of  will  that  I  could  drag  myself  along. 
In  difficult  places  Johansen  had  to  help  me  with  my  sledge.  It 
began  yesterday,  and  at  the  end  of  our  march  he  had  to  go  first 
and  find  the  way.  Yesterday  I  was  much  worse,  and  how  I  am 
to-day  I  do  not  know  before  I  begin  to  walk  ;  but  I  ought  to  be 
thankful  that  I  can  drag  myself  along  at  all,  though  it  is  with 
endless  pain.  We  had  to  halt  and  camp  on  account  of  rain  yes- 
terday morning  at  three,  after  only  having  gone  nine  hours. 
The  rain  succeeded  in  making  us  wet  before  we  had  found  a 
suitable  place  for  the  tent.  Here  we  have  been  a  whole  day 
while  it  has  been  pouring  down,  and  we  have  hardly  become 
drier.  There  are  puddles  under  us  and  the  bag  is  soaked  on 
the  under-side.  The  wind  has  gone  round  to  the  west  just 
now,  and  it  has  stopped  raining,  so  we  made  some  porridge  for 
breakfast  and  think  of  going  on  again  ;  but  if  it  should  begin  to 
rain  again  we  must  stop,  as  it  will  not  do  to  get  wet  through 
when  we  have  no  change  of  clothes.  It  is  anything  but  pleasant 
as  it  is  to  lie  with  wet  legs  and  feet  that  are  like  icicles,  and  not 
have  a  dry  thread  to  put  on.  Full-grown  Ross's  gulls  were  seen 
singly  four  times  to-day,  and  when  Johansen  was  out  to  fetch 
water  this  morning  he  saw  two.f 

"Wednesday,  July  31st.  The  ice  is  as  disintegrated  and  im- 
practicable as  can  well  be  conceived.  The  continual  friction  and 
packing  of  the  floes  against  each  other  grind  up  the  ice  so  that 
the  water  is  full  of  brash  and  small  pieces  ;  to  ferry  over  this  in 
the  kayaks  is  impossible,  and  the  search  is  long  before  we  event- 
ually find  a  hazardous  crossing.  Sometimes  we  have  to  form  one 
by  pushing  small  floes  together,  or  must  ferry  the  sledges  over 
on  a  little  floe.  We  spend  much  time  and  labor  on  each  single 
lane,  and  progress  becomes  slow  in  this  way.  My  back  still  pain- 
ful, Johansen  had  to  go  ahead  yesterday  also  ;  and  evening  and 
morning  he  is  obliged  to  take  off  my  boots  and  socks,  for  I  am 
unable  to  do  it  myself.     He  is  touchingly  unselfish,  and  takes 

*  In  reality  we  were  probably  farther  from  it  than  before. 

t  We  saw  more  and  more  of  these  remarkable  birds  the  farther  we  went. 


LAND  AT  LAST  47i 

care  of  me  as  if  I  were  a  child  ;  everything  he  thinks  can  ease  me 
he  does  quietly,  without  my  knowing  it.  Poor  fellow,  he  has  to 
work  doubly  hard  now,  and  does  not  know  how  this  will  end.  I 
feel  very  much  better  to-day,  however,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  shall 
soon  be  all  right. 

"  Thursday,  August  ist.  Ice  with  more  obstacles  than  here — 
is  it  to  be  found,  I  wonder  ?  But  we  are  working  slowly  on,  and, 
that  being  the  case,  we  ought,  perhaps,  to  be  satisfied.  We  have 
also  had  a  change — a  brilliantly  fine  day  ;  but  it  seems  to  me  the 
south  wind  we  have  had,  which  opened  the  lanes,  has  put  us  a 
good  way  farther  off  land  again.  We  have  also  drifted  a  long 
distance  to  the  east,  and  no  longer  see  the  most  westerly  land 
with  the  black  rocks,  which  we  remarked  at  first.  It  would  seem 
as  if  the  Ross's  gulls  keep  to  land  here  ;  we  see  them  daily. 

"  One  thing,  however,  I  am  rejoicing  over  ;  my  back  is  almost 
well,  so  that  I  shall  not  delay  our  progress  any  more.  I  have 
some  idea  now  what  it  would  be  like  if  one  of  us  became  seriously 
ill.     Our  fate  would  then  be  sealed,  I  think. 

"  Friday,  August  2d.  It  seems  as  if  everything  conspired  to 
delay  us,  and  that  we  shall  never  get  away  from  this  drift-ice. 
My  back  is  well  again  now  ;  the  ice  was  more  passable  yesterday 
than  before,  so  that  we  nearly  made  a  good  day's  march  ;  but  in 
return  wind  and  current  set  us  from  shore,  and  we  are  farther 
away  again.  Against  these  two  enemies  all  fighting  is  in  vain,  I 
am  afraid.  We  have  drifted  far  off  to  the  southeast,  have  got  the 
north  point  of  the  land  about  due  west  of  us,  and  we  are  now  in 
about  81°  36'  N.  My  only  hope  now  is  that  this  drift  eastward, 
away  from  land,  may  stop  or  alter  its  course,  and  thus  bring 
us  nearer  land.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  lanes  are  covered 
with  young  ice,  which  it  would  be  disastrous  to  put  the  kayaks 
through.  If  this  gets  worse,  things  will  look  very  bad.  Mean- 
while we  have  nothing  to  do  but  go  on  as  fast  as  we  can.  If  we 
are  going  to  drift  back  into  the  ice  again,  then — then — 

"  Saturday,  August  3d.  Inconceivable  toil.  We  never  could 
go  on  with  it  were  it  not  for  the  fact  that  we  must.  We  have 
made  wretchedly  little  progress,  even  if  we  have  made  any  at  all. 
We  have  had  no  food  for  the  dogs  the  last  few  days  except  the 
ivory  gulls  and  fulmars  we  have  been  able  to  shoot,  and  that  has 
been  a  couple  a  day.  Yesterday  the  dogs  only  had  a  little  bit  of 
blubber  each. 


472  FARTHEST  NORTH 

"  Sunday,  August  4th.  These  lanes  are  desperate  work  and 
tax  one's  strength.  We  often  have  to  go  several  hundred  yards 
on  mere  brash,  or  from  block  to  block,  dragging  the  sledges  after 
us,  and  in  constant  fear  of  their  capsizing  into  the  water.  Johan- 
sen  was  very  nearly  in  yesterday,  but,  as  always  hitherto,  he 
managed  to  save  himself.  The  dogs  fall  in  and  get  a  bath  con- 
tinually. 

"Monday,  August  5th.  We  have  never  had  worse  ice  than 
yesterday,  but  we  managed  to  force  our  way  on  a  little,  never- 
theless, and  two  happy  incidents  marked  the  day  :  the  first  was 
that  Johansen  was  not  eaten  up  by  a  bear,  and  the  second,  that 
we  saw  open  water  under  the  glacier  edge  ashore. 

"  We  set  off  about  7  o'clock  yesterday  morning  and  got  on  to 
ice  as  bad  as  it  could  be.  It  was  as  if  some  giant  had  hurled  down 
enormous  blocks  pell-mell,  and  had  strewn  wet  snow  in  between 
them  with  water  underneath  ;  and  into  this  we  sank  above  our 
knees.  There  were  also  numbers  of  deep  pools  in  between  the 
blocks.  It  was  like  toiling  over  hill  and  dale,  up  and  down  over 
block  after  block  and  ridge  after  ridge,  with  deep  clefts  in  be- 
tween ;  not  a  clear  space  big  enough  to  pitch  a  tent  on  even,  and 
thus  it  went  on  the  whole  time.  To  put  a  coping-stone  to  our 
misery,  there  was  such  a  mist  that  we  could  not  see  a  hundred 
yards  in  front  of  us.  After  an  exhausting  march  we  at  last  reached 
a  lane  where  we  had  to  ferry  over  in  the  kayaks.  After  having 
cleared  the  side  of  the  lane  from  young  ice  and  brash,  I  drew  my 
sledge  to  the  end  of  the  ice,  and  was  holding  it  to  prevent  it  slip- 
ping in,  when  I  heard  a  scuffle  behind  me,  and  Johansen,  who  had 
just  turned  round  to  pull  his  sledge  flush  with  mine,*  cried, '  Take 
the  gun  !'  I  turned  round  and  saw  an  enormous  bear  throwing 
itself  on  him,  and  Johansen  on  his  back.  I  tried  to  seize  my  gun, 
which  was  in  its  case  on  the  fore-deck,  but  at  the  same  moment 
the  kayak  slipped  into  the  water.  My  first  thought  was  to  throw 
myself  into  the  water  over  the  kayak  and  fire  from  there,  but  I 
recognized  how  risky  it  would  be.     I  began  to  pull  the  kayak, 

*  As  a  rule,  we  crossed  the  lanes  in  this  manner ;  we  placed  the 
sledges,  with  the  kayaks  on,  side  by  side,  lashed  them  together,  stif- 
fened them  by  running  the  snow-shoes  across  under  the  straps,  which 
also  steadied  them,  and  then  launched  them  as  they  were,  with  the  sledges 
lashed  underneath.  When  across,  we  had  only  to  haul  them  up  on  the 
other  side. 


LAND  AT  LAST  473 

with  its  heavy  cargo,  on  to  the  high  edge  of  the  ice  again  as 
quickly  as  I  could,  and  was  on  my  knees  pulling  and  tugging  to 
get  at  my  gun.  I  had  no  time  to  look  round  and  see  what  was 
going  on  behind  me,  when  I  heard  Johansen  quietly  say,  '  You 
must  look  sharp  if  you  want  to  be  in  time  !' 

"  Look  sharp  ?  I  should  think  so  !  At  last  I  got  hold  of  the 
butt-end,  dragged  the  gun  out,  turned  round  in  a  sitting  posture, 
and  cocked  the  shot-barrel.  The  bear  was  standing  not  two  yards 
off,  ready  to  make  an  end  to  my  dog,  '  Kaifas.'  There  was  no 
time  to  lose  in  cocking  the  other  barrel,  so  I  gave  it  a  charge  of 
shot  behind  the  ear,  and  it  fell  down  dead  between  us. 

"  The  bear  must  have  followed  our  track  like  a  cat,  and,  cov- 
ered by  the  ice-blocks,  have  slunk  up  while  we  were  clearing  the 
ice  from  the  lane  and  had  our  backs  to  him.  We  could  see  by  the 
trail  how  it  had  crept  over  a  small  ridge  just  behind  us  under 
cover  of  a  mound  by  Johansen's  kayak.  While  the  latter,  without 
suspecting  anything  or  looking  round,  went  back  and  stooped 
down  to  pick  up  the  hauling-rope,  he  suddenly  caught  sight  of  an 
animal  crouched  up  at  the  end  of  the  kayak,  but  thought  it  was 
'  Suggen';  and  before  he  had  time  to  realize  that  it  was  so  big  he 
received  a  cuff  on  the  ear  which  made  him  see  fireworks,  and 
then,  as  I  mentioned  before,  over  he  went  on  his  back.  He  tried 
to  defend  himself  as  best  he  could  with  his  fists.  With  one  hand 
he  seized  the  throat  of  the  animal,  and  held  fast,  clinching  it  with 
all  his  might.  It  was  just  as  the  bear  was  about  to  bite  Johansen 
in  the  head  that  he  uttered  the  memorable  words, '  Look  sharp !' 
The  bear  kept  glancing  at  me  continually,  speculating,  no  doubt, 
as  to  what  I  was  going  to  do ;  but  then  caught  sight  of  the  dog 
and  turned  towards  it.  Johansen  let  go  as  quick  as  thought,  and 
wriggled  himself  away,  while  the  bear  gave  *  Suggen  '  a  cuff  which 
made  him  howl  lustily,  just  as  he  does  when  we  thrash  him. 
Then  '  Kaifas '  got  a  slap  on  the  nose.  Meanwhile  Johansen  had 
struggled  to  his  legs,  and  when  I  fired  had  got  his  gun,  which 
was  sticking  out  of  the  kayak  hole.  The  only  harm  done  was 
that  the  bear  had  scraped  some  grime  off  Johansen's  right  cheek, 
so  that  he  has  a  white  stripe  on  it,  and  had  given  him  a  slight 
wound  in  one  hand ;  '  Kaifas '  had  also  got  a  scratch  on  his  nose. 

'*  Hardly  had  the  bear  fallen  before  we  saw  two  more  peeping 
over  a  hummock  a  little  way  off — cubs,  who  naturally  wanted  to 
see  the  result  of  the  maternal  chase.     They  were  two  large  cubs. 


474  FARTHEST  NORTH 

I  thought  it  was  not  worth  while  to  sacrifice  a  cartridge  on  them, 
but  Johansen  expressed  his  opinion  that  young  bear's  flesh  was 
much  more  delicate  in  flavor  than  old.  He  would  only  shoot  one, 
he  said,  and  started  off.  However,  the  cubs  took  to  their  heels, 
although  they  came  back  a  little  while  later,  and  we  could  hear 
them  at  a  long  distance  growling  after  their  mother. 

"  Johansen  sent  one  of  them  a  ball,  but  the  range  was  too 
long,  and  he  only  wounded  it.  With  some  terrific  growls  it  started 
off  again,  and  Johansen  after  it ;  but  he  gave  up  the  chase  soon, 
as  he  saw  it  promised  to  be  a  long  one.  While  we  were  cutting 
up  the  she-bear  the  cubs  came  back  on  the  other  side  of  the  lane, 
and  the  whole  time  we  were  there  we  had  them  walking  round 
us.  When  we  had  fed  the  dogs  well,  and  had  eaten  some  of  the 
raw  meat  ourselves,  and  had  furthermore  stowed  away  in  the 
kayaks  the  meat  we  had  cut  off  the  legs,  we  at  last  ferried  over 
the  lane  and  went  on  our  way. 

"  The  ice  was  not  good  ;  and,  to  make  bad  worse,  we  immedi- 
ately came  on  some  terrible  lanes,  full  of  nothing  but  tightly 
packed  lumps  of  ice.  In  some  places  there  were  whole  seas  of 
it,  and  it  was  enough  to  make  one  despair.  Among  all  this 
loose  ice  we  came  on  an  unusually  thick  old  floe,  with  high 
mounds  on  it  and  pools  in  between.  It  was  from  one  of  these 
mounds  that  I  observed  through  the  glass  the  open  water  at  the 
foot  of  the  glacier,  and  now  we  cannot  have  far  to  go.  But  the 
ice  looks  very  bad  on  ahead,  and  each  piece  when  it  is  like  this 
may  take  a  long  time  to  travel  over. 

"  As  we  went  along  we  heard  the  wounded  bear  lowing  cease- 
lessly behind  us ;  it  filled  the  whole  of  this  silent  world  of  ice 
with  its  bitter  plaint  over  the  cruelty  of  man.  It  was  miserable 
to  hear  it ;  and  if  we  had  had  time  we  should  undoubtedly  have 
gone  back  and  sacrificed  a  cartridge  on  it.  We  saw  the  cubs  go 
off  to  the  place  where  the  mother  was  lying,  and  thought  to  our- 
selves that  we  had  got  rid  of  them,  but  heard  them  soon  after- 
wards, and  even  when  we  had  camped  they  were  not  far  off. 

"  Wednesday,  August  7th.  At  last  we  are  under  land  ;  at 
last  the  drift-ice  lies  behind  us,  and  before  us  is  open  water — 
open,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  to  the  end.  Yesterday  was  the  day. 
When  we  came  out  of  the  tent  the  evening  of  the  day  before 
yesterday  we  both  thought  we  must  be  nearer  the  edge  of  the 
glacier  than  ever,  and  with  fresh  courage,  and  in  the  faint  hope 


vt-i. 


YOU   MUST  LOOK   SHARP  1 


SAILING  ALONG  THE  COAST' 


LAND  AT  LAST  475 

of  reaching  land  that  day,  we  started  on  our  journey.  Yet  we 
dared  not  think  our  life  on  the  drift-ice  was  so  nearly  at  an  end. 
After  wandering  about  on  it  for  five  months  and  suffering  so 
many  disappointments,  we  were  only  too  well  prepared  for  a  new 
defeat.  We  thought,  however,  that  the  ice  looked  more  prom- 
ising farther  on,  though  before  we  had  gone  far  we  came  to 
broad  lanes  full  of  slush  and  foul,  uneven  ice,  with  hills  and 
dales,  and  deep  snow  and  water,  into  which  we  sank  up  to  our 
thighs.  After  a  couple  of  lanes  of  this  kind,  matters  improved  a 
little,  and  we  got  on  to  some  flat  ice.  After  having  gone  over 
this  for  a  while,  it  became  apparent  how  much  nearer  we  were 
to  the  edge  of  the  glacier.  It  could  not  possibly  be  far  off  now. 
We  eagerly  harnessed  ourselves  to  the  sledges  again,  put  on  a 
spurt,  and  away  we  went  through  snow  and  water,  over  mounds 
and  ridges.  We  went  as  hard  as  we  could,  and  what  did  we  care 
if  we  sank  into  water  till  far  above  our  fur  leggings,  so  that 
both  they  and  our  '  komager '  filled  and  gurgled  like  a  pump  ? 
What  did  it  matter  to  us  now,  so  long  as  we  got  on  ? 

"We  soon  reached  plains,  and  over  them  we  went  quicker 
and  quicker.  We  waded  through  ponds  where  the  spray  flew  up 
on  all  sides.  Nearer  and  nearer  we  came,  and  by  the  dark  water- 
sky  before  us,  which  continually  rose  higher,  we  could  see  how 
we  were  drawing  near  to  open  water.  We  did  not  even  notice 
bears  now.  There  seemed  to  be  plenty  about,  tracks,  both  old  and 
new,  crossing  and  recrossing ;  one  had  even  inspected  the  tent 
while  we  were  asleep,  and  by  the  fresh  trail  we  could  see  how  it 
had  come  down  wind  in  lee  of  us.  We  had  no  use  for  a  bear 
now  ;  we  had  food  enough.  We  were  soon  able  to  see  the  open 
water  under  the  wall  of  the  glacier,  and  our  steps  lengthened 
even  more.  As  I  was  striding  along  I  thought  of  the  march  of 
the  Ten  Thousand  through  Asia,  when  Xenophon's  soldiers,  after 
a  year's  war  against  superior  forces,  at  last  saw  the  sea  from 
a  mountain  and  cried,  '  Thalatta  !  thalatta  !'  Maybe  this  sea 
was  just  as  welcome  to  us  after  our  months  in  the  endless  white 
drift-ice. 

"  At  last,  at  last,  I  stood  by  the  edge  of  the  ice.  Before  me 
lay  the  dark  surface  of  the  sea,  with  floating  white  floes ;  far 
away  the  glacier  wall  rose  abruptly  from  the  water  ;  over  the 
whole  lay  a  sombre,  foggy  light.  Joy  welled  up  in  our  hearts  at 
this  sight,  and  we  could  not  give  it  expression  in  words.     Behind 


476  FARTHEST  NORTH 

us  lay  all  our  troubles,  before  us  the  water-way  home.  I  waved 
my  hat  to  Johansen,  who  was  a  little  way  behind,  and  he  waved 
his  in  answer  and  shouted  '  Hurrah  !'  Such  an  event  had  to 
be  celebrated  in  some  way,  and  we  did  it  by  having  a  piece  of 
chocolate  each. 

"  While  we  were  standing  there  looking  at  the  water  the  large 
head  of  a  seal  came  up,  and  then  disappeared  silently  ;  but  soon 
more  appeared.  It  is  very  reassuring  to  know  that  we  can  pro- 
cure food  at  any  minute  we  like. 

"Now  came  the  rigging  of  the  kayaks  for  the  voyage.  Of 
course,  the  better  way  would  have  been  to  paddle  singly,  but, 
with  the  long,  big  sledges  on  the  deck,  this  was  not  easy,  and 
leave  them  behind  I  dared  not ;  we  might  have  good  use  for 
them  yet.  For  the  time  being,  therefore,  there  was  nothing  else 
to  be  done  but  to  lash  the  two  kayaks  together  side  by  side  in 
our  usual  manner,  stiffen  them  out  with  snow-shoes  under  the 
straps,  and  place  the  sledges  athwart  them,  one  before  and  one 
behind. 

*'  It  was  sad  to  think  we  could  not  take  our  two  last  dogs  with 
us,  but  we  should  probably  have  no  further  use  for  them,  and  it 
would  not  have  done  to  take  them  with  us  on  the  decks  of  our 
kayaks.  We  were  sorry  to  part  with  them  ;  we  had  become  very 
fond  of  these  two  survivors.  Faithful  and  enduring,  they  had  fol- 
lowed us  the  whole  journey  through  ;  and  now  that  better  times 
had  come,  they  must  say  farewell  to  life.  Destroy  them  in  the 
same  way  as  the  others  we  could  not ;  we  sacrificed  a  cartridge 
on  each  of  them.     I  shot  Johansen's,  and  he  shot  mine. 

"  So  then  we  were  ready  to  set  off.  It  was  a  real  pleasure  to 
let  the  kayaks  dance  over  the  water  and  hear  the  little  waves 
plashing  against  the  sides.  For  two  years  we  had  not  seen  such 
a  surface  of  water  before  us.  We  had  not  gone  far  before  we 
found  that  the  wind  was  so  good  that  we  ought  to  make  use  of 
it,  and  so  we  rigged  up  a  sail  on  our  fleet.  We  glided  easily  be- 
fore the  wind  in  towards  the  land  we  had  so  longed  for  all  these 
many  months.  What  a  change,  after  having  forced  one's  way 
inch  by  inch  and  foot  by  foot  on  ice  !  The  mist  had  hidden  the 
land  from  us  for  a  while,  but  now  it  parted,  and  we  saw  the 
glacier  rising  straight  in  front  of  us.  At  the  same  moment 
the  sun  burst  forth,  and  a  more  beautiful  morning  I  can  hardly 
remember.     We  were  soon  underneath  the  glacier,  and  had  to 


LAND  AT  LAST  a,77 

lower  our  sail  and  paddle  westward  along  the  wall  of  ice,  which 
was  from  50  to  60  feet  in  height,  and  on  which  a  landing  was 
impossible.  It  seemed  as  if  there  must  be  little  movement  in 
this  glacier ;  the  water  had  eaten  its  way  deep  underneath  it 
at  the  foot,  and  there  was  no  noise  of  falling  fragments  or  the 
cracking  of  crevasses  to  be  heard,  as  there  generally  is  with 
large  glaciers.  It  was  also  quite  even  on  the  top,  and  no  cre> 
vasses  were  to  be  seen.  Up  the  entire  height  of  the  wall  there 
was  stratification,  which  was  unusually  marked.  We  soon  dis- 
covered that  a  tidal  current  was  running  westward  along  the 
wall  of  the  glacier  with  great  rapidity,  and  took  advantage  of  it 
to  make  good  progress.  To  find  a  camping-ground,  however,  was 
not  easy,  and  at  last  we  were  reduced  to  taking  up  our  abode  on 
a  drifting  floe.  It  was  glorious,  though,  to  go  to  rest  in  the  cer- 
tainty that  we  should  not  wake  to  drudgery  in  the  drift-ice. 

"When  we  turned  out  to-day  we  found  that  the  ice  had  packed 
around  us,  and  I  do  not  know  yet  how  we  shall  get  out  of  it, 
though  there  is  open  water  not  far  off  to  our  west. 

"  Thursday,  August  8th.  After  hauling  our  impedimenta  over 
some  floes  we  got  into  open  water  yesterday  without  much  diffi- 
culty. When  we  had  reached  the  edge  of  the  water  we  made  a 
paddle  each  from  our  snow-shoe-staffs,  to  which  we  bound  blades 
made  of  broken-off  snow-shoes.  They  were  a  great  improvement 
on  the  somewhat  clumsy  paddles,  with  canvas  blades  lashed  to 
bamboo  sticks.  I  was  very  much  inclined  to  chop  off  our  sledges, 
so  that  they  would  only  be  half  as  long  as  before ;  by  so  doing 
we  could  carry  them  on  the  after-deck  of  the  kayaks,  and  could 
thus  each  paddle  alone,  and  our  advance  would  be  much  quicker 
than  by  paddling  the  twin  kayaks.  However,  I  thought,  perhaps, 
it  was  unadvisable.  The  water  looked  promising  enough  on 
ahead,  but  there  was  mist,  and  we  could  not  see  far ;  we  knew 
nothing  of  the  country  or  the  coast  we  had  come  to,  and  might 
yet  have  good  use  fdr  the  sledges.  We  therefore  set  off  in  our 
double  kayak,  as  before,  with  the  sledges  athwart  the  deck  fore 
and  aft. 

"  The  mist  soon  rose  a  little.  It  was  then  a  dead  calm  ;  the 
surface  of  the  water  lay  like  a  great  mirror  before  us,  with  bits 
of  ice  and  an  occasional  floe  drifting  on  it.  It  was  a  marvellously 
beautiful  sight,  and  it  was  indeed  glorious  to  sit  there  in  our 
light  vessels  and  glide  over  the  surface  without   any  exertion. 


478  FARTHEST  NORTH 

Suddenly  a  seal  rose  in  front  of  us,  and  over  us  flew  continually 
ivory  gulls  and  fulmars  and  kittiwakes.  Little  auks  we  also  saw, 
and  some  Ross's  gulls,  and  a  couple  of  terns.  There  was  no  want 
of  animal  life  here,  nor  of  food  when  we  should  require  it. 

"  We  found  open  water,  broader  and  broader,  as  we  paddled 
on  our  way  beside  the  wall  of  ice;  but  it  would  not  clear  so  that 
we  could  see  something  of  our  surroundings.  The  mist  still  hung 
obstinately  over  it. 

"  Our  course  at  first  lay  west  to  north  (magnetic) ;  but  the 
land  always  trended  more  and  more  to  the  west  and  southwest ; 
the  expanse  of  water  grew  greater,  and  soon  it  widened  out  to. 
a  large  sea,  stretching  in  a  southwesterly  direction.  A  breeze 
sprang  up  from  the  north-northeast,  and  there  was  considerable 
motion,  which  was  not  pleasant,  as  in  our  double  craft  the  seas 
continually  washed  up  between  the  two  and  wetted  us.  We  put 
in  towards  evening  and  pitched  the  tent  on  the  shore -ice,  and 
just  as  we  did  so  it  began  to  rain,  so  that  it  was  high  time  to  be 
under  a  roof. 

"  Friday,  August  9th.  Yesterday  morning  we  had  again  to 
drag  the  sledges  with  the  kayaks  over  some  ice  which  had  drifted 
in  front  of  our  camping-ground,  and  during  this  operation  I 
managed  to  fall  into  the  water  and  get  wet.  It  was  with  diffi- 
culty we  finally  got  through  ^nd  out  into  open  water.  After  a 
while  we  again  found  our  way  closed,  and  were  obliged  to  take 
to  hauling  over  some  floes,  but  after  this  we  had  good  open 
water  the  whole  day.  It  was  a  northeasterly  wind  which  had  set 
the  ice  towards  the  land,  and  it  was  lucky  we  had  got  so  far,  as 
behind  us,  to  judge  by  the  atmosphere,  the  sea  was  much  blocked. 
The  mist  hung  over  the  land  so  that  we  saw  little  of  it.  Accord- 
ing as  we  advanced  we  were  able  to  hold  a  more  southerly  course, 
and,  the  wind  being  nearly  on  the  quarter,  we  set  sail  about  i 
o'clock,  and  continued  sailing  all  day  till  we  stopped  yesterday 
evening.  Our  sail,  however,  was  interrupted  once  when  it  was 
necessary  to  paddle  round  an  ice -point  north  of  where  we  are 
now  ;  the  contrary  current  was  so  strong  that  it  was  as  much  as 
we  could  do  to  make  way  against  it,  and  it  was  only  after  con- 
siderable exertion  that  we  succeeded  in  doubling  the  point.  We 
have  seen  little  of  the  land  we  are  skirting  up  to  this,  on  account 
of  the  mist  ;  but  as  far  as  I  can  make  out  it  consists  of  islands. 
First  there  was  a  large  island  covered  with  an  ice -sheet  •  then 


LAND  AT  LAST  479 

west  of  it  a  smaller  one,  on  which  are  the  two  crags  of  rock  which 
first  made  us  aware  of  the  vicinity  of  land  ;  next  came  a  long 
fjord  or  sound,  with  massive  shore  -  ice  in  it ;  and  then  a  small, 
low  headland,  or  rather  an  island,  south  of  which  we  are  now  en- 
camped. This  shore-ice  lying  along  the  land  is  very  remarkable. 
It  is  unusually  massive  and  uneven  ;  it  seems  to  be  composed  of 
huge  blocks  welded  together,  which  in  a  great  measure,  at  any 
rate,  must  proceed  from  the  ice-sheet.  There  has  also,  perhaps, 
been  violent  pressure  against  the  land,  which  has  heaved  the  sea- 
ice  up  together  with  pieces  of  ice  from  the  calving  of  the  glacier, 
and  the  whole  has  frozen  together  into  a  conglomerate  mass.  A 
medium -sized  iceberg  lay  off  the  headland  north  of  us,  where 
the  current  was  so  strong.  Where  we  are  now  lying,  however, 
there  is  flat  fjord -ice  between  the  low  island  here  and  a  larger 
one  farther  south. 

"  This  land  grows  more  of  a  problem,  and  I  am  more  than 
ever  at  a  loss  to  know  where  we  are.  It  is  very  remarkable  to 
me  that  the  coast  continually  trends  to  the  south  instead  of  to 
the  west.  I  could  explain  it  all  best  by  supposing  ourselves  to 
be  on  the  west  coast  of  the  archipelago  of  Franz  Josef  Land, 
were  it  not  that  the  variation,  I  think,  is  too  great,  and  also  for 
the  number  of  Ross's  gulls  there  still  are.  Not  one  has  with  cer- 
tainty been  seen  in  Spitzbergen,  and  if  my  supposition  is  right 
this  should  not  be  far  off.  Yesterday  we  saw  a  number  of  them 
again;  they  are  quite  as  common  here  as  the  other  species  of  gull. 

"Saturday,  August  loth.  We  went  up  on  to  the  little  islet 
we  had  camped  by.  It  was  covered  by  a  glacier,  which  curved 
over  it  in  the  shape  of  a  shield ;  there  were  slopes  to  all  sides ; 
but  so  slight  was  the  gradient  that  our  snow  -  shoes  would  not 
even  run  of  themselves  on  the  crust  of  snow.  From  the  ridge 
we  had  a  fair  view,  and,  as  the  mist  lifted  just  then,  we  saw  the 
land  about  us  tolerably  well.  We  now  perceived  plainly  that 
what  we  had  been  skirting  along  was  only  islands.  The  first  one 
was  the  biggest.  The  other  land,  with  the  two  rocky  crags,  had, 
as  we  could  see,  a  strip  of  bare  land  along  the  shore  on  the  north- 
west side.  Was  it  there,  perhaps,  the  Ross's  gulls  congregated 
and  had  their  breeding-grounds?  The  island  to  our  south  also 
looked  large ;  it  appeared  to  be  entirely  covered  by  a  glacier.* 

*  The  first  island  I  called  "  Eva's  Island."  the  second  •'  Liv's  Island," 


48o  FARTHEST  NORTH 

Between  the  islands,  and  as  far  as  we  could  perceive  southeast 
and  east,  the  sea  was  covered  by  perfectly  flat  fjord-ice,  but  no 
land  was  to  be  discerned  in  that  direction.  There  were  no  ice- 
bergs here,  though  we  saw  some  later  in  the  day  on  the  south 
side  of  the  island  lying  to  the  south  of  us. 

"The  glacier  covering  the  little  island  on  which  we  stood 
joined  the  fjord  -  ice  almost  imperceptibly  ;  only  a  few  small 
fissures  along  the  shore  indicated  where  it  probably  began. 
There  could  not  be  any  great  rise  and  fall  in  the  ice  here,  con- 
sequent on  the  tide,  as  the  fissures  would  then,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  have  been  considerably  larger.  This  seemed  remarkable, 
as  the  tidal  current  ran  swift  as  a  river  here.  On  the  west  side 
of  the  island  there  lay  in  front  of  the  glacier  a  rampart  of  ice 
and  snow,  which  was  probably  formed  of  pieces  of  glacier-ice  and 
sea-ice  welded  together.  It  had  the  same  character  as  the  mas- 
sive shore-ice  which  we  had  seen  previously  running  along  the 
land.  This  rampart  went  over  imperceptibly  with  an  even  slope 
into  the  glacier  within  it. 

"  About  three  in  the  afternoon  we  finally  set  off  in  open  water 
and  sailed  till  eight  or  so  in  the  evening ;  the  water  was  then 
closed,  and  we  were  compelled  to  haul  the  fleet  over  flat  ice  to 
open  water  on  the  other  side.  But  here,  too,  our  progress  seemed 
blocked,  and  as  the  current  was  against  us  we  pitched  the  tent." 

On  August  loth  we  were  "compelled  partly  to  haul  our  sledges 
over  the  ice,  partly  to  row  in  open  water  in  a  southwesterly  di- 
rection. When  we  reached  navigable  waters  again  we  passed  a 
flock  of  walruses  lying  on  a  floe.  It  was  a  pleasure  to  see  so 
much  food  collected  at  one  spot,  but  we  did  not  take  any  notice 
of  them,  as,  for  the  time  being,  we  have  meat  and  blubber  enough. 
After  dinner  we  managed,  in  the  mist,  to  wander  down  a  long 
bay  into  the  shore  -  ice,  where  there  was  no  outlet ;  we  had  to 
turn  back,  and  this  delayed  us  considerably.  We  now  kept  a 
more  westerly  course,  following  the  often  massive  and  uneven 
edge  of  the  ice ;  but  the  current  was  dead  against  us,  and,  in  ad- 
dition, young  ice  had  been  forming  all  day  as  we  rowed  along ; 

and  the  little  one  we  were  then  on  *' Adelaide's  Island."  The  fourth 
island  south  of  us  had,  perhaps,  already  been  seen  by  Payer,  and  named 
by  him  "  Freeden  Island."  The  whole  group  of  islands  I  named  "  Hvidt- 
enland  "  (White  Land). 


LAND  AT  LAST  481 

the  weather  had  been  cold  and  still,  with  falling  snow,  and  this 
began  to  be  so  thick  that  we  could  not  make  way  against  it  any 
longer.  We  therefore  went  ashore  on  the  ice,  and  hauled  until 
ten  in  the  evening. 

"  Bear-tracks,  old  and  new,  in  all  directions — both  the  single 
ones  of  old  bachelors  and  those  of  she-bears  with  cubs.  It  looks 
as  if  they  had  had  a  general  rendezvous,  or  as  if  a  flock  of  them 
had  roamed  backward  and  forward.  I  have  never  seen  so  many 
bear-tracks  in  one  place  in  my  life. 

"We  have  certainly  done  14  or  25  miles  to-day;  but  still  I 
think  our  progress  is  too  slow  if  we  are  to  reach  Spitzbergen  this 
year,  and  I  am  always  wondering  if  we  ought  not  to  cut  the  ends 
off  our  sledges,  so  that  each  can  paddle  his  own  kayak.  This 
young  ice,  however,  which  grows  steadily  worse,  and  the  eleven 
degrees  below  freezing  we  now  have,  make  me  hold  my  hand. 
Perhaps  winter  is  upon  us,  and  then  the  sledges  may  be  very 
necessary. 

"  It  is  a  curious  sensation  to  paddle  in  the  mist,  as  we  are 
doing,  without  being  able  to  see  a  mile  in  front  of  us.  The 
land  we  found  we  have  left  behind  us.  We  are  always  in 
hopes  of  clear  weather,  in  order  to  see  where  the  land  lies  in 
front  of  us  —  for  land  there  must  be.  This  flat,  unbroken  ice 
must  be  attached  to  land  of  some  kind ;  but  clear  weather  we 
are  not  to  have,  it  appears.  Mist  without  ceasing ;  we  must  push 
on  as  it  is." 

After  having  hauled  some  distance  farther  over  the  ice  we 
came  to  open  water  again  the  following  day  (August  nth)  and 
paddled  for  four  or  five  hours.  While  I  was  on  a  hummock  in- 
specting the  waters  ahead,  a  huge  monster  of  a  walrus  came  up 
quite  near  us.  It  lay  puffing  and  glaring  at  us  on  the  surface  of 
the  water,  but  we  took  no  notice  of  it,  got  into  our  kayaks,  and 
went  on.  Suddenly  it  came  up  again  by  the  side  of  us,  raised  it- 
self high  out  of  the  water,  snorted  so  that  the  air  shook,  and 
threatened  to  thrust  its  tusks  into  our  frail  craft.  We  seized 
our  guns,  but  at  the  same  moment  if  disappeared,  and  came  up 
immediately  afterwards  on  the  other  side,  by  Johansen's  kayak, 
where  it  repeated  the  same  manoeuvre.  I  said  to  him  that  if  the 
animal  showed  signs  of  attacking  us  we  must  spend  a  cartridge 
on  it.  It  came  up  several  times  and  disappeared  again  ;  we  could 
see  it  down  in  the  water,  passing  rapidly  on  its  side  under  our 

3T 


482  FARTHEST  NORTH 

vessels,  and,  afraid  lest  it  should  make  a  hole  in  the  bottom 
with  its  tusks,  we  thrust  our  paddles  down  into  the  water  and 
frightened  it  away;  but  suddenly  it  came  up  again  right  by 
Johansen's  kayak,  and  more  savage  than  ever.  He  sent  it  a 
charge  straight  in  the  eyes,  it  uttered  a  terrific  bellow,  rolled 
over,  and  disappeared,  leaving  a  trail  of  blood  on  the  water  be- 
hind it.  We  paddled  on  as  hard  as  we  could,  knowing  that  the 
shot  might  have  dangerous  consequences,  but  we  were  relieved 
when  we  heard  the  walrus  come  up  far  behind  us  at  the  place 
where  it  had  disappeared. 

We  had  paddled  quietly  on,  and  had  long  forgotten  all  about 
the  walrus,  when  I  suddenly  saw  Johansen  jump  into  the  air  and 
felt  his  kayak  receive  a  violent  shock.  I  had  no  idea  what  it  was, 
and  looked  round  to  see  if  some  block  of  floating  ice  had  cap- 
sized and  struck  the  bottom  of  his  kayak  ;  but  suddenly  I  saw 
another  walrus  rise  up  in  the  water  beside  us.  I  seized  my  gun, 
and  as  the  animal  would  not  turn  its  head  so  that  I  could  aim  at 
a  spot  behind  the  ear,  where  it  is  more  easily  wounded,  I  was 
constrained  to  put  a  ball  in  the  middle  of  its  forehead  ;  there  was 
no  time  to  be  lost.  Happily  this  was  enough,  and  it  lay  there 
dead  and  floating  on  the  water.  With  great  difficulty  we  man- 
aged to  make  a  hole  in  the  thick  skin,  and  after  cutting  ourselves 
some  strips  of  blubber  and  meat  from  the  back  we  went  on  our 
way  again. 

At  seven  in  the  evening  the  tidal  current  turned  and  the  chan- 
nel closed.  There  was  no  more  water  to  be  found.  Instead  of 
taking  to  hauling  over  the  ice,  we  determined  to  wait  for  the 
opening  of  the  channel  when  the  tide  should  turn  next  day,  and 
meanwhile  to  cut  off  the  ends  of  our  sledges,  as  I  had  so  long 
been  thinking  of  doing,  and  make  ourselves  some  good  double 
paddles,  so  that  we  could  put  on  greater  pace,  and,  in  our  single 
kayaks,  make  the  most  of  the  channel  during  the  time  it  was 
open.  While  we  were  occupied  in  doing  this  the  mist  cleared  off 
at  last,  and  there  lay  land  stretched  out  in  front  of  us,  extending 
a  long  way  south  and  west  from  S.E.  right  up  to  N.N.W.  It  ap- 
peared to  be  a  chain  of  islands  with  sounds  between  them.  They 
were  chiefly  covered  with  glaciers,  only  here  and  there  were  per- 
pendicular black  mountain-walls  to  be  seen.  It  was  a  sight  to 
make  one  rejoice  to  see  so  much  land  at  one  time.  But  where 
were  we  ?    This  seemed  a  more  difficult  question  to  answer  than 


LAND  AT  LAST  483 

ever.  Could  we,  after  all,  have  arrived  at  the  east  side  of  Franz 
Josef  Land  ?  It  seemed  very  reasonable  to  suppose  this  to  be  the 
case.  But  then  we  must  be  very  far  east,  and  must  expect  a  long 
voyage  before  we  could  reach  Cape  Fligely,  on  Crown  Prince  Ru- 
dolf Land.  Meanwhile  we  worked  hard  to  get  the  sledges  ready; 
but  as  the  mist  gradually  lifted  and  it  became  clearer  and  clearer, 
we  could  not  help  continually  leaving  them,  to  climb  up  on  to 
the  hummock  beside  us  to  look  at  the  country  and  speculate  on 
this  insoluble  problem.  We  did  not  get  to  bed  till  seven  in  the 
morning  of  August  12th. 

"Tuesday,  August  13th.  After  having  slept  a  few  hours,  we 
turned  out  of  the  bag  again,  for  the  current  had  turned,  and  there 
was  a  wide  channel.  In  our  single  kayaks  we  made  good  head- 
way, but  after  going  about  five  miles  the  channel  closed,  and  we 
had  to  clamber  on  to  the  ice.  We  thought  it  advisable  to  wait 
until  the  tidal  current  turned,  and  see  if  there  were  not  a  channel 
running  farther.  If  not,  we  must  lash  proper  grips  of  wood  to 
our  curtailed  sledges,  and  commence  hauling  towards  a  sound 
running  through  the  land,  which  I  see  about  W.N.W.  (true),, 
and  which,  according  to  Payer's  chart,  I  take  to  be  Rawlinson's 
Sound." 

But  the  crack  did  not  open,  and  when  it  came  to  the  point  we 
had  to  continue  on  our  way  hauling. 

"Wednesday,  August  14th.  We  dragged  our  sledges  and  loads- 
over  a  number  of  floes  and  ferried  across  lanes,  arriving  finally 
at  a  lane  which  ran  westward,  in  which  we  could  paddle  ;  but  it 
soon  packed  together  again,  and  we  were  stopped.  The  ivory 
gulls  are  very  bold,  and  last  night  stole  a  piece  of  blubber  lying 
close  by  the  tent  wall." 

The  following  day  we  had  to  make  our  way  as  well  as  we 
could  by  paddling  short  distances  in  the  lanes  or  hauling  our 
loads  over  floes  smaller  or  larger,  as  the  case  might  be.  The 
current,  which  was  running  like  a  mill-race,  ground  them  to- 
gether in  its  career.  Our  progress  with  our  short,  stumpy  sledges 
was  nothing  very  great,  and  of  water  suitable  for  paddling  in  we 
found  less  and  less.  We  stopped  several  times  and  waited  for  the 
ice  to  open  at  the  turn  of  the  tide,  but  it  did  not  do  so,  and  on 
the  morning  of  August  15th  we  gave  it  up,  turned  inward,  and 
took  to  the  shore -ice  for  good.  We  set  our  course  westward 
towards  the  sound  we  had  seen  for  several  days  now,  and  had 


484  FARTHEST  NORTH 

struggled  so  to  reach.  The  surface  of  the  ice  was  tolerably  even, 
and  we  got  over  the  ground  well.  On  the  way  we  passed  a  frozen- 
in  iceberg,  which  was  the  highest  we  saw  in  these  parts  —  some 
50  to  60  feet,  I  should  say.*  I  wished  to  go  up  it  to  get  a  better 
view  of  our  environment,  but  it  was  too  steep,  and  we  did  not  get 
higher  than  a  third  part  up  the  side. 

"In  the  evening  we  at  last  reached  the  islands  we  had  been 
steering  for  during  the  last  few  days,  and  for  the  first  time  for 
two  years  had  bare  land  underfoot.  The  delight  of  the  feeling 
of  being  able  to  jump  from  block  to  block  of  granitef  is  indescrib- 
able, and  the  delight  was  not  lessened  when  in  a  little  sheltered 
corner  among  the  stones  we  found  moss  and  flowers,  beautiful 
poppies  {Papaver  nudicaule)^  Saxifraga  nivalis^  and  a  Stcllaria 
\sp.  f).  It  goes  without  saying  that  the  Norwegian  flag  had  to 
wave  over  this  our  first  bare  land,  and  a  banquet  was  prepared. 
Our  petroleum,  meanwhile,  had  given  out  several  days  previously, 
and  we  had  to  contrive  another  lamp  in  which  train-oil  could  be 
used.  The  smoking  hot  lobscouse,  made  of  pemmican  and  the 
last  of  our  potatoes,  was  delicious,  and  we  sat  inside  the  tent  and 
kicked  the  bare  grit  under  us  to  our  heart's  content. 

"  Where  we  are  is  becoming  more  and  more  incomprehensible. 
There  appears  to  be  a  broad  sound  west  of  us,  but  what  is  it  ? 
The  island]:  we  are  now  on,  and  where  we  have  slept  splendidly 
(this  is  written  on  the  morning  of  August  i6th)  on  dry  land, 
with  no  melting  of  the  ice  in  puddles  underneath  us,  is  a  long 
moraine-like  ridge  running  about  north  and  south  (magnetic), 
and  consists  almost  exclusively  of  small  and  large — generally 
very  large — blocks  of  stone,  with,  I  should  say,  occasional  sta- 
tionary crags.  The  blocks  are  in  a  measure  rounded  off,  but  I 
have  found  no  striation  on  them.  The  whole  island  barely  rises 
above  the  snow-field  in  which  it  lies,  and  which  slopes  in  a  grad- 

*  Icebergs  of  considerable  size  have  been  described  as  having  been  seen 
off  Franz  Josef  Land,  but  I  can  only  say  with  reference  to  this  that  during  the 
whole  of  our  voyage  through  this  archipelago  we  saw  nothing  of  the  kind. 
The  one  mentioned  here  was  the  biggest  of  all  those  we  came  across;  and 
they  were,  compared  with  the  Greenland  icebergs,  quite  insignificant  masses 
of  glacier-ice. 

t  I  have  called  it  granite  in  my  diary,  but  it  was  in  reality  a  very  coarse- 
grained basalt.    The  specimens  I  took  have  unfortunately  been  lost. 

t  "  Houen's  Island." 


LAND  AT  LAST  485 

ual  decline  down  to  the  surrounding  ice.  On  our  west  there 
is  a  bare  island,  somewhat  higher,  which  we  have  seen  for 
several  days.  Along  the  shore  there  is  a  decided  strand-line 
(terrace).  North  of  us  are  two  small  islets  and  a  small  rock  or 
skerry. 

"As  I  mentioned  before  (August  13th),  I  had  at  first  supposed 
the  sound  on  our  west  to  be  Rawlinson's  Sound,  but  this  now 
appeared  impossible,  as  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  of  Dove 
Glacier,  by  which  it  is  bounded  on  one  side.  If  this  was  now  our 
position,  we  must  have  traversed  the  glacier  and  Wilczek  Land 
without  noticing  any  trace  of  either  ;  for  we  had  travelled  west- 
ward a  good  half-degree  south  of  Cape  Buda-Pesth.  The  possi- 
bility that  we  could  be  in  this  region  we  consequently  now  held 
to  be  finally  excluded.  We  must  have  come  to  a  new  land  in  the 
western  part  of  Franz  Josef  Land  or  Archipelago,  and  so  far 
west  that  we  had  seen  nothing  of  the  countries  discovered  by 
Payer.  But  so  far  west  that  we  had  not  even  seen  anything  of 
Oscar's  Land,  which  ought  to  be  situated  in  82°  N.  and  52°  E.  ? 
This  was  indeed  incomprehensible  ;  but  was  there  any  other  ex- 
planation ? 

"Saturday,  August  17th.  Yesterday  was  a  good  day.  We 
are  in  open  water  on  the  west  coast  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  as  far 
as  I  can  make  out,  and  may  again  hope  to  get  home  this  year. 
About  noon  yesterday  we  walked  across  the  ice  from  our  mo- 
raine-islet to  the  higher  island  west  of  us.  As  I  was  ready  before 
Johansen,  I  went  on  first  to  examine  the  island  a  little.  As  he 
was  following  me  he  caught  sight  of  a  bear  on  the  level  ice  to 
leeward.  It  came  jogging  up  against  the  wind  straight  towards 
him.  He  had  his  gun  ready,  but  when  a  little  nearer  the  bear 
stopped,  reconsidered  the  situation,  suddenly  turned  tail,  and  was 
soon  out  of  sight. 

"  This  island*  we  came  to  seemed  to  me  to  be  one  of  the  most 
lovely  spots  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  A  beautiful  flat  beach,  an 
old  strand-line  with  shells  strewn  about,  a  narrow  belt  of  clear 
water  along  the  shore,  where  snails  and  sea-urchins  {Echinus) 
were  visible  at  the  bottom  and  amphipoda  were  swimming  about. 
In  the  cliffs  overhead  were  hundreds  of  screaming  little  auks, 
and  beside  us  the  snow-buntings  fluttered  from  stone  to  stone 

*  "  Torup's  Island." 


486  FARTHEST  NORTH 

with  their  cheerful  twitter.  Suddenly  the  sun  burst  forth 
through  the  light,  fleecy  clouds,  and  the  day  seemed  to  be  all 
sunshine.  Here  were  life  and  bare  land  ;  we  were  no  longer 
on  the  eternal  drift-ice  !  At  the  bottom  of  the  sea  just  beyond 
the  beach  I  could  see  whole  forests  of  sea-weed  {Laminaria  and 
Fucus).  Under  the  cliffs  here  and  there  were  drifts  of  beautiful 
rose-colored  snow.* 

"  On  the  north  side  of  the  island  we  found  the  breeding-place 
of  numbers  of  black-backed  gulls  ;  they  were  sitting  with  their 
young  in  ledges  of  the  cliffs.  Of  course  we  had  to  climb  up  and 
secure  a  photograph  of  this  unusual  scene  of  family  life,  and  as 
we  stood  there  high  up  on  the  cliff's  side  we  could  see  the  drift- 
ice  whence  we  had  come.  It  lay  beneath  us  like  a  white  plain, 
and  disappeared  far  away  on  the  horizon.  Beyond  this  it  was 
we  had  journeyed,  and  farther  away  still  the  Fravi  and  our  com- 
rades were  drifting  yet. 

"  I  had  thought  of  going  to  the  top  of  this  island  to  get  a  bet- 
ter view,  and  perhaps  come  nearer  solving  the  problem  of  our 
whereabouts.  But  when  we  were  on  the  west  side  of  it  the  mist 
came  back  and  settled  on  the  top  ;  we  had  to  content  ourselves 
with  only  going  a  little  way  up  the  slope  to  look  at  our  future 
course  westward.  Some  way  out  we  saw  open  water  ;  it  looked 
like  the  sea  itself,  but  before  one  could  get  to  it  there  was  a  good 
deal  of  ice.  We  came  down  again  and  started  off.  Along  the 
land  there  was  a  channel  running  some  distance  farther,  and  we 
tried  it,  but  it  was  covered  everywhere  with  a  thin  layer  of  new 
ice,  which  we  did  not  dare  to  break  through  in  our  kayaks,  and 
risk  cutting  a  hole  in  them  ;  so,  finally,  a  little  way  farther  south 
we  put  in  to  drag  up  the  kayaks  and  take  to  the  ice  again.  While 
we  were  doing  this  one  huge  bearded  seal  after  another  stuck  its 
head  up  by  the  side  of  the  ice  and  gazed  wonderingly  at  us  with 
its  great  eyes ;  then,  with  a  violent  header,  and  splashing  the 
water  in  all  directions,  it  would  disappear,  to  come  up  again  soon 
afterwards  on  the  other  side.  They  kept  playing  around  us, 
blowing,  diving,  reappearing,  and  throwing  themselves  over  so 

*  This  color  is  owing  to  a  beautiful  minute  red  alga,  which  grows  on 
the  snow  (generally  Spcerella  nivalis).  There  were  also  some  yellowish- 
green  patches  in  this  snow,  which  must  certainly  be  attributed  to  another 
species  of  alga. 


LAND  AT  LAST  48/ 

that  the  water  foamed  round  them.     It  would  have  been  easy 
enough  to  capture  one  had  we  required  it. 

"  At  last,  after  a  good  deal  of  exertion,  we  stood  at  the  margin 
of  the  ice  ;  the  blue  expanse  of  water  lay  before  us  as  far  as  the 
eye  could  reach,  and  we  thought  that  for  the  future  we  had  to 
do  with  it  alone.  To  the  north  there  was  land,*  the  steep,  black, 
basalt  cliffs  of  which  fell  perpendicularly  into  the  sea.  We  saw 
headland  after  headland  standing  out  northward,  and  farthest 
off  of  all  we  could  descry  a  bluish  glacier.  The  interior  was 
everywhere  covered  with  an  ice-sheet.  Below  the  clouds,  and 
over  the  land,  was  a  strip  of  ruddy  night  sky,  which  was  reflected 
in  the  melancholy,  rocking  sea. 

*'  So  we  paddled  on  along  the  side  of  the  glacier  which  covered 
the  whole  country  south  of  us.  We  became  more  and  more  ex- 
cited as  we  approached  the  headland  to  the  west.  Would  the 
coast  trend  south  here,  and  was  there  no  more  land  westward  ? 
It  was  this  we  expected  to  decide  our  fate — decide  whether  we 
should  reach  home  that  year  or  be  compelled  to  winter  some- 
where on  land.  Nearer  and  nearer  we  came  to  it  along  the  edge 
of  the  perpendicular  wall  of  ice.  At  last  we  reached  the  head- 
land, and  our  hearts  bounded  with  joy  to  see  so  much  water — 
only  water — westward,  and  the  coast  trending  southwest.  We 
also  saw  a  bare  mountain  projecting  from  the  ice-sheet  a  little 
way  farther  on  ;  it  was  a  curious  high  ridge,  as  sharp  as  a  knife- 
blade.  It  was  as  steep  and  sharp  as  anything  I  have  seen  ;  it 
was  all  of  dark,  columnar  basalt,  and  so  jagged  and  peaked  that 
it  looked  like  a  comb.  In  the  middle  of  the  mountain  there  was 
a  gap  or  couloir,  and  there  we  crept  up  to  inspect  the  sea-way 
southward.  The  wall  of  rock  was  anything  but  broad  there,  and 
fell  away  on  the  south  side  in  a  perpendicular  drop  of  several 
hundred  feet.  A  cutting  wind  was  blowing  in  the  couloir. 
While  we  were  lying  there,  I  suddenly  heard  a  noise  behind  me, 
and  on  looking  around  I  saw  two  foxes  fighting  over  a  little  auk 
which  they  had  just  caught.  They  clawed  and  tugged  and  bit 
as  hard  as  they  could  on  the  very  edge  of  the  chasm  ;  then  they 
suddenly  caught  sight  of  us,  not  twenty  feet  away  from  them. 
They  stopped  fighting,  looked  up  wonderingly,  and  began  to 
run  around  and  peep  at  us,  first  from  one  side,  then  from  the 

*  It  proved  later  to  be  Crown  Prince  Rudolf's  Land. 


488  FARTHEST  NORTH 

other.  Over  us  myriads  of  little  auks  flew  backward  and  for- 
ward, screaming  shrilly  from  the  ledges  in  the  mountain  -  side. 
So  far  as  we  could  make  out,  there  appeared  to  be  open  sea 
along  the  land  to  the  westward.  The  wind  was  favorable,  and 
although  we  were  tired  we  decided  to  take  advantage  of  the  op- 
portunity, have  something  to  eat,  rig  up  mast  and  sail  on  our 
canoes,  and  get  afloat.  We  sailed  till  the  morning,  when  the 
wind  went  down,  and  then  we  landed  on  the  shore-ice  again  and 
camped.* 

"I  am  as  happy  as  a  child  in  the  thought  that  we  are  now  at 
last  really  on  the  west  coast  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  with  open  wa- 
ter before  us,  and  independent  of  ice  and  currents. 

"  Wednesday,  August  24th.  The  vicissitudes  of  this  life  will 
never  come  to  an  end.  When  I  wrote  last  I  was  full  of  hope  and 
courage ;  and  here  we  are  stopped  by  stress  of  weather  for  four 
days  and  three  nights,  with  the  ice  packed  as  tight  as  it  can  be 
against  the  coast.  We  see  nothing  but  piled -up  ridges,  hum- 
mocks, and  broken  ice  in  all  directions.  Courage  is  still  here, 
but  hope — the  hope  of  soon  being  home ;  that  was  relinquished 
a  long  time  ago,  and  before  us  lies  the  certainty  of  a  long,  dark 
winter  in  these  surroundings. 

"It  was  at  midnight  between  the  17th  and  i8th  that  we  set 
off  from  our  last  camping-ground  in  splendid  weather.  Though 
it  was  cloudy  and  the  sun  invisible,  there  was  along  the  horizon 
in  the  north  the  most  glorious  ruddy  glow  with  golden  sun- 
tipped  clouds,  and  the  sea  lay  shining  and  dreamy  in  the  dis- 
tance :  a  marvellous  night.  .  .  .  On  the  surface  of  the  sea,  smooth 
as  a  mirror,  without  a  block  of  ice  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
glided  the  kayaks,  the  water  purling  off  the  paddles  at  every 
silent  stroke.  It  was  like  being  in  a  gondola  on  the  Canale 
Grande.  But  there  was  something  almost  uncanny  about  all 
this  stillness,  and  the  barometer  had  gone  down  rapidly.  Mean- 
while we  sped  towards  the  headland  in  the  south  -  southwest, 
which  I  thought  was  about  12  miles  off.f  After  some  hours  we 
espied  ice  ahead,  but  both  of  us  thought  that  it  was  only  a  loose 
chain  of  pieces  drifting  with  the  current,  and  we  paddled  con- 
fidently on.  But  as  we  gradually  drew  nearer  we  saw  that  the 
ice  was  fairly  compact,  and  extended  a  greater  and  greater  dis- 

*  Off  Brogger's  Foreland.  f  Clements  Markham's  Foreland. 


LAND  AT  LAST  489 

tance  ;  though  from  the  low  kayaks  it  was  not  easy  to  see  the 
exact  extent  of  the  pack.  We  accordingly  disembarked  and 
climbed  up  on  a  hummock  to  find  out  our  best  route.  The  sight 
which  met  us  was  anything  but  encouraging.  Off  the  headland 
we  were  steering  for  were  a  number  of  islets  and  rocks,  extend- 
ing some  distance  out  to  sea ;  it  was  they  that  were  locking  the 
ice,  which  lay  in  every  direction,  between  them  and  outside  them. 
Near  us  it  was  slack,  but  farther  off  it  looked  much  worse,  so 
that  further  advance  by  sea  was  altogether  out  of  the  question. 
Our  only  expedient  was  to  take  to  the  edge  of  the  shore-ice,  and 
hope  for  the  chance  that  a  lane  might  run  along  it  some  way 
farther  on.  On  the  way  in  we  passed  a  seal  lying  on  a  floe,  and 
as  our  larder  was  beginning  to  grow  empty,  I  tried  to  get  a 
shot  at  it,  but  it  dived  into  the  water  before  we  came  within 
range. 

"As  we  were  paddling  along  through  some  small  bits  of  ice 
my  kayak  suddenly  received  a  violent  shock  from  underneath. 
I  looked  round  in  amazement,  as  I  had  not  noticed  any  large 
piece  of  ice  hereabouts.  There  was  nothing  of  the  kind  to  be  seen 
either,  but  worse  enemies  were  about.  No  sooner  had  I  glanced 
down  than  I  saw  a  huge  walrus  cleaving  through  the  water  astern, 
and  it  suddenly  came  up,  raised  itself  and  stood  on  end  just  be- 
fore Johansen,  who  was  following  in  my  wake.  Afraid  lest  the 
animal  should  have  its  tusks  through  the  deck  of  his  craft  the 
next  minute,  he  backed  as  hard  as  he  could  and  felt  for  his  gun, 
which  he  had  down  in  the  kayak.  I  was  not  long  either  in  pulling 
my  gun  out  of  its  cover.  The  animal  crashed  snorting  into  the 
water  again,  however,  dived  under  Johansen's  kayak,  and  came 
up  just  behind  him.  Johansen,  thinking  he  had  had  enough  of 
such  a  neighbor,  scrambled  incontinently  on  to  the  floe  nearest 
him.  After  having  waited  awhile,  with  my  gun  ready  for  the 
walrus  to  come  up  close  by  me,  I  followed  his  example.  I  very 
nearly  came  in  for  the  cold  bath  which  the  walrus  had  omitted  to 
give  me,  for  the  edge  of  the  ice  gave  way  just  as  I  set  my  foot  on 
it,  and  the  kayak  drifted  off  with  me  standing  upright  in  it,  and 
trying  to  balance  it  as  best  I  could,  in  order  not  to  capsize.  If  the 
walrus  had  reappeared  at  that  moment  I  should  certainly  have 
received  it  in  its  own  element.  Finally,  I  succeeded  in  getting  up 
on  to  the  ice,  and  for  a  long  time  afterwards  the  walrus  swam 
round  and  round  our  floe,  where  we  made  the  best  of  the  situation 


490  FARTHEST  NORTH 

by  having  dinner.  Sometimes  it  was  near  Johansen's  kayak, 
sometimes  near  mine.  We  could  see  how  it  darted  about  in  the 
water  under  the  kayaks,  and  it  had  evidently  the  greatest  desire 
to  attack  us  again.  We  thought  of  giving  it  a  ball  to  get  rid  of 
it,  but  had  no  great  wish  to  part  with  a  cartridge,  and,  besides,  it 
only  showed  us  its  nose  and  forehead,  which  are  not  exactly  the 
most  vital  spots  to  aim  at  when  one's  object  is  to  kill  with  one 
shot.  It  was  a  great  ox-walrus.  There  is  something  remarkably 
fantastic  and  prehistoric  about  these  monsters.  I  could  not  help 
thinking  of  a  merman,  or  something  of  the  kind,  as  it  lay  there 
just  under  the  surface  of  the  water,  blowing  and  snorting  for 
quite  a  long  while  at  a  time,  and  glaring  at  us  with  its  round, 
glassy  eyes.  After  having  continued  in  this  way  for  some  time, 
it  disappeared  just  as  tracklessly  as  it  had  come ;  and  as  we  had 
finished  our  dinner,  we  were  able  to  go  on  our  way  again,  glad,  a 
second  time,  not  to  have  been  upset  or  destroyed  by  its  tusks. 
The  most  curious  thing  about  it  was  that  it  came  so  entirely 
without  warning — suddenly  rising  up  from  the  deep.  Johansen 
had  certainly  heard  a  great  splash  behind  him  some  time  before, 
which  he  took  to  be  a  seal,  but  perhaps  it  may  have  been  the 
walrus. 

"The  lane  along  the  shore-ice  gave  us  little  satisfaction,  as  it 
was  completely  covered  with  young  ice,  and  we  could  make  no 
way.  In  addition  to  this,  a  wind  from  the  S.S.W.  sprang  up,  which 
drove  the  ice  on  to  us,  so  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  put  in 
to  the  edge  of  the  ice  and  wait  until  it  should  slacken  again.  We 
spread  out  the  bag,  folded  the  tent  over  us,  and  prepared  for  rest 
in  the  hope  of  soon  being  able  to  go  on.  But  this  was  not  to  be  ; 
the  wind  freshened,  the  ice  packed  tighter  and  tighter  ;  there  was 
soon  no  open  water  to  be  seen  in  any  direction,  and  even  the  open 
sea,  whence  we  had  come,  disappeared ;  all  our  hopes  of  getting 
home  that  year  sank  at  one  blow.  After  a  while  we  realized  that 
there  was  nothing  to  be  done  but  to  drag  our  loads  farther  in  on 
to  the  shore-ice  and  camp.  To  try  and  haul  the  canoes  farther 
over  this  pack,  which  was  worse  than  any  ice  we  had  come  across 
since  we  began  our  voyage,  we  thought  was  useless.  We  should 
get  very  little  distance  in  the  day,  and  it  might  cost  us  dear  with 
the  kayaks  on  the  short  sledges,  among  all  these  ridges  and  hum- 
mocks ;  and  so  we  lay  there  day  and  night  waiting  for  the  wind 
to  go  down  or  to  change.    But  it  blew  from  the  same  quarter  the 


LAND  AT  LAST  491 

whole  time,  and  matters  were  not  improved  by  a  heavy  fall  of 
snow  which  made  the  ice  absolutely  impracticable. 

"  Our  situation  was  not  an  attractive  one  ;  in  front  of  us  mas- 
sive broken  sea-ice  close  by  land,  and  the  gods  alone  know  if  it  will 
open  again  this  year ;  a  good  way  behind  us  land*  which  looked 
anything  but  inviting  to  spend  the  winter  on  ;  around  us  impas- 
sable ice,  and  our  provender  very  much  on  the  decline.  The  south 
coast  of  the  country  and  Eira  Harbor  now  appeared  to  our  im- 
agination a  veritable  land  of  Canaan,  and  we  thought  that  if  only 
we  were  there  all  our  troubles  would  be  over.  We  hoped  to  be 
able  to  find  Leigh  Smith's  hut  there,  or,  at  any  rate,  some  remains 
of  it,  so  that  we  should  have  something  to  live  in ;  and  we  also 
hoped  that  where  there  no  doubt  was  much  open  water  it  would 
be  easy  to  find  game.  We  regretted  not  having  shot  some  seals 
while  they  were  numerous ;  on  the  night  when  we  left  our  last 
camping-place  there  were  plenty  of  them  about.  As  Johansen  was 
standing  on  the  edge  of  the  ice  doing  something  to  his  kayak,  a 
seal  came  up  just  in  front  of  him.  He  thought  it  was  of  a  kind  he 
had  not  seen  before,  and  shouted  to  me.  But  at  the  same  moment 
up  came  one  black  poll  after  another,  quiet  and  silent,  from  ten 
to  twenty  in  number,  all  gazing  at  him  with  their  great  eyes.  He 
was  quite  nonplussed,  thought  there  was  something  uncanny 
about  it,  and  then  they  disappeared  just  as  noiselessly  as  they 
had  come. 

"  I  consoled  him  by  telling  him  they  really  were  of  a  kind  we 
had  not  seen  before  on  our  journey  ;  they  were  young  harp,  or 
saddleback  seal  {Phoca  grcenlandica).  We  saw  several  schools  of 
them  again  later  in  the  day. 

"Meanwhile  we  killed  time  as  best  we  could — chiefly  by  sleep- 
ing. On  the  early  morning  of  the  21st,  just  as  I  lay  thinking 
what  would  become  of  us  if  the  ice  should  not  slacken  and  we 
had  no  opportunity  of  adding  to  our  larder  —  the  chances,  I 
thought,  did  not  seem  very  promising — I  heard  something  paw- 
ing and  moving  outside.  It  might,  as  usual,  be  the  packing  of 
the  ice,  but  still  I  thought  it  was  more  like  something  on  four 
legs.  I  jumped  up,  saying  to  Johansen  that  it  must  be  a  bear, 
and  then  I  suddenly  heard  it  sniffing  by  the  tent  wall.  I  peered 
out  through  some  holes  in  one  side  of  it  and  saw  nothing  ;  then 

*  Helland's  Foreland. 


492  FARTHEST  NORTH 

I  went  across  to  a  big  hole  on  the  other  side  of  the  tent,  and 
there  I  saw  an  enormous  bear  just  outside.  It  caught  sight  of 
me,  too,  at  the  same  moment  and  slunk  away,  but  then  stopped 
again  and  looked  at  the  tent.  I  snatched  my  gun  down  from  the 
tent-pole,  stuck  it  through  the  hole,  and  sent  the  bear  a  ball  in 
the  middle  of  the  chest.  It  fell  forward,  but  raised  itself  again 
and  struggled  off,  so  I  had  to  give  it  the  contents  of  the  other 
barrel  in  the  side.  It  still  staggered  on,  but  fell  down  between 
some  hummocks  a  little  way  off.  It  was  an  unusually  large  he- 
bear,  and  for  the  time  all  our  troubles  for  food  were  ended.  The 
wind,  however,  continued  steadily  from  the  same  quarter.  As 
there  was  not  much  shelter  where  we  were  encamped,  and,  fur- 
thermore, as  we  were  uncomfortably  near  the  ridge  where  the 
ice  was  continually  packing,  we  removed  and  took  up  our  abode 
farther  in  on  the  shore-ice,  where  we  are  still  lying.  Last  night 
there  was  a  bear  about  again,  but  not  quite  so  near  the  tent. 

"We  went  on  an  excursion  inland*  yesterday  to  see  what  our 
prospects  might  be  if  we  should  be  forced  to  spend  a  winter  here. 
I  had  hoped  to  find  flatter  ice  farther  in,  but  instead  it  grew 
worse  and  worse  the  nearer  we  went  to  land,  and  right  in  by  the 
headland  it  was  towering  up,  and  almost  impassable.  The  ice 
was  piled  against  the  very  wall  of  the  glacier.  We  went  up  on 
the  glacier  and  looked  at  the  sound  to  the  north  of  the  headland. 
A  little  way  in  the  ice  appeared  to  be  flatter,  more  like  fjord-ice, 
but  nowhere  could  we  see  lanes  where  there  might  be  a  chance 
of  capturing  seal.  There  was  no  place  for  a  hut  either  about 
here  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  we  found  on  the  south  side  of 
the  headland  quite  a  smiling  spot  where  the  ground  was  fairly 
level,  and  where  there  was  some  herbage,  and  an  abundance  of 
moss  and  stones  for  building  purposes.  But  outside  it,  again,  the 
ice  towered  up  on  the  shore  in  chaotic  confusion  on  all  sides.  It 
was  a  little  more  level  in  the  direction  of  the  fjord,  or  sound, 
which  ran  far  inland  to  the  south,  and  there  it  soon  turned  to  flat 
fjord  -  ice ;  but  there  were  no  lanes  there  either  where  we  could 
hope  to  capture  seal.  There  did  not  seem  much  prospect  of 
game,  but  we  comforted  ourselves  with  the  reflection  that  there 
were  tracks  of  bears  in  every  direction,  and  bears  would,  in  case 
of  necessity,  be  our  one  resource  for  both  food  and  clothes.     In 

*On  Helland's  Foreland. 


LAND  AT  LAST  493 

the  cliffs  above  us  crowds  of  little  auks  had  their  nests,  as  on  all 
such  places  that  we  have  passed  by.  We  also  saw  a  fox.  The 
rock  formation  was  a  coarse-grained  basalt  ;  but  by  the  side  of 
the  glacier  we  discovered  a  mound  of  loose,  half-crumbled  ar- 
gillaceous schist,  in  which,  however,  we  did  not  find  any  fossils. 
Some  blocks  which  we  thought  very  much  like  granite  were  also 
strewn  about.*  Everywhere  along  the  beach  the  glaciers  were 
covered  with  red  snow,  which  had  a  very  beautiful  effect  in  the 
sunshine. 

"  We  were  both  agreed  that  it  might  be  possible  to  winter 
here,  but  hoped  it  was  the  first  and  last  time  we  should  set  foot 
on  the  spot.  The  way  to  it,  too,  was  so  bad  that  we  hardly  knew 
how  we  should  get  the  sledges  and  kayaks  there, 

"  To-day,  at  last,  the  change  we  have  longed  and  waited  for  so 
long  has  come.  Last  night  the  southwest  wind  quieted  down  ; 
the  barometer,  which  I  have  been  tapping  daily  in  vain,  has  at 
last  begun  to  rise  a  little,  and  the  wind  has  gone  round  to  the 
opposite  quarter.  The  question  now  is  whether,  if  it  keep  there, 
it  will  be  able  to  drive  the  ice  out  again." 

Here  comes  a  great  gap  in  my  diary,  and  not  till  far  on  in  the 
winter  (Friday,  December  6th)  do  I  write  :  "  I  must  at  last  try 
and  patch  the  hole  in  my  diary.  There  has  been  so  much  to  see 
about  that  I  have  got  no  writing  done  ;  that  excuse,  however,  is 
no  longer  available,  as  we  sleep  nearly  the  whole  twenty-four 
hours." 

After  having  written  my  journal  for  August  24th  I  went  out 
to  look  for  a  better  and  more  sheltered  place,  as  the  wind  had 
changed,  and  now  blew  straight  into  the  tent.  I  hoped,  too,  that 
this  land-wind  might  open  up  the  ice,  and  I  therefore  first  set  off 
to  see  whether  any  sign  of  slackening  was  to  be  discovered  at 
the  edge  of  the  shore-ice ;  but  the  floes  lay  packed  together  as 
solidly  as  ever.  I  found,  however,  a  capital  place  for  pitching 
the  tent,  and  we  were  busy  moving  thither  when  we  suddenly 
discovered  that  the  ice  had  split  off  to  the  landward,  and  already 
there  was  a  broad  channel.    We  certainly  wanted  the  ice  to  open 

*  I  took  specimens  of  the  different  rock  formations,  lichens,  etc.,  that 
we  came  across;  but  in  the  course  of  the  winter  the  collection  was  stolen 
by  the  foxes,  and  I  thus  brought  little  home  from  the  tracts  north  of  our 
winter  hut. 


494  FARTHEST  NORTH 

up,  but  not  on  our  landward  side  ;  and  now  it  was  a  question  of 
getting  across  on  to  the  shore-ice  again  at  any  price,  so  as  not  to 
drift  out  to  sea  with  the  pack.  But  the  wind  had  risen  to  a  stiff 
breeze,  and  it  seemed  more  than  doubtful  whether  we  could  man- 
age to  pull  up  against  it,  even  for  so  short  a  distance  as  across 
the  channel.  This  was  rapidly  growing  broader  and  broader. 
We  had,  however,  to  make  an  attempt,  and,  therefore,  set  off 
along  the  edge  towards  a  spot  farther  east,  which  we  thought 
would  give  us  a  little  more  shelter  for  launching  our  kayaks. 
On  arriving,  however,  we  found  that  it  would  be  no  easy  matter 
to  launch  them  here  either  without  getting  them  filled  with 
water.  It  blew  so  that  the  spoondrift  was  driven  over  the  sea, 
and  the  spray  was  dashed  far  in  over  the  ice.  There  was  little 
else  to  be  done  but  to  pitch  our  tent  and  wait  for  better  times. 
We  were  now  more  than  ever  in  need  of  shelter  to  keep  the  tent 
from  being  torn  by  the  wind,  but,  search  and  tramp  up  and  down 
as  we  might,  we  could  find  no  permanent  resting-place,  and  at 
last  had  to  content  ourselves  with  the  scant  shelter  of  a  little 
elevation  which  we  thought  would  do.  We  had  not  lain  long 
before  the  gusts  of  wind  made  such  onslaughts  on  the  tent  that 
we  found  it  advisable  to  take  it  down,  to  avoid  having  it  torn  to 
pieces.  We  could  now  sleep  securely  in  our  bags  beneath  the 
prostrate  tent,  and  let  the  wind  rage  above  us.  After  a  time  I 
awoke,  and  noticed  that  the  wind  had  subsided  so  much  that  we 
could  once  more  raise  our  tent,  and  I  crept  out  to  look  at  the 
weather.  I  was  less  pleasantly  surprised  on  discovering  that  we 
were  already  far  out  to  sea  ;  we  must  have  drifted  eight  or  ten 
miles  from  land,  and  between  it  and  us  lay  open  sea.  The  land 
now  lay  quite  low,  far  off  on  the  horizon.  In  the  meantime, 
however,  the  weather  had  considerably  improved,  and  we  once 
more  set  out  along  the  edge  of  the  ice  to  try  to  get  our  kayaks 
launched.  But  it  was  no  easy  matter.  It  was  still  blowing  hard, 
and  the  sea  ran  high.  In  addition  to  this,  there  were  a  number 
of  loose  floes  beyond,  and  these  were  in  constant  motion,  so  that 
we  had  to  be  on  the  alert  to  prevent  the  kayaks  from  being 
crushed  between  them.  After  some  futile  attempts  we  at  length 
got  afloat,  but  only  to  discover  that  the  wind  and  the  waves 
were  too  strong ;  we  should  scarcely  b^ugible  to  make  any  prog- 
ress against  them.  Our  only  resource,  therefore,  was  to  sail,  if 
this  were  practicable.     We  went  alongside  an  ice  promontory. 


LAND  AT  LAST  495 

lashed  the  kayaks  together,  raised  the  mast,  and  again  put  to 
sea.  We  soon  had  our  single  sail  hoisted,  and  to  our  unspeakable 
satisfaction  we  now  found  that  we  got  along  capitally.  At  last 
we  should  be  able  to  bid  farewell  to  the  ice,  where  we  had  been 
compelled  to  abandon  our  hope  of  reaching  home  that  year.  We 
now  continued  sailing  hour  after  hour,  and  made  good  progress ; 
but  then  the  wind  dropped  too  much  for  our  single  sail,  and  I 
ventured  to  set  the  whole  double  sail.  Hardly  had  we  done  so, 
when  the  wind  again  sprang  up,  and  we  dashed  foaming  through 
the  water.  This  soon,  however,  became  a  little  too  much  ;  the 
sea  washed  over  the  lee  kayak,  the  mast  bent  dangerously,  and 
the  situation  did  not  look  very  pleasant ;  there  was  nothing  for 
it  but  to  lower  the  sail  again  as  quickly  as  possible.  The  single 
sail  was  again  hoisted,  and  we  were  cured  for  some  time  of  wish- 
ing to  try  anything  more. 

We  sailed  steadily  and  well  the  whole  day,  and  now  at  last 
had  to  pass  the  difficult  cape  ;  but  it  was  evening  before  we  left 
it  behind,  and  now  the  wind  dropped  so  much  that  the  whole 
double  sail  had  to  be  hoisted  again,  and  even  then  progress  was 
slow.  We  kept  on,  however,  during  the  night,  along  the  shore, 
determined  to  make  as  much  use  of  the  wind  as  possible.  We 
passed  a  low  promontory  covered  by  a  gently  sloping  glacier  ;* 
around  it  lay  a  number  of  islands,  which  must,  we  thought,  have 
held  the  ice  fast.  A  little  farther  on  we  came  under  some  high 
basaltic  cliffs,  and  here  the  wind  dropped  completely.  As  it  was 
also  hazy,  and  we  could  discern  land  and  islands  both  to  right 
and  left  of  us,  so  that  we  did  not  know  in  what  direction  to  steer, 
we  put  in  here,  drew  the  kayaks  up  on  shore,  pitched  the  tent, 
and  cooked  ourselves  a  good  meal  of  warm  food,  which  we  rel- 
ished greatly,  from  the  consciousness  of 'having  done  a  good 
day's  work.  Above  our  heads,  all  up  the  face  of  the  cliff,  the 
little  auks  kept  up  a  continual  hubbub,  faithfully  supported  by 
the  ivory  gulls,  kittiwakes,  burgomasters,  and  skuas.  We  slept 
none  the  worse  for  that,  however.  This  was  a  beautiful  mountain. 
It  consisted  of  the  finest  columnar  basalt  one  could  wish  to  see, 

*  ^s  this  promontory  is  probably  the  land  Jackson  saw  farthest  north 
in  the  spring  of  1895,  it  has  no  name  upon  my  map.  It  is  otherwise  with 
the  islands  outside,  which  he  did  not  notice.  They  are  only  indicated  ap- 
proximately (as  Geelmuyden  Island  and  Alexander's  Island),  as  I  am  not 
certain  of  either  their  number  or  their  exact  situation. 


49^  FARTHEST  NORTH 

with  its  buttresses  and  niches  up  the  face  of  the  cliff,  and  its 
countless  points  and  spires  along  every  crest,  reminding  one  of 
Milan  Cathedral.  From  top  to  bottom  it  was  only  column  upon 
column  ;  at  the  base  they  were  all  lost  in  the  talus. 

When  we  turned  out  the  following  morning  the  weather  had 
so  far  cleared  that  we  could  better  see  the  way  we  ought  to  take. 
It  appeared  as  if  a  deep  fjord,  or  sound,  ran  in  eastward  in  front 
of  us  ;  and  our  way  distinctly  lay  round  a  promontory  which  we 
had  to  the  S.S.W.  on  the  other  side  of  the  fjord.  In  that  direc- 
tion the  water  appeared  to  be  open,  while  within  the  fjord  lay 
solid  ice,  and  out  to  sea  drift-ice  lay  everywhere.  Through  the 
misty  atmosphere  we  could  also  distinguish  several  islands.* 
Here,  too,  as  we  usually  found  in  the  morning,  a  great  quantity 
of  ice  had  drifted  in  in  the  course  of  the  night — great,  flat,  and 
thin  floes,  which  had  settled  themselves  in  front  of  us  —  and  it 
looked  as  if  we  should  have  hard  work  to  get  out  into  open 
water.  Things  went  a  little  better  than  we  expected,  however, 
and  we  got  through  before  it  closed  in  entirely.  In  front  of  us 
now  lay  open  water  right  past  the  promontory  far  ahead ;  the 
weather  was  good,  and  everything  seemed  to  promise  a  success- 
ful day.  As  it  began  to  blow  a  little  from  the  fjord,  and  we 
hoped  it  might  become  a  sailing-wind,  we  put  in  beside  a  little 
rocky  island,  which  looked  just  like  a  great  stone  f  sticking  up 
out  of  the  sea,  and  there  rigged  up  mast  and  sail.  But  the  sail- 
ing-wind came  to  nothing,  and  we  were  soon  obliged  to  unrig 
and  take  to  paddling.  We  had  not  paddled  far  when  the  wind 
went  round  to  the  opposite  quarter,  the  southwest.  It  increased 
rapidly,  and  soon  the  sea  ran  high,  the  sky  became  overcast  in 
the  south,  and  it  looked  as  if  the  weather  might  become  stormy. 
We  were  still  several  miles  from  the  land  on  the  other  side  of 
the  fjord,  and  we  might  have  many  hours  of  hard  paddling  be- 
fore we  gained  it.     This  land,  too,  looked  far  from  inviting,  as  it 

*  These  three  islands,  whose  bearings  we  were  subsequently  enabled  to 
take,  and  which  we  could  see  from  our  winter  hut,  are  probably  the  land 
which  Jackson  saw  and  took  to  be  "  King  Oscar  Land."  In  consequence 
of  his  having  seen  them  from  only  one  point  (his  Cape  Fisher),  due  south, 
in  8i°,  he  has  placed  them  40'  too  far  north  (in  82°),  having  overestimated 
their  distance.  (See  his  map  in  the  Geographical  Journal,  Vol.  VII.,  No.  6, 
December,  1896,  London.) 

t  Called  Steinen  on  the  map. 


LAND  AT  LAST  497 

lay  there,  entirely  covered  with  glacier  from  the  summit  right 
to  the  shore  ;  only  in  one  place  did  a  little  rock  emerge.  To  lee- 
ward we  had  the  margin  of  the  shore-ice,  low,  and  affording  no 
protection.  The  waves  broke  right  upon  it,  and  it  would  not  be 
a  good  place  to  seek  refuge  in,  should  such  a  proceeding  become 
necessary ;  it  would  be  best  to  get  in  under  land  and  see  how 
the  weather  would  turn  out.  We  did  not  like  the  prospect  of 
once  more  being  enclosed  in  the  drift-ice  ;  we  had  had  enough  of 
that  by  this  time,  so  we  made  for  some  land  which  lay  a  little 
way  behind  us  and  looked  very  inviting.  Should  matters  turn 
out  badly,  a  good  place  for  wintering  in  might  be  found  there. 

Scarcely  had  I  set  foot  on  land  when  I  saw  a  bear  a  little  way 
up  the  shore,  and  drew  up  our  kayaks  to  go  and  shoot  it.  In  the 
meantime  it  came  shambling  along  the  shore  towards  us,  so  we 
lay  down  quietly  behind  the  kayaks  and  waited.  When  close  up 
to  us  it  caught  sight  of  our  footprints  in  the  snow,  and  while  it 
was  sniffing  at  them  Johansen  sent  a  bullet  behind  its  shoulder. 
The  bear  roared  and  tried  to  run,  but  the  bullet  Jiad  gone  through 
the  spine,  and  the  hind  part  of  its  body  was  paralyzed  and  refused 
to  perform  its  functions.  In  perplexity  the  bear  sat  down  and 
bit  and  tore  its  hind-paws  until  the  blood  flowed ;  it  was  as  if  it 
were  chastising  them  to  make  them  do  their  duty.  Then  it  tried 
again  to  move  away,  but  with  the  same  result ;  the  hind  part  of 
its  body  was  no  longer  amenable  to  discipline,  and  dragged  be- 
hind, so  that  it  could  only  shuffle  along  on  its  fore-legs,  going 
round  in  a  ring.  A  ball  through  the  skull  put  an  end  to  its  suf- 
ferings. 

When  we  had  skinned  it  we  made  an  excursion  inland  to  in- 
spect our  new  domain,  and  were  now  not  a  little  surprised  to  see 
two  walruses  lying  quietly  on  the  ice  close  to  the  spot  where  I 
had  first  caught  sight  of  the  bear.  This  seemed  to  me  to  show 
how  little  heed  walruses  pay  to  bears,  who  will  never  attack  them 
if  they  can  help  it.  I  had  more  decisive  proofs  of  this  subse- 
quently. In  the  sea  beyond  we  also  saw  a  walrus,  which  kept 
putting  up  its  head  and  breathing  so  hard  that  it  could  be  heard 
a  long  way  off.  A  little  later  I  saw  him  approach  the  edge  of 
the  ice  and  disappear,  only  to  appear  again  in  the  tidal  channel 
close  to  the  shore,  a  good  way  from  the  edge  of  the  ice.  He 
struck  his  great  tusks  into  the  edge  of  the  ice,  while  he  lay 
breathing  hard,  just  like  an  exhausted  swimmer.  Then  he  raised 
32 


498  FARTHEST  NORTH 

himself  high  up  on  his  tusks,  and  looked  across  the  ice  towards 
the  others  lying  there,  and  then  dived  down  again.  He  soon 
reappeared,  with  a  great  deal  of  noise,  farther  in,  and  the  same 
performance  was  gone  through  again.  A  walrus's  head  is  not  a 
beautiful  object  as  it  appears  above  the  ice.  With  its  huge  tusks, 
its  coarse  whisker  bristles,  and  clumsy  shape,  there  is  something 
wild  and  goblin-like  about  it  which,  I  can  easily  understand,  might 
inspire  fear  in  more  superstitious  times,  and  give  rise  to  the  idea 
of  fabulous  monsters,  with  which  in  ancient  days  these  seas  were 
thought  to  swarm.  At  last  the  walrus  came  up  in  the  hole  be- 
side which  the  others  were  lying,  and  raised  himself  a  little  way 
up  on  to  the  edge  of  the  ice  by  his  tusks  ;  but  upon  this  the  bigger 
of  the  two,  a  huge  old  bull,  suddenly  awoke  to  life.  He  grunted 
menacingly,  and  moved  about  restlessly.  The  new-comer  bowed 
his  head  respectfully  down  to  the  ice,  but  soon  pulled  himself 
cautiously  up  on  to  the  floe,  so  as  to  get  a  hold  with  his  fore-pad- 
dle, and  then  drew  himself  a  little  way  in.  Now  the  old  bull  was 
thoroughly  roused.  He  turned  round,  bellowed,  and  floundered 
up  to  the  new-comer  in  order  to  dig  his  enormous  tusks  into  his 
back.  The  latter,  who  appeared  to  be  the  old  bull's  equal  both 
as  regards  tusks  and  size,  bowed  humbly,  and  laid  his  head  down 
upon  the  ice  just  like  a  slave  before  his  sultan.  The  old  bull  re- 
turned to  his  companion,  and  lay  quietly  down  as  before,  but  no 
sooner  did  the  new-comer  stir,  after  having  lain  for  some  time  in 
this  servile  posture,  than  the  old  bull  grunted  and  thrust  at  him, 
and  he  once  more  respectfully  drew  back.  This  was  repeated 
several  times.  At  length,  after  much  manoeuvring  backward  and 
forward,  the  new-comer  succeeded  in  drawing  himself  on  to  the 
floe,  and  finally  up  beside  the  others.  I  thought  the  tender  pas- 
sion must  have  something  to  do  with  these  proceedings  ;  but  I 
discovered  afterwards  that  all  three  were  males.  And  it  is  in 
this  friendly  manner  that  walruses  receive  their  guests.  It  ap- 
pears to  be  a  specially  chosen  member  of  the  flock  that  has  these 
hospitable  duties  to  perform.  I  am  inclined  to  think  it  is  the 
leader,  who  is  asserting  his  dignity,  and  wishes  to  impress  upon 
every  new-comer  that  he  is  to  be  obeyed.  These  animals  must 
be  exceedingly  sociable,  when,  in  spite  of  such  treatment,  they 
thus  constantly  seek  one  another's  society,  and  always  lie  close 
together.  When  we  returned  a  little  later  to  look  at  them,  an- 
other had  arrived,  and  by  the  following  morning  six  lay  there 


LAND  AT  LAST  499 

side  by  side.  It  is  not  easy  to  believe  that  these  lumps  lying  on 
the  ice  are  living  animals.  With  head  drawn  in  and  hind  -  legs 
flat  beneath  the  body,  they  will  lie  motionless  hour  after  hour, 
looking  like  enormous  sausages.  It  is  easy  to  see  that  these  fel- 
lows lie  there  in  security,  and  fearful  of  nothing  in  the  world. 

After  having  seen  as  much  as  we  wanted  of  the  walruses  at 
close  quarters,  we  went  back,  prepared  a  good  meal  from  the 
newly  slaughtered  bear,  and  lay  down  to  sleep.  On  the  shore 
below  the  tent  the  ivory  gulls  were  making  a  fearful  hubbub. 
They  had  gathered  in  scores  from  all  quarters,  and  could  not 
agree  as  to  the  fair  division  of  the  bear's  entrails  ;  they  fought 
incessantly,  filling  the  air  with  their  angry  cries.  It  is  one  of 
nature's  unaccountable  freaks  to  have  made  this  bird  so  pretty, 
while  giving  it  such  an  ugly  voice.  At  a  little  distance  the  bur- 
gomasters sat  solemnly  looking  on  and  uttering  their  somewhat 
more  melodious  notes.  Out  in  the  sea  the  walruses  were  blowing 
and  bellowing  incessantly,  but  everything  passed  unheeded  by 
the  two  weary  warriors  in  the  tent  ;  they  slept  soundly,  with 
the  bare  ground  for  their  couch.  In  the  middle  of  the  night 
we  were  awakened,  however,  by  a  peculiar  sound ;  it  was  just 
like  some  one  whimpering  and  cryi  g,  and  making  great  ado.  I 
started  up,  and  looked  out  of  the  peep-hole.  Two  bears  were 
standing  down  beside  our  bear's  flesh,  a  she-bear  and  her  young 
one,  and  both  sniffing  at  the  bloody  marks  in  the  snow,  while  the 
she-bear  wailed  as  if  mourning  for  a  dear  departed  one.  I  lost 
no  time  in  seizing  my  gun,  and  was  just  putting  it  cautiously 
out,  when  the  she-bear  caught  sight  of  me  at  the  peep-hole,  and 
off  they  both  set,  the  mother  in  front,  and  the  young  one  trotting 
after  as  fast  as  it  could.  I  just  let  them  run — we  had  really  no 
use  for  them — and  then  we  turned  over  and  went  to  sleep  again. 

Nothing  came  of  the  storm  we  had  feared.  The  wind  blew 
hard  enough,  however,  to  rend  and  tear  our  now  well-worn  tent, 
and  there  was  no  shelter  where  we  lay.  We  hoped  to  go  on  on 
the  following  day,  but  found,  to  our  disappointment,  that  the 
way  was  blocked ;  the  wind  had  again  driven  the  ice  in.  We 
must  remain  for  the  present  where  we  were  ;  but  in  that  case 
we  would  make  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  possible.  The  first 
thing  to  be  done  was  to  seek  for  a  warm,  well-sheltered  place  for 
the  tent,  but  this  was  not  to  be  found.  There  was  nothing  for  it 
but  to  get  something  built  up  of  stone.     We  quarried  stone  in 


500  FARTHEST  NORTH 

the  debris  at  the  bottom  of  the  cliff,  and  got  together  as  much 
as  we  could.  The  only  quarrying  implement  we  had  was  a  run- 
ner that  had  been  cut  off  a  hand-sledge  ;  but  our  two  hands  were 
what  we  had  to  use  most.  We  worked  away  during  the  night. 
What  we  had  at  first  only  intended  to  be  a  shelter  from  the  wind 
grew,  little  by  little,  into  four  walls  ;  and  we  now  kept  at  it  until 
we  had  finished  a  small  hut.  It  was  nothing  very  wonderful. 
Heaven  knows,  not  long  enough  for  a  man  of  my  height  to  lie 
straight  inside— I  had  to  stick  my  feet  out  at  the  door— and  just 
broad  enough  to  admit  of  our  lying  side  by  side  and  leave  room 
for  the  cooking  apparatus.  It  was  worse,  however,  with  regard 
to  the  height.  There  was  room  to  lie  down,  but  to  sit  up  decent- 
ly straight  was  an  impossibility  for  me.  The  roof  was  made  of 
our  thin  and  fragile  silk  tent,  spread  over  snow-shoes  and  bam- 
boo rods.  We  closed  the  doorway  with  our  coats,  and  the  walls 
were  so  loosely  put  together  that  we  could  see  daylight  between 
the  stones  on  all  sides.  We  afterwards  called  it  the  den,  and  a 
dreadful  den  it  was,  too  ;  but  we  were  none  the  less  proud  of 
our  handiwork.  It  would  not  blow  down,  at  any  rate,  even  if  the 
wind  did  blow  right  through  it.  When  we  had  got  our  bearskin 
in  as  a  couch  and  lay  warm  and  comfortable  in  our  bag,  while  a 
good  potful  of  meat  bubbled  over  the  train-oil  lamp,  we  thought 
existence  a  pleasure ;  and  the  fact  that  there  being  so  much 
smoke  that  our  eyes  became  red  and  the  tears  streamed  down 
our  cheeks  could  not  destroy  our  feeling  of  content. 

As  progress  southward  was  blocked  also  on  the  following  day 
(August  28th),  and  as  autumn  was  now  drawing  on,  I  at  last 
resolved  on  remaining  here  for  the  winter.  I  thought  that  we 
still  had  more  than  138  miles  to  travel  in  order  to  reach  Eira 
Harbor  or  Leigh  Smith's  wintering-place.*  It  might  take  us  a 
long  time  to  get  there,  and  then  we  were  not  sure  of  finding  any 
hut ;  and  when  we  did  get  there,  it  would  be  more  than  doubtful 
if,  before  the  winter  set  in,  there  would  be  time  to  build  a  house 
and  also  gather  stores  for  the  winter.  It  was  undoubtedly  the 
safest  plan  to  begin  at  once  to  prepare  for  wintering  while  there 

*  I  now  thought  I  could  safely  conclude  that  we  were  on  the  west  coast 
of  Franz  Josef  Land,  and  were  at  this  moment  a  little  north  of  Leigh 
Smith's  most  northwesterly  point,  Cape  Lofley,  which  should  lie  a  little 
south  of  81°  north  latitude,  while  our  observation  that  day  made  us  about 
81°  19'  north  latitude. 


LAND  AT  LAST  501 

was  still  plenty  of  game  to  be  had ;  and  this  was  a  good  spot 
to  winter  in.  The  first  thing  I  should  like  to  have  done  was  to 
have  shot  the  walruses  that  had  been  lying  on  the  ice  during 
the  first  day  or  two  ;  but  now,  of  course,  they  were  gone.  The 
sea,  however,  w^as  swarming  with  them  ;  they  bellowed  and  blew 
night  and  day,  and,  in  order  to  be  ready  for  an  encounter  with 
them,  we  emptied  our  kayaks  to  make  them  more  easy  of  ma- 
nipulation in  this  somewhat  dangerous  chase.  While  thus  en- 
gaged, Johansen  caught  sight  of  two  bears — a  she-bear  and  her 
cub — coming  along  the  edge  of  the  ice  from  the  south.  We  lost 
no  time  in  getting  our  guns  and  setting  off  towards  them.  By 
the  time  they  reached  the  shore  they  were  within  range,  and 
Johansen  sent  a  bullet  through  the  mother's  chest.  She  roared, 
bit  at  the  wound,  staggered  a  few  steps,  and  fell.  The  young 
one  could  not  make  out  what  was  the  matter  with  its  mother, 
and  ran  round,  sniffing  at  her.  When  we  approached,  it  went 
off  a  little  way  up  the  slope,  but  soon  came  back  again  and  took 
up  a  position  over  its  mother,  as  if  to  defend  her  against  us. 
A  charge  of  small  shot  put  an  end  to  its  life. 

This  was  a  good  beginning  to  our  winter  store.  As  I  was 
returning  to  the  hut  to  fetch  the  seal-knives  I  heard  cries  in  the 
air  above  me.  There  were  actually  two  geese  flying  south  ! 
With  what  longing  I  looked  after  them  as  they  disappeared,  only 
wishing  that  I  could  have  followed  them  to  the  land  towards 
which  they  were  now  wending  their  flight ! 

Next  to  food  and  fuel  the  most  important  thing  was  to  get  a 
hut  built.  To  build  the  walls  of  this  was  not  difficult ;  there 
was  plenty  of  stone  and  moss.  The  roof  presented  greater  diffi- 
culty, and  we  had  as  yet  no  idea  what  to  make  it  of.  Fortunate- 
ly, I  found  a  sound  drift-wood  pine -log  thrown  up  on  to  the 
shore  not  far  from  our  den  ;  this  would  make  a  capital  ridge- 
piece  for  the  roof  of  our  future  house.  And  if  there  was  one, 
there  might  be  others.  One  of  our  flrst  acts,  therefore,  was  to 
make  an  excursion  up  along  the  shore  and  search*;  but  all  we 
found  was  one  short,  rotten  piece  of  wood,  which  was  good  for 
nothing,  and  some  chips  of  another  piece.  I  then  began  to  think 
of  using  walrus-hides  for  the  roof  instead. 

The  following  day  (August  29th)  we  prepared  to  try  our  luck 
at  walrus-hunting.  We  had  no  great  desire  to  attack  the  ani- 
mals in  single  kayaks ;  we  had  had  enough  of  that,  I  thought,  and 


502  FARTHEST  NORTH 

the  prospect  of  being  upset  or  of  having  a  tusk  driven  through 
the  bottom  of  the  kayak  or  into  one's  thigh  was  not  altogether 
alluring.  The  kayaks  were  therefore  lashed  together,  and,  seated 
upon  the  ring,  we  put  out  towards  the  big  bull  which  lay  and 
dived  just  outside.  We  were  well  equipped  with  guns  and  har- 
poons, and  thought  that  it  was  all  quite  simple.  Nor  was  it  diffi- 
cult to  get  within  range,  and  we  emptied  our  barrels  into  the 
animal's  head.  It  lay  stunned  for  a  moment,  and  we  rowed 
towards  it,  but  suddenly  it  began  to  splash  and  whirl  round  in 
the  water,  completely  beside  itself.  I  shouted  out  that  we  must 
back,  but  it  was  too  late  :  the  walrus  got  under  the  kayaks,  and 
we  received  several  blows  underneath,  in  the  violence  of  its  con- 
tortions, before  if  finally  dived.  It  soon  came  up  again,  and  now 
the  sound  of  its  breathing  resounded  on  all  sides,  while  blood 
streamed  from  its  mouth  and  nostrils,  and  dyed  the  surrounding 
water.  We  lost  no  time  in  rowing  up  to  it  and  pouring  a  fresh 
volley  into  its  head.  Again  it  dived,  and  we  cautiously  drew 
back  to  avoid  receiving  an  attack  from  below.  It  soon  appeared 
again,  and  we  once  more  rowed  up  to  it.  These  manoeuvres 
were  repeated,  and  each  time  it  came  to  the  surface  it  received 
at  least  one  bullet  in  the  head,  and  grew  more  and  more  ex- 
hausted ;  but,  as  it  always  faced  us,  it  was  difficult  to  give  it  a 
mortal  v»round  behind  the  ear.  The  blood,  however,  now  flowed 
in  streams.  During  one  of  these  manoeuvres  I  was  in  the  act  of 
placing  my  gun  hurriedly  in  its  case  on  the  deck,  in  order  to 
row  nearer,  forgetting  that  it  was  cocked,  when  all  at  once  it 
went  off.  I  was  rather  alarmed,  thinking  the  ball  had  gone 
through  the  bottom  of  the  kayak,  and  I  began  feeling  my  legs. 
They  were  uninjured,  however,  and  as  I  did  not  hear  the  water 
rushing  in  either  I  was  reassured.  The  ball  had  passed  through 
the  deck  and  out  through  the  side  a  little  above  the  water- 
line.  We  had  now  had  enough  of  this  sport,  however  ;  the  wal- 
rus only  lay  gasping  for  breath,  and  just  as  we  rowed  towards  it 
it  turned  its  head  a  little,  and  received  two  bullets  just  behind 
the  ear.  It  lay  still,  and  we  rowed  up  to  throw  our  harpoon  ; 
but  before  we  got  near  enough  it  sank  and  disappeared.  It 
was  a  melancholy  ending  to  the  affair.  In  all,  nine  cartridges 
had  been  expended  to  no  purpose,  and  we  silently  rowed  to 
shore,  not  a  little  crestfallen.  We  tried  no  more  walrus-hunt- 
ing from  kayaks  that  day ;   but  we  now  saw  that  a  walrus  had 


LAND  AT  LAST  503 

come  up  onto  the  shore-ice  a  little  way  off.  Perhaps  we  were 
to  receive  compensation  there  for  the  one  we  had  just  lost.  It 
was  not  long  before  another  came  up  beside  the  first.  After  hav- 
ing taken  an  observation  and  given  them  time  to  compose  them- 
selves, we  set  off.  Having  bellowed  and  made  a  horrible  noise 
out  there  for  some  time,  they  now  lay  asleep  and  unsuspecting, 
and  we  stole  cautiously  up  to  them,  I  in  front  and  Johansen 
close  at  my  heels.  I  first  went  up  to  the  head  of  the  nearer 
one,  which  was  lying  with  its  back  to  us.  As  it  had  drawn  its 
head  well  down,  and  it  was  difficult  to  get  a  shot  at  a  vulnera- 
ble point,  I  passed  behind  it,  and  up  to  the  head  of  the  other  one. 
The  animals  still  lay  motionless,  asleep  in  the  sun.  The  second 
was  in  a  better  position  for  a  shot,  and,  when  I  saw  Johansen 
standing  ready  at  the  head  of  the  first,  I  fired  at  the  back  of  the 
neck.  The  animal  turned  over  a  little,  and  lay  there  dead.  At 
the  report  the  first  started  up,  but  at  the  same  moment  received 
Johansen's  bullet.  Half  stunned,  it  turned  its  gigantic  body 
round  towards  us  ;  in  a  moment  I  had  discharged  the  ball  from 
my  smooth-bore  at  it,  but,  like  Johansen,  I  hit  too  far  forward 
in  the  head.  The  blood  streamed  from  its  nostrils  and  mouth, 
and  it  breathed  and  coughed  till  the  air  vibrated.  Support- 
ing itself  upon  its  enormous  tusks,  it  now  lay  still,  coughing 
blood  like  a  consumptive  person,  and  quite  indifferent  to  us.  In 
spite  of  its  huge  body  and  shapeless  appearance,  which  called  up 
to  the  imagination  bogy,  giant,  kraken,  and  other  evil  things, 
there  was  something  so  gently  supplicating  and  helpless  in  its 
round  eyes  as  it  lay  there  that  its  goblin  exterior  and  one's  own 
need  were  forgotten  in  pity  for  it.  It  almost  seemed  like  mur- 
der. I  put  an  end  to  its  sufferings  by  a  bullet  behind  the  ear, 
but  those  eyes  haunt  me  yet ;  it  seemed  as  if  in  them  lay  the 
prayer  for  existence  of  the  whole  helpless  walrus  race.  But  it  is 
lost  ;  it  has  man  as  its  pursuer.  It  cannot,  however,  be  denied 
that  we  rejoiced  at  the  thought  of  all  the  meat  and  blubber 
we  had  now  brought  down  in  one  encounter  ;  it  made  up  for  the 
cartridges  expended  upon  the  one  that  had  sunk.  But  we  had 
not  got  them  on  land  yet,  and  it  would  be  a  long  piece  of  work 
to  get  them  skinned  and  cut  up  and  brought  home.  The  first 
thing  we  did  was  to  go  after  sledges  and  knives.  As  there  was 
a  possibility,  too,  of  the  ice  breaking  off  and  being  set  adrift,  I 
also  thought  it  wise  to  take  the  kayaks  on  the  sledges  at  the 


504  FARTHEST  NORTH 

same  time,  for  it  had  begun  to  blow  a  little  from  the  fjord.  But 
for  this  fortunate  precaution  it  is  not  easy  to  say  what  would 
have  become  of  us.  While  we  were  engaged  in  skinning,  the 
wind  rose  rapidly,  and  soon  became  a  storm.  To  landward  of  us 
was  the  narrow  channel  or  lane  beside  which  the  walruses  had 
been  lying.  I  feared  that  the  ice  might  open  here,  and  we 
drift  away.  While  we  worked  I  therefore  kept  an  eye  on  it  to 
see  if  it  grew  broader.  It  remained  unchanged,  and  we  went  on 
skinning  as  fast  as  we  could.  When  the  first  walrus  was  half 
skinned,  I  happened  to  look  landward  across  the  ice,  and  dis- 
covered that  it  had  broken  off  a  good  way  from  us,  and  that 
the  part  on  which  we  stood  had  already  been  drifting  for  some 
time  ;  there  was  black  water  between  us  and  the  shore-ice,  and 
the  wind  was  blowing  so  that  the  spray  flew  from  the  foaming 
waves.  There  was  no  time  to  be  lost ;  it  was  more  than  doubt- 
ful whether  we  should  be  able  to  paddle  any  great  distance 
against  that  wind  and  sea,  but  as  yet  the  ice  did  not  appear  to 
have  drifted  a  greater  distance  from  the  land  than  we  could 
cross,  if  we  made  haste.  We  could  not  bring  ourselves  to  give 
up  entirely  the  huge  animals  we  had  brought  down,  and  we 
hurriedly  cut  off  as  much  flesh  as  we  could  get  at  and  flung  it 
into  the  kayaks.  We  then  cut  off  about  a  quarter  of  the  skin, 
with  the  blubber  on  it,  and  threw  it  on  the  top,  and  then  set 
off  for  the  shore.  We  had  scarcely  abandoned  our  booty  be- 
fore the  gulls  bore  down  in  scores  upon  the  half-skinned  car- 
cass. Happy  creatures !  Wind  and  waves  and  drifting  were 
nothing  to  them ;  they  screamed  and  made  a  hubbub  and 
thought  what  a  feast  they  were  having.  As  long  as  we  could 
see  the  carcasses  as  they  drifted  out  to  sea,  we  saw  the  birds 
continually  gathering  in  larger  and  larger  flocks  about  them 
like  clouds  of  snow.  In  the  meantime  we  were  doing  our  ut- 
most to  gain  the  ice,  but  it  had  developed  cracks  and  channels 
in  every  direction.  We  managed  to  get  some  distance  in  the 
kayaks ;  but  while  I  was  crossing  a  wide  channel  on  some  loose 
floes  I  alighted  on  such  poor  ice  that  it  sank  under  my  weight, 
and  I  had  to  jump  back  quickly  to  escape  a  bath.  We  tried 
in  several  places,  but  everywhere  it  sank  beneath  us  and  our 
sledges,  and  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  take  to  the  water, 
keeping  along  the  lee-side  of  the  ice.  But  we  had  not  rowed  far 
before  we  perceived  that  it  was  of  no  use  to  have  our  kayaks 


LAND  AT  LAST  505 

lashed  together  in  such  a  wind  ;  we  had  to  row  singly,  and  sacri- 
fice the  walrus  hide  and  blubber,  which  it  then  became  impos- 
sible to  take  with  us.  At  present  they  was  lying  across  the  stern 
of  both  kayaks.  While  we  were  busy  effecting  these  changes  we 
were  surrounded,  before  we  were  aware  of  it,  by  ice,  and  had  to 
pull  the  kayaks  up  hastily  to  save  them  from  being  crushed. 
We  now  tried  to  get  out  at  several  places,  but  the  ice  was  in 
constant  motion  ;  it  ground  round  as  in  a  whirlpool.  If  a  chan- 
nel opened,  we  had  no  sooner  launched  our  kayaks  than  it  once 
more  closed  violently,  and  we  had  to  snatch  them  up  in  the 
greatest  haste.  Several  times  they  were  within  a  hair's-breadth 
of  being  smashed.  Meanwhile  the  storm  was  steadily  increas- 
ing, the  spray  dashed  over  us,  and  we  drifted  farther  and  far- 
ther out  to  sea.     The  situation  was  not  pleasant. 

At  length,  however,  we  got  clear,  and  now  discovered,  to  our 
joy,  that  by  exerting  our  utmost  strength  we  could  just  force 
the  kayaks  on  against  the  wind.  It  was  a  hard  pull,  and  our 
arms  ached ;  but  still  we  crept  slowly  on  towards  land.  The  sea 
was  choppy  and  bad,  but  our  kayaks  were  good  sea-boats ;  and 
even  mine,  with  the  bullet-hole  in  it,  did  so  well  that  I  kept  to 
some  extent  dry.  The  wind  came  now  and  then  in  such  gusts 
that  we  felt  as  if  it  might  lift  us  out  of  the  water  and  upset 
us  ;  but  gradually,  as  we  drew  nearer  in  under  the  high  cliffs,  it 
became  quieter,  and  at  last,  after  a  long  time,  we  reached  the 
shore  and  could  take  breath.  We  then  rowed  in  smoother  wa- 
ter along  the  shore  up  to  our  camping-place.  It  was  with  gen- 
uine satisfaction  that  we  clambered  on  shore  that  night,  and 
how  unspeakably  comfortable  it  was  to  be  lying  again  snugly 
within  four  walls  in  our  little  den,  wet  though  we  were  !  A 
good  potful  of  meat  was  prepared,  and  our  appetite  was  raven- 
ous. It  was,  indeed,  with  sorrow  that  we  thought  of  the  lost 
walruses  now  drifting  out  there  in  the  storm  ;  but  we  were  glad 
that  we  were  not  still  in  their  company. 

I  had  not  slept  long  when  I  was  awakened  by  Johansen,  who 
said  there  was  a  bear  outside.  Even  when  only  half  awake,  I 
heard  a  strange,  low  grunting  just  outside  the  doorway.  I  start- 
ed up,  seized  my  gun,  and  crept  out.  A  she-bear  with  two  large 
cubs  was  going  up  the  shore  ;  they  had  just  passed  close  by  our 
door.  I  aimed  at  the  she-bear,  but,  in  my  haste,  I  missed  her. 
She  started  and  looked  round  ;  and  as  she  turned  her  broadside 


5o6  FARTHEST  NORTH 

to  me  I  sent  a  bullet  through  her  chest.  She  gave  a  fearful  roar, 
and  all  three  started  off  down  the  shore.  There  the  mother 
dropped  in  a  pool  on  the  ice,  but  the  young  ones  ran  on  and 
rushed  into  the  sea,  dashing  up  the  foam  as  they  went,  and 
began  to  swim  out.  I  hastened  down  to  the  mother,  who  was 
striving  and  striving  to  get  out  of  the  pool,  but  in  vain.  To  save 
ourselves  the  labor  of  dragging  the  heavy  animal  out,  I  waited 
until  she  had  drawn  herself  up  on  to  the  edge,  and  then  put  an  end 
to  her  existence.  Meanwhile  the  young  ones  had  reached  a  piece 
of  ice.  It  was  very  close  quarters  for  two,  and  only  just  large 
enough  to  hold  them  ;  but  there  they  sat,  balancing  and  dipping 
up  and  down  in  the  waves.  Every  now  and  then  one  of  them 
fell  off,  but  patiently  clambered  up  again.  They  cried  plaintively 
and  incessantly,  and  kept  looking  towards  land,  unable  to  under- 
stand why  their  mother  was  so  long  in  coming.  The  wind  was 
still  high,  and  they  drifted  quickly  out  to  sea  before  it  with  the 
current.  We  thought  they  would  at  last  swim  to  land  to  look 
for  their  mother,  and  that  we  must  wait ;  we  therefore  hid  our- 
selves among  the  stones,  so  that  they  should  not  be  afraid  of 
coming  on  our  account.  We  could  still  hear  them  complaining, 
but  the  sound  became  more  and  more  distant,  and  they  grew 
smaller  and  smaller  out  there  on  the  blue  waves,  till  at  last  it 
was  all  we  could  do  to  distinguish  them  as  two  white  dots  far  out 
upon  the  dark  plain.  We  had  long  been  tired  of  this,  and  went 
to  our  kayaks.  But  here  a  sad  sight  met  our  eyes.  All  the  wal- 
rus flesh  which  we  had  brought  home  with  so  much  trouble  lay 
scattered  about  on  the  shore,  torn  and  mangled  ;  and  every  bit  of 
fat  or  blubber  to  be  found  on  it  had  been  devoured.  The  bears 
must  have  been  rummaging  finely  here  while  we  slept.  One  of 
the  kayaks  in  which  the  meat  had  been  lying  was  thrown  half 
into  the  water,  the  other  high  up  among  the  stones.  The  bears 
had  been  right  into  them  and  dragged  out  the  meat ;  but,  fort- 
unately, they  were  none  the  worse,  so  it  was  easy  to  forgive  the 
bears,  and  we  benefited  by  the  exchange  of  bear's  flesh  for  wal- 
rus flesh. 

We  then  launched  the  kayaks,  and  put  off  to  chase  the  young 
ones  to  land.  As  soon  as  ever  they  saw  us  on  the  water  they 
became  uneasy,  and  while  we  were  still  some  way  off  one  of  them 
took  to  the  water.  The  other  hesitated  for  a  while,  as  if  afraid 
of  the  water,  while  the  first  waited  impatiently  ;  but  at  last  they 


LAND  AT  LAST  507 

both  went  in.  We  made  a  wide  circuit  round  them,  and  began 
to  drive  them  towards  the  land,  one  of  us  on  each  side  of  them. 
It  was  easy  to  make  them  go  in  whatever  direction  we  wanted, 
and  Johansen  could  not  say  enough  in  praise  of  this  simple 
method  of  getting  bears  from  one  place  to  another.  We  did  not 
need  to  row  hard  to  keep  up  with  them  ;  we  went  slowly  and 
easily,  but  surely,  towards  land.  We  saw  several  walruses  in  the 
vicinity,  but  fortunately  escaped  being  attacked  by  any  of  them. 
From  the  very  first  it  was  evident  how  much  better  the  bear 
that  first  went  into  the  water  swam,  although  it  was  the  smaller 
and  thinner.  It  waited,  however,  patiently  for  the  other,  and 
kept  it  company  ;  but  at  last  the  pace  of  the  latter  became  too 
slow  for  its  companion,  who  struck  out  for  the  shore,  the  dis- 
tance between  the  two  growing  greater  and  greater.  They  had 
kept  incessantly  turning  their  heads  to  look  anxiously  at  us,  and 
now  the  one*  that  was  left  behind  looked  round  even  more  help- 
lessly than  before.  While  I  set  off  after  the  first  bear,  Johansen 
watched  the  second,  and  we  drove  them  ashore  by  our  den,  and 
shot  them  there. 

We  had  thus  taken  three  bears  on  that  day,  and  this  was  a 
good  set-off  against  our  walruses,  which  had  drifted  out  to  sea, 
and,  what  was  no  less  fortunate,  we  found  the  sunken  walrus 
from  the  day  before  floating  just  at  the  edge  of  the  shore.  We 
lost  no  time  in  towing  it  into  a  place  of  safety  in  a  creek  and 
making  it  fast.     It  made  a  difference  to  our  winter  store. 

It  was  late  before  we  turned  in  that  night  after  having  skinned 
the  bears,  laid  them  in  a  heap,  and  covered  them  with  the  skins 
to  prevent  the  gulls  from  getting  at  them.  We  slept  well,  for  we 
had  to  make  up  for  two  nights. 

It  was  not  until  September  2d  that  we  could  set  to  work  on 
the  skinning  of  our  walrus,  which  still  lay  in  the  water.  Close  to 
our  den  there  was  an  opening  in  the  strand-ice,*  connecting  the 
inner  channel  between  the  strand-ice  and  the  land  with  the  outer 
sea.  It  was  in  this  opening  that  we  had  made  it  fast,  and  we 
hoped  to  be  able  to  draw  it  on  land  here ;  the  glacier-ice  went 

*  Ice  which  is  frozen  fast  to  the  bottom,  and  is  therefore  often  left 
lying  like  an  icy  base  along  the  shore  even  after  the  sea  is  free  from  ice. 
On  account  of  the  warm  water  which  comes  from  the  land,  an  open 
channel  is  often  formed  between  this  ice-base  and  the  shore. 


5o8  FARTHEST  NORTH 

with  a  gentle  incline  right  out  into  the  water,  so  that  it  seemed 
to  promise  well.  We  rounded  off  the  edge  of  the  ice,  made  a 
tackle  by  drawing  the  rope  through  a  loop  we  cut  in  the  skin  of 
the  head,  used  our  broken-off  runner  of  a  sledge  as  a  handspike 
at  the  end  of  the  rope,  and  cut  notches  in  the  ice  up  the  beach  as 
a  fulcrum  for  the  handspike.  But  work  and  toil  as  we  might,  it 
was  all  we  could  do  to  get  the  huge  head  up  over  the  edge  of  the 
ice.  In  the  midst  of  this  Johansen  cried,  "  I  say,  look  there  !"  I 
turned.  A  large  walrus  was  swimming  straight  up  the  channel 
towards  us.  It  did  not  seem  to  be  in  any  hurry,  but  only  opened 
wide  its  round  eyes,  and  gazed  in  astonishment  at  us  and  at  what 
we  were  doing.  I  suppose  that,  seeing  a  comrade,  it  had  come  in 
to  see  what  we  were  doing  with  him.  Quietly,  slowly,  and  with 
dignity  it  came  right  up  to  the  edge  where  we  stood.  Fortunate- 
ly we  had  our  guns  with  us,  and  when  I  approached  with  mine  it 
only  rose  up  in  the  water  and  gazed  long  and  searchingly  at  me. 
I  waited  patiently  until  it  turned  a  little,  and  then  sent  a  bullet 
into  the  back  of  its  head.  It  was  stunned  for  a  time,  but  soon 
began  to  move,  so  that  more  shots  were  required.  While  Johan- 
sen ran  for  cartridges  and  a  harpoon  I  had  to  fight  with  it  as  I 
best  could,  and  try  to  prevent  it,  with  a  stick,  from  splashing  out 
of  the  channel  again.  At  last  Johansen  returned,  and  I  did  for 
this  walrus.  We  were  delighted  over  our  good  fortune;  but  what 
the  walrus  wanted  in  that  narrow  channel  we  have  always  won- 
dered. These  animals  must  be  uncommonly  curious.  While  we 
were  skinning  the  bears  two  days  before,  a  walrus  with  its  young 
one  came  close  in  to  the  edge  of  the  ice  and  gazed  at  us  ;  it  dived 
several  times,  but  always  returned,  and  at  last  drew  the  whole  of 
the  fore  part  of  its  body  up  on  to  the  ice  in  order  to  see  better. 
This  it  did  several  times,  and  my  approaching  to  within  a  few 
yards  of  it  did  not  drive  it  away ;  it  was  only  when  I  went  up 
close  to  it  with  my  gun  that  it  suddenly  came  to  its  senses  and 
threw  itself  backward  into  the  water  again,  and  we  could  see  it 
far  below  moving  off  with  its  young  one  by  its  side. 

We  now  had  two  great  walruses  with  enormous  tusks  floating 
in  our  channel.  We  tried  once  more  to  drag  one  of  them  up,  but 
the  attempt  was  as  unsuccessful  as  before.  At  last  we  saw  that  our 
only  course  was  to  skin  them  in  the  water ;  but  this  was  neither 
an  easy  nor  an  agreeable  task.  When  at  last,  late  in  the  evening, 
we  had  got  one  side  of  one  animal  skinned,  it  was  low-water  ;  the 


LAND  AT  LAST  509 

walrus  lay  on  the  bottom,  and  there  was  no  possibility  of  turning 
it  over,  no  matter  how  we  toiled  and  pulled.  We  had  to  wait  for 
high  tide  the  following  day  in  order  to  get  at  the  other  side. 

While  we  were  busy  with  the  walruses  that  day  we  suddenly 
saw  the  whole  fjord  white  with  white  whales  gambolling  all  round 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  see.  There  was  an  incredible  number  of 
them.  In  the  course  of  an  hour  they  had  entirely  disappeared. 
Where  they  came  from  and  whither  they  went  I  was  not  able  to 
discover. 

During  the  succeeding  days  we  toiled  at  our  task  of  skinning 
and  cutting  up  the  walruses,  and  bringing  all  up  into  a  safe  place 
on  the  beach.  It  was  disgusting  work,  lying  on  the  animals  out 
in  the  water  and  having  to  cut  down  as  far  as  one  could  reach 
below  the  surface  of  the  water.  We  could  put  up  with  getting 
wet,  for  one  gets  dry  in  time  ;  but  what  was  worse  was  that  we 
could  not  avoid  being  saturated  with  blubber  and  oil  and  blood 
from  head  to  foot ;  and  our  poor  clothes,  that  we  should  have  to 
live  in  for  another  year  before  we  could  change,  fared  badly  dur- 
ing those  days.  They  so  absorbed  oil  that  it  went  right  through 
to  the  skin.  This  walrus  business  w'as  unquestionably  the  worst 
work  of  the  whole  expedition,  and  had  it  not  been  a  sheer  neces- 
sity we  should  have  let  the  animals  lie  where  they  were;  but 
we  needed  fuel  for  the  winter,  even  if  we  could  have  done  with- 
out the  meat.  When  at  last  the  task  was  completed,  and  we 
had  two  great  heaps  of  blubber  and  meat  on  shore,  well  covered 
by  the  thick  walrus  hides,  we  were  not  a  little  pleased. 

During  this  time  the  gulls  were  living  in  luxury.  There  was 
abundance  of  refuse,  blubber,  entrails,  and  other  internal  organs. 
They  gathered  in  large  flocks  from  all  quarters,  both  ivory  and 
glaucus  gulls,  and  kept  up  a  perpetual  screaming  and  noise  both 
night  and  day.  When  they  had  eaten  as  much  as  they  could 
manage  they  generally  sat  out  on  the  ice-hummocks  and  chat- 
tered together.  When  we  came  down  to  skin  they  withdrew  only 
a  very  little  way  from  the  carcasses,  and  sat  waiting  patiently  in 
long  rows  on  the  ice  beside  us,  or,  led  on  by  a  few  bold  officers, 
drew  continually  nearer.  No  sooner  did  a  little  scrap  of  blubber 
fall  than  two  or  three  ivory  gulls  would  pounce  upon  it,  often  at 
our  very  feet,  and  fight  over  it  until  the  feathers  flew.  Outside 
the  fulmars  were  sailing  in  their  silent,  ghost-like  flight  to  and 
fro  over  the  surface  of  the  water.     Up  and  down  the  edge  of  the 


510  FARTHEST  NORTH 

shore  flocks  of  kittiwakes  moved  incessantly,  darting  like  an 
arrow,  with  a  dull  splash,  towards  the  surface  of  the  water,  when- 
ever a  little  crustacean  appeared  there.  We  were  particularly 
fond  of  these  birds,  for  they  kept  exclusively  to  the  marine  ani- 
mals and  left  our  blubber  alone ;  and  then  they  were  so  light  and 
pretty.  But  up  and  down  along  the  shore  the  skua  (Stercorariiis 
crepidatus)  chased  incessantly,  and  every  now  and  again  we  were 
startled  by  a  pitiful  cry  of  distress  above  our  heads  ;  it  was  a  kit- 
tiwake  pursued  by  a  skua.  How  often  we  followed  with  our  eyes 
that  wild  chase  up  in  the  air,  until  at  last  the  kittiwake  had  to 
drop  its  booty,  and  down  shot  the  skua,  catching  it  even  before 
it  touched  the  water  !  Happy  creatures  that  can  move  with  such 
freedom  up  there !  Out  in  the  water  lay  walruses,  diving  and 
bellowing,  often  whole  herds  of  them ;  and  high  up  in  the  air,  to 
and  fro,  flew  the  little  auks  in  swarms  ;  you  could  hear  the  whir 
of  their  wings  far  off.  There  were  cries  and  life  on  all  sides.  But 
soon  the  sun  will  sink,  the  sea  will  close  in,  the  birds  will  dis- 
appear one  after  another  towards  the  south,  the  polar  night  will 
begin,  and  there  will  be  profound,  unbroken  silence. 

It  was  with  pleasure  that  we  at  last,  on  September  7th,  set  to 
work  to  build  our  hut.  We  had  selected  a  good  site  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  from  this  time  forward  we  might  have  been 
seen  daily  going  out  in  the  morning  like  other  laborers,  with  a 
can  of  drinking-water  in  one  hand  and  a  gun  in  the  other.  We 
quarried  stones  up  among  the  debris  from  the  cliff,  dragged 
them  together,  dug  out  the  site,  and  built  walls  as  well  as  we 
could.  We  had  no  tools  worth  mentioning  ;  those  we  used  most 
were  our  two  hands.  The  cut-off  sledge-runner  again  did  duty 
as  a  pick  with  which  to  loosen  the  fast-frozen  stones,  and  when 
we  could  not  manage  to  dig  up  the  earth  on  our  site  with  our 
hands  we  used  a  snow-shoe  staff  with  an  iron  ferrule.  We  made 
a  spade  out  of  the  shoulder-blade  of  a  walrus  tied  to  a  piece  of  a 
broken  snow-shoe  staff,  and  a  mattock  out  of  a  walrus  tusk  tied 
to  the  crosstree  of  a  sledge.  They  were  poor  things  to  work  with, 
but  we  managed  it  with  patience,  and  little  by  little  there  arose 
solid  walls  of  stone  with  moss  and  earth  between.  The  weather  was 
growing  gradually  colder,  and  hindered  us  not  a  little  in  our  work. 
The  soil  we  had  to  dig  in  hardened,  and  the  stones  that  had  to 
be  quarried  froze  fast ;  and  there  came  snow  too.  But  great  was 
our  surprise  when  we  crept  out  of  our  den  on  the  morning  of 


LAND  AT  LAST  511 

the  12th  of  September  to  find  the  most  delightful  thaw,  with 
4°  (C.)  of  heat  (39.2°  Fahr.).  This  was  almost  the  highest  tem- 
perature we  had  experienced  throughout  the  expedition.  On 
every  side  streams  were  tumbling  in  foaming  falls  down  from 
mountain  and  glacier,  humming  along  merrily  among  the  stones 
down  to  the  sea.  Water  trickled  and  tinkled  everywhere  ;  as  if 
by  a  stroke  of  magic,  life  had  returned  to  frozen  nature,  and  the 
hill  looked  green  all  over.  One  could  fancy  one's  self  far  south, 
and  forget  that  a  long,  long  winter  was  drawing  near.  The  day 
after,  everything  was  changed  again.  The  gentle  gods  of  the 
south,  who  yesterday  had  put  forth  their  last  energies,  had  once 
more  fled ;  the  cold  had  returned,  snow  had  fallen  and  covered 
every  trace  ;  it  would  not  yield  again.  This  little  strip  of  bare 
ground,  too,  was  in  the  power  of  the  genii  of  the  cold  and  dark- 
ness ;  they  held  sway  now,  right  down  to  the  sea.  I  stood  look- 
ing out  over  it.  How  desolate  and  forsaken  this  spell -bound 
nature  looked  !  My  eye  fell  upon  the  ground  at  my  feet.  Down 
there  among  the  stones,  the  poppy  still  reared  its  beautiful  blos- 
soms above  the  snow ;  the  last  rays  of  the  departing  sun  would 
once  more  kiss  its  yellow  petals,  and  then  it  would  creep  beneath 
its  covering  to  sleep  through  the  long  winter,  and  awake  again 
to  new  life  in  the  spring.     Ah  to  be  able  to  do  tjie  same  ! 

After  a  week's  work  the  walls  of  our  hut  were  finished.  They 
were  not  high,  scarcely  3  feet  above  the  ground  ;  but  we  had 
dug  down  the  same  distance  into  the  ground,  so  we  reckoned 
that  it  would  be  high  enough  to  stand  up  in.  Now  the  thing 
was  to  get  it  roofed,  but  this  was  not  so  easy.  The  only  mate- 
rials we  had  towards  it  were,  as  before  mentioned,  the  log  we 
had  found  and  the  walrus  hides.  The  log,  which  was  quite  12 
inches  across,  Johansen  at  last,  after  a  day's  work,  succeeded  in 
cutting  in  two  with  our  little  axe,  and  with  no  less  labor  we 
rolled  it  up  over  the  talus  and  on  to  the  level,  and  it  was  laid  on 
the  roof  as  the  ridge  -  piece.  Then  there  were  the  hides ;  but 
they  were  stiff  and  frozen  fast  to  the  meat  and  blubber  heaps 
which  they  covered.  With  much  difficulty  we  at  length  loosened 
them  by  using  wedges  of  walrus  tusks,  stone,  and  wood.  To 
transport  these  great  skins  over  the  long  distance  to  our  hut 
was  a  no  less  difficult  matter.  However,  by  rolling  them,  carry- 
ing them,  and  dragging  them  we  accomplished  this  too  ;  but  to 
get  the  frozen  skins  stretched  over  the  hut  was  the  worst  of  all. 


512  FARTHEST  NORTH 

We  got  on  pretty  well  with  three  half-skins,  just  managing  to 
bend  them  a  little ;  but  the  fourth  half  was  frozen  quite  stiff, 
and  we  had  to  find  a  hole  in  the  ice,  and  sink  it  in  the  sea,  to 
thaw  it. 

It  was  almost  a  cause  for  anxiety,  I  thought,  that  all  this  time 
we  saw  nothing  of  any  bears.  They  were  what  we  had  to  live 
upon  all  through  the  winter,  and  the  six  we  had  would  not  go 
far.  I  thought,  however,  that  it  might  easily  be  accounted  for, 
as  the  fjord-ice,  to  which  the  bear  prefers  to  keep,  had  taken  its 
departure  on  the  day  when  we  had  nearly  drifted  out  to  sea  with 
the  walruses,  and  I  thought  that,  when  the  ice  now  formed  again, 
bears  would  appear  once  more.  It  was  therefore  a  relief  when 
one  morning  (September  23d)  I  caught  sight  of  a  bear  in  front 
of  me,  just  as  I  came  round  the  promontory  to  look  at  the  skin 
that  we  had  in  soak  in  the  sea.  It  was  standing  on  the  shore 
close  by  the  skin.  It  had  not  seen  me,  and  I  quickly  drew  back 
to  let  Johansen,  who  was  following  with  his  gun,  pass  me,  while 
I  ran  back  to  fetch  mine.  When  I  returned,  Johansen  lay  on  the 
same  spot  behind  a  stone,  and  had  not  fired.  There  were  two 
bears,  one  by  the  hut  and  one  by  the  shore  ;  and  Johansen  could 
not  get  up  to  the  one  without  being  seen  by  the  other.  When  I 
had  gone  after  my  gun  the  bear  had  turned  its  steps  towards  the 
hut ;  but  just  as  it  reached  it  Johansen  suddenly  saw  two  bear's 
paws  come  quickly  over  the  edge  of  the  wall  and  hit  out  at  the 
first  bear,  and  a  head  followed  immediately  after.  This  fellow 
was  busily  gnawing  at  our  roof  hides,  which  he  had  torn  down 
and  bent,  so  that  we  had  to  put  them  into  the  sea  too,  to  get  them 
thawed.  The  first  bear  had  to  retreat  to  the  shore  once  more, 
where  we  afterwards  discovered  it  had  drawn  up  our  hide  and 
had  been  scraping  the  fat  off  it.  Under  cover  of  some  hummocks 
we  now  ran  towards  it.  It  noticed  us,  and  set  off  running,  and 
I  was  only  able  to  send  a  bullet  through  its  body  from  behind. 
Shouting  out  to  Johansen  that  he  must  look  after  the  other  bear, 
I  set  off  running,  and  after  a  couple  of  hours'  pursuit  up  the 
fjord  I  at  last  chased  it  up  under  the  wall  of  a  glacier,  where  it 
prepared  to  defend  itself.  I  went  right  up  to  it,  but  it  growled 
and  hissed,  and  made  one  or  two  attacks  on  me  from  the  eleva- 
tion on  which  it  stood  before  I  finally  put  an  end  to  its  existence. 
When  I  got  back  Johansen  was  busy  skinning  the  other  bear.  It 
had  been  alarmed  by  us  when  we  attacked  the  first,  and  had  gone 


LAND  AT  LAST  513 

a  long  way  out  over  the  ice  ;  it  had  then  returned  to  look  for  its 
companion,  and  Johansen  had  shot  it.  Our  winter  store  was  in- 
creasing. 

The  next  day  (September  24th),  as  we  were  setting  out  to 
work  at  our  hut,  we  saw  a  large  herd  of  walruses  lying  out  on 
the  ice.  We  had  both  had  more  than  enough  of  these  animals, 
and  had  very  little  inclination  for  them.  Johansen  was  of  candid 
opinion  that  we  had  no  need  for  them,  and  could  let  them  lie  in 
peace  ;  but  I  thought  it  was  rather  improvident  to  have  food  and 
fuel  lying  at  one's  very  door  and  make  no  use  of  them,  so  we  set 
off  with  our  guns.  To  steal  up  to  the  animals,  under  cover  of 
some  elevations  on  the  ice,  was  a  matter  of  small  difficulty,  and 
we  had  soon  come  within  40  feet  of  them,  and  could  lie  there 
quietly  and  watch  them.  The  point  was  to  choose  one's  victim, 
and  make  good  use  of  one's  shot,  so  as  not  to  waste  cartridges. 
There  were  both  old  and  young  animals,  and,  having  had  more 
than  enough  of  big  ones,  we  decided  to  try  for  the  two  smallest 
that  we  could  see  ;  we  thought  we  had  no  need  of  more  than  two. 
As  we  lay  waiting  for  them  to  turn  their  heads  and  give  us  the 
chance  of  a  good  shot,  we  had  plenty  of  opportunity  to  watch 
them.  They  are  strange  animals.  They  lay  incessantly  poking 
one  another  in  the  back  with  their  huge  tusks,  both  the  big  old 
ones  and  the  little  young  ones.  If  one  of  them  turned  over  a 
little,  so  as  to  come  near  and  disturb  his  neighbor,  the  latter  im- 
mediately raised  itself,  grunting,  and  dug  its  tusks  into  the  back 
of  the  first.  It  was  by  no  means  a  gentle  caress,  and  it  is  well  for 
them  that  they  have  such  a  thick  hide ;  but,  as  it  was,  the  blood 
ran  down  the  backs  of  several  of  them.  The  other  would,  per- 
haps, start  up  too,  and  return  the  little  attention  in  the  same 
manner.  But  it  was  when  another  guest  came  up  from  the  sea 
that  there  was  a  stir  in  the  camp  ;  they  all  grunted  in  chorus, 
and  one  of  the  old  bulls  that  lay  nearest  to  the  new  arrival  gave 
him  some  well-meant  blows.  The  new-comer,  however,  drew 
himself  cautiously  up,  bowed  respectfully,  and  little  by  little  drew 
himself  in  among  the  others,  who  also  then  gave  him  as  many 
blows  as  time  and  circumstances  would  permit,  until  they  finally 
composed  themselves  again,  and  lay  quiet  until  another  interrup- 
tion came.  We  waited  in  vain  for  the  animals  we  had  picked  out 
to  turn  their  heads  enough  to  let  us  get  a  good  shot ;  but  as  they 
were  comparatively  small  we  thought  that  a  bullet  in  the  middle 
33 


514  FARTHEST  NORTH 

of  the  forehead  might  be  enough  for  them,  and  at  last  we  fired. 
They  started  up,  however,  and  turned  over,  half  stunned,  into  the 
water.  Then  there  was  a  commotion  !  The  whole  herd  quickly 
raised  their  ugly  heads,  glared  at  us,  and  one  by  one  plunged  out 
over  the  edge  of  the  ice.  We  had  hastily  loaded  again,  and  as  it 
was  not  difficult  now  to  get  a  good  shot  we  fired,  and  there  lay 
two  animals,  one  young  and  one  old.  Most  of  the  others  dived, 
only  one  remaining  quietly  lying,  and  looking  wonderingly,  now 
at  its  two  dead  companions,  and  now  at  us  as  we  came  up  to  it. 
We  did  not  quite  know  what  to  do  ;  we  thought  that  the  two 
that  were  now  lying  there  would  give  us  more  than  enough  to  do, 
but  nevertheless  it  was  tempting  to  take  this  great  monster  as 
well,  while  we  were  about  it.  While  Johansen  was  standing  with 
his  gun,  considering  whether  he  should  fire  or  not,  I  took  the  op- 
portunity of  photographing  both  him  and  the  walrus.  It  ended, 
however,  in  our  letting  it  go  unharmed  ;  we  did  not  think  we 
could  afford  to  sacrifice  more  cartridges  upon  it.  Meantime  the 
water  beyond  was  seething  with  furious  animals,  as  they  broke 
up  the  ice  round  about  and  filled  the  air  with  their  roaring.  The 
big  bull  himself  seemed  especially  anxious  to  get  at  us  ;  he  kept 
returning  to  the  edge  of  the  ice,  getting  half  up  on  to  it  to  grunt 
and  bellow  at  us  and  look  long  at  his  dead  comrades,  whom  he 
evidently  wished  to  take  with  him.  But  we  would  not  waste 
more  cartridges  upon  them,  and  he  threw  himself  back,  only  to 
return  again  immediately.  Gradually  the  whole  herd  departed, 
and  we  could  hear  the  big  bull's  grunting  becoming  more  and  more 
distant;  but  suddenly  his  huge  head  appeared  again  at  the  edge  of 
the  ice,  close  to  us,  as  he  challenged  us  with  a  roar,  and  then  dis- 
appeared again  as  quickly  as  he  had  come.  This  was  repeated 
three  or  four  times  after  our  having  in  the  intervals  heard  him 
far  out ;  but  at  last  he  disappeared  entirely,  and  we  continued 
our  work  of  skinning  in  peace.  We  very  quickly  skinned  the 
smaller  of  the  walruses  ;  it  was  easy  to  manipulate  compared  to 
those  we  were  accustomed  to.  The  other,  however,  was  a  great 
fellow  that  could  not  be  easily  turned  over  in  the  hollow  in  the 
snow  where  he  lay  ;  so  we  contented  ourselves  with  skinning  one 
side  from  head  to  tail,  and  then  went  home  again  with  our 
blubber  and  skins.  We  now  thought  we  should  have  blubber 
enough  for  winter  fuel,  and  had  also  abundance  of  skins  for  cov- 
ering the  roof  of  our  hut. 


LAND  AT  LAST  5i5 

The  walruses  still  kept  near  us  for  some  time.  Every  now 
and  then  we  would  hear  some  violent  blows  on  the  ice  from  be- 
neath, two  or  three  in  succession,  and  then  a  great  head  would 
burst  up  with  a  crash  through  the  ice.  It  would  remain  there 
for  a  time  panting  and  puffing  so  that  it  would  be  heard  a  long 
way  off,  and  then  vanish  again.  On  September  25th,  while  v/e 
were  pulling  our  roof  hides  out  of  the  water  at  a  hole  near  the 
shore,  we  heard  the  same  crashing  in  the  ice  a  little  farther  out, 
and  a  walrus  came  up  and  then  dived  again.  "  Look  there  !  It 
won't  be  long  before  we  have  him  in  this  hole."  The  words  were 
scarcely  spoken,  when  our  hide  in  the  water  was  pushed  aside 
and  a  huge  head,  with  bristles  and  two  long  tusks,  popped  up  in 
front  of  us.  It  gazed  fixedly  and  wickedly  at  us  standing  there ; 
then  there  was  a  tremendous  splash  and  it  was  gone. 

Our  hides  were  now  so  far  softened  in  the  sea  that  we  could 
stretch  them  over  the  roof.  They  were  so  long  that  they  reached 
from  one  side  of  the  hut  right  over  the  ridge-piece  down  to  the 
other  side,  and  we  stretched  them  by  hanging  large  stones  at 
both  ends,  attached  by  strips  of  hide,  thus  weighing  them  down 
over  the  edges  of  the  wall,  and  we  then  piled  stones  upon  them. 
By  the  aid  of  stones,  moss,  strips  of  hide,  and  snow  to  cover 
everything,  we  made  the  edges  of  the  walls  to  some  extent  close- 
fitting.  To  make  the  hut  habitable,  we  still  had  to  construct 
benches  of  stone  to  lie  upon  inside  it,  and  also  a  door.  This  con- 
sisted of  an  opening  in  one  corner  of  the  wall,  which  led  into  a 
short  passage  dug  out  in  the  ground  and  subsequently  roofed 
over  with  blocks  of  ice,  on  very  much  the  same  principle  as  the 
passage  to  an  Eskimo's  house.  We  had  not  dug  this  passage  so 
long  as  we  wished  before  the  ground  was  frozen  too  hard  for  our 
implements.  It  was  so  low  that  we  had  to  creep  through  it  in 
a  squatting  posture  to  get  into  the  hut.  The  inner  opening  was 
covered  with  a  bearskin  curtain,  sewed  firmly  to  the  walrus  hide 
of  the  roof ;  the  outer  end  was  covered  with  a  loose  bearskin  laid 
over  the  opening.  It  began  to  grow  cold  now,  as  low  as  —20^ 
C.  (4°  below  zero,  Fahr.) ;  and  living  in  our  low  den,  where  we 
had  not  room  to  move,  became  more  and  more  intolerable.  The 
smoke,  too,  from  the  oil-lamp,  when  we  did  any  cooking,  always 
affected  our  eyes.  We  grew  daily  more  impatient  to  move  into 
our  new  house,  which  now  appeared  to  us  the  acme  of  comfort. 
Our  ever-recurring  remark  while  we  were  building  was,  how  nice 


5i6  FARTHEST  NORTH 

and  snug  it  would  be  when  we  got  in,  and  we  depicted  to  each 
other  the  many  pleasant  hours  we  should  spend  there.  We  were, 
of  course,  anxious  to  discover  all  the  bright  points  that  we  could 
in  our  existence.  The  hut  was  certainly  not  large  ;  it  was  lo  feet 
long  and  6  feet  wide,  and  when  you  lay  across  it  you  kicked  the 
wall  on  one  side  and  butted  it  on  the  other.  You  could  move  in 
it  a  little,  however,  and  even  I  could  almost  stand  upright  under 
the  roof.  This  was  a  thought  which  especially  appealed  to  us. 
Fancy  having  a  place  sheltered  from  the  wind  where  you  could 
stretch  your  limbs  a  little !  We  had  not  had  that  since  last  March, 
on  board  the  Fram.  It  was  long,  however,  before  everything 
was  in  order,  and  we  would  not  move  in  until  it  was  quite  fin- 
ished. 

The  day  we  had  skinned  our  last  walruses  I  had  taken  several 
tendons  from  their  backs,  thinking  they  might  be  very  useful 
when  we  made  ourselves  clothes  for  the  winter,  for  we  were  en- 
tirely without  thread  for  that  purpose.  Not  until  a  few  days 
afterwards  (September  26th)  did  I  recollect  that  these  tendons 
had  been  left  on  the  ice  beside  the  carcasses.  I  went  out  there 
to  look  for  them,  but  found,  to  my  sorrow,  that  gulls  and  foxes 
had  long  since  made  away  with  them.  It  was  some  comfort, 
however,  to  find  traces  of  a  bear,  which  must  have  been  at  the 
carcasses  during  the  night,  and  as  I  looked  about  I  caught  sight 
of  Johansen  running  after  me,  making  signs  and  pointing  out 
towards  the  sea.  I  turned  that  way,  and  there  was  a  large  bear, 
walking  to  and  fro  and  looking  at  us.  We  had  soon  fetched  our 
guns,  and  while  Johansen  remained  near  the  land  to  receive  the 
bear  if  it  came  that  way,  I  made  a  wide  circuit  round  it  on  the 
ice  to  drive  it  landward,  if  it  should  prove  to  be  frightened.  In 
the  meantime,  it  had  lain  down  out  there  beside  some  holes,  I 
suppose  to  watch  for  seals.  I  stole  up  to  it ;  it  saw  me  and  at 
first  came  nearer,  but  then  thought  better  of  it,  and  moved  away 
again,  slowly  and  majestically,  out  over  the  new  ice.  I  had  no 
great  desire  to  follow  it  in  that  direction,  and  though  the  range 
was  long  I  thought  I  must  try  it.  First  one  shot ;  it  passed 
over.  Then  one  more ;  that  hit.  The  bear  started,  made  sev- 
eral leaps,  and  then  in  anger  struck  the  ice  until  it  broke,  and 
the  bear  fell  through.  There  it  lay,  splashing  and  splashing 
and  breaking  the  thin  ice  with  its  weight  as  it  tried  to  get 
out  again.     I  was  soon  beside  it,  but  did  not  want  to  sacrifice 


LAND  AT  LAST  5i7 

another  cartridge ;  I  had  faint  hopes,  too,  that  it  would  manage 
to  get  out  of  the  water  by  itself,  and  thus  save  us  the  trouble  of 
dragging  such  a  heavy  animal  out.  I  called  to  Johansen  to  come 
with  a  rope,  sledges,  and  knives,  and  in  the  meantime  I  walked 
up  and  down  waiting  and  watching.  The  bear  labored  hard,  and 
made  the  opening  in  the  ice  larger  and  larger.  It  was  wounded 
in  one  of  its  fore-legs,  so  that  it  could  use  only  the  other,  and 
the  two  hind-legs.  It  kept  on  taking  hold  and  pulling  itself  up. 
But  no  sooner  had  it  got  half  up  than  the  ice  gave  way,  and 
it  sank  down  again.  By  degrees  its  movements  became  more 
and  more  feeble,  till  at  last  it  only  lay  still  and  panted.  Then 
came  a  few  spasms,  its  legs  stiffened,  its  head  sank  down  into 
the  water,  and  all  was  still.  While  I  was  walking  up  and  down 
I  several  times  heard  walruses  round  about,  as  they  butted  holes 
in  the  ice  and  put  their  heads  through  ;  and  I  was  thinking  to 
myself  that  I  should  soon  have  them  here  too.  At  that  moment 
the  bear  received  a  violent  blow  from  beneath,  pushing  it  to 
one  side,  and  up  came  a  huge  head  with  great  tusks  ;  it  snorted, 
looked  contemptuously  at  the  bear,  then  gazed  for  a  while  won- 
deringly  at  me  as  I  stood  on  the  ice,  and  finally  disappeared 
again.  This  had  the  effect  of  making  me  think  the  old  solid  ice 
a  little  farther  in  a  pleasanter  place  of  sojourn  than  the  new  ice. 
My  suspicion  that  the  walrus  entertains  no  fear  for  the  bear  was 
more  than  ever  strengthened.  At  last  Johansen  came  with  a 
rope.  We  slipped  a  running  noose  round  the  bear's  neck  and 
tried  to  haul  it  out,  but  soon  discovered  that  this  was  beyond 
our  power ;  all  we  did  was  to  break  the  ice  under  the  animal, 
wherever  we  tried.  It  seemed  hard  to  have  to  give  it  up ;  it 
was  a  big  bear  and  seemed  to  be  unusually  fat ;  but  to  continue 
in  this  way  until  we  had  towed  up  to  the  edge  of  the  thick  ice 
would  be  a  lengthy  proceeding.  By  cutting  quite  a  narrow 
crack  in  the  new  ice,  only  wide  enough  to  draw  the  rope  through, 
up  to  the  edge  of  a  large  piece  of  ice  which  was  quite  near,  we 
got  pretty  well  out  of  the  difficulty.  It  was  now  an  easy  matter 
to  draw  the  bear  thither  under  the  ice,  and  after  breaking  a 
sufficiently  large  hole  we  drew  it  out  there.  At  last  we  had  got 
it  skinned  and  cut  up,  and,  heavily  laden  with  our  booty,  we 
turned  our  steps  homeward  late  in  the  evening  to  our  den.  As 
we  approached  the  beach  where  our  kayaks  were  lying  upon  one 
of  our  heaps  of  walrus  blubber  and   meat,  Johansen  suddenly 


5i8  FARTHEST  NORTH 

whispered  to  me,  "  I  say,  look  there !"  I  looked  up,  and  there 
stood  three  bears  on  the  heaps,  tearing  at  the  blubber.  They 
were  a  she-bear  and  two  young  ones.  "  Oh  dear  !"  said  I  ;  "  shall 
we  have  to  set  to  at  bears  again  ?"  I  was  tired,  and,  to  tell  the 
truth,  had  far  more  desire  for  our  sleeping-bag  and  a  good  potful 
of  meat.  In  a  trice  we  had  got  our  guns  out,  and  were  approach- 
ing cautiously  ;  but  they  had  caught  sight  of  us,  and  set  off 
over  the  ice.  It  was  with  an  undeniable  feeling  of  gratitude  that 
we  watched  their  retreating  forms,  A  little  later,  while  I  was 
standing  cutting  up  the  meat  and  Johansen  had  gone  to  fetch^ 
water,  I  heard  him  whistle.  I  looked  up,  and  he  pointed  out 
over  the  ice.  There  in  the  dusk  were  the  three  bears  coming 
back — our  blubber-heap  had  been  too  tempting  for  them.  I 
crept  with  my  gun  behind  some  stones  close  to  the  heap.  The 
bears  came  straight  on,  looking  neither  to  right  nor  left,  and 
as  they  passed  me  I  took  as  good  an  aim  at  the  she  -  bear  as  the 
darkness  would  allow,  and  fired.  She  roared,  bit  her  side,  and 
all  three  set  off  out  over  the  ice.  There  the  mother  fell,  and  the 
young  ones  stood  astonished  and  troubled  beside  her  until  we 
approached,  when  they  fled,  and  it  was  impossible  to  get  within 
range  of  them.  They  kept  at  a  respectful  distance,  and  watch- 
ed us  while  we  dragged  the  dead  bear  to  land  and  skinned  it. 
When  we  went  out  next  morning,  they  were  standing  sniffing  at 
the  skin  and  meat ;  but  before  we  could  get  within  range  they  saw 
us,  and  were  off  again.  We  now  saw  that  they  had  been  there 
all  night,  and  had  eaten  up  their  own  mother's  stomach,  which 
had  contained  some  pieces  of  blubber.  In  the  afternoon  they 
returned  once  more ;  and  again  we  attempted,  but  in  vain,  to 
get  a  shot  at  them.  Next  morning  (Saturday,  September  28th), 
when  we  crawled  out,  we  caught  sight  of  a  large  bear  lying 
asleep  on  our  blubber-heap.  Johansen  crept  up  close  to  it  under 
cover  of  some  stones.  The  bear  heard  something  moving,  raised 
its  head,  and  looked  round.  At  the  same  instant  Johansen  fired, 
and  the  bullet  went  right  through  the  bear's  throat,  just  below 
the  cranium.  It  got  slowly  up,  looked  contemptuously  at  Johan- 
sen, considered  a  little,  and  then  walked  quietly  away  with  long, 
measured  steps  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  It  soon  had  a 
couple  of  bullets  from  each  of  us  in  its  body,  and  fell  out  on  the 
thin  ice.  It  was  so  full  of  food  that,  as  it  lay  there,  blubber  and 
oil  and  water  ran  out  of  its  mouth  on  to  the  ice,  which  began 


LAND  AT  LAST  5^9 

gradually  to  sink  under  its  weight,  until  it  lay  in  a  large  pool, 
and  we  hastily  dragged  it  in  to  the  shore,  before  the  ice  gave 
way  beneath  it.  It  was  one  of  the  largest  bears  I  have  ever 
seen,  but  also  one  of  the  leanest ;  for  there  was  not  a  trace  of 
fat  upon  it,  neither  underneath  the  skin  nor  among  the  entrails. 
It  must  have  been  fasting  for  a  long  time  and  been  uncommon- 
ly hungry ;  for  it  had  consumed  an  incredible  quantity  of  our 
blubber.  And  how  it  had  pulled  it  about !  First  it  had  thrown 
one  kayak  off,  then  it  had  scattered  the  blubber  about  in  all 
directions,  scraping  off  the  best  of  the  fat  upon  almost  every 
single  piece  ;  then  it  had  gathered  the  blubber  together  again  in 
another  place,  and  then,  happy  with  the  happiness  of  satiety, 
had  lain  down  to  sleep  upon  it,  perhaps  so  as  to  have  it  handy 
when  it  woke  up  again.  Previous  to  attacking  the  blubber-heap 
it  had  accomplished  another  piece  of  work,  which  we  only  dis- 
covered later  on.  It  had  killed  both  the  young  bears  that  had 
been  visiting  us ;  we  found  them  not  far  off,  with  broken  skulls 
and  frozen  stiff.  We  could  see  by  the  footprints  how  it  had  run 
after  them  out  over  the  new  ice,  first  one  and  then  the  other, 
and  had  dragged  them  on  land,  and  laid  them  down  without 
touching  them  again.  What  pleasure  it  can  have  in  doing  this 
I  do  not  understand,  but  it  must  have  regarded  them  as  com- 
petitors in  the  struggle  for  food.  Or  was  it,  perhaps,  a  cross 
old  gentleman  who  did  not  like  young  people  ?  "  It  is  so  nice 
and  quiet  here  now,"  said  the  ogre  when  he  had  cleared  the 
country. 

Our  winter  store  now  began  quite  to  inspire  confidence. 

At  length,  on  the  evening  of  that  day,  we  moved  into  our  new 
hut  ;  but  our  first  night  there  was  a  cold  one.  Hitherto  we  had 
slept  in  one  bag  all  the  time,  and  even  the  one  we  had  made  by 
sewing  together  our  two  blankets  had  been  fairly  adequate.  But 
now  we  thought  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  sleep  in  one  bag 
any  longer,  as  we  should  make  the  hut  so  warm  by  burning  train- 
oil  lamps  in  it  that  we  could  very  well  lie  each  in  our  own  berth 
with  a  blanket  over  us,  and  so  we  had  unpicked  the  bag.  Lamps 
were  made  by  turning  up  the  corners  of  some  sheets  of  German 
silver,  filling  them  with  crushed  blubber,  and  laying  in  this,  by 
way  of  a  wick,  some  pieces  of  stuff  from  the  bandages  in  the 
medicine-bag.  They  burned  capitally,  and  gave  such  a  good 
light,  too,  that  we  thought  it  looked  very  snug ;  but  it  neither 


520  FARTHEST  NORTH 

was  nor  ever  would  be  sufficient  to  warm  our  still  rather  per- 
meable hut,  and  we  lay  and  shivered  with  cold  all  night.  We 
almost  thought  it  was  the  coldest  night  we  had  had.  Breakfast 
next  morning  tasted  excellent,  and  the  quantity  of  bear-broth 
we  consumed  in  order  to  put  a  little  warmth  into  our  bodies  is 
incredible.  We  at  once  decided  to  alter  this  by  making  along 
the  back  wall  of  the  hut  a  sleeping-shelf  broad  enough  for  us  to 
lie  beside  each  other.  The  blankets  were  sewed  together  again, 
we  spread  bearskins  under  us,  and  were  as  comfortable  as  we 
could  be  under  the  circumstances ;  and  we  made  no  further  at- 
tempt to  part  company  at  night.  It  was  impossible  to  make  the 
substratum  at  all  even,  with  the  rough,  angular  stones  which, 
now  that  everything  was  frozen,  were  all  we  had  at  our  disposal, 
and  therefore  we  lay  tossing  and  twisting  the  whole  winter  to 
find  something  like  a  comfortable  place  among  all  the  knobs. 
But  it  was  hard,  and  remained  so ;  and  we  always  had  some 
tender  spots  on  our  body,  and  even  sores  on  our  hips,  with  ly- 
ing. But,  for  all  that,  we  slept.  In  one  corner  of  the  hut  we 
made  a  little  hearth  to  boil  and  roast  upon.  In  the  roof  above 
we  cut  a  round  hole  in  the  walrus  hide,  and  made  a  smoke-board 
up  to  it  of  bearskin.  We  had  not  used  this  hearth  long  before 
we  saw  the  necessity  of  building  a  chimney  to  prevent  the  wind 
from  beating  down,  and  so  filling  the  hut  with  smoke  as  to  make 
it  sometimes  intolerable.  The  only  materials  we  had  for  build- 
ing this  were  ice  and  snow ;  but  with  these  we  erected  a  grand 
chimney  on  the  roof,  which  served  its  purpose,  and  made  a  good 
draught.  It  was  not  quite  permanent,  however ;  the  hole  in  it 
constantly  widened  with  use,  and  it  was  not  altogether  guiltless 
of  sometimes  dripping  down  on  to  the  hearth  ;  but  there  was 
abundance  of  this  building  material,  and  it  was  not  difficult  to 
renew  the  chimney  when  it  was  in  need  of  repair.  This  had  to 
be  done  two  or  three  times  during  the  course  of  the  winter.  On 
more  exposed  spots  we  employed  walrus  flesh,  bone,  and  such- 
like materials  to  strengthen  it. 

Our  cookery  was  as  simple  as  possible.  It  consisted  in  boiling 
bear's  flesh  and  soup  (bouillon)  in  the  morning  and  frying  steak 
in  the  evening.  We  consumed  large  quantities  at  every  meal, 
and,  strange  to  say,  we  never  grew  tired  of  this  food,  but  always 
ate  it  with  a  ravenous  appetite.  We  sometimes  either  ate  blub- 
ber with  it  or  dipped  the  pieces  of  meat  in  a  little  oil.     A  long 


LAND  AT  LAST  521 

time  might  often  pass  when  we  ate  almost  nothing  but  meat,  and 
scarcely  tasted  fat ;  but  when  one  of  us  felt  inclined  for  it  again 
he  would,  perhaps,  fish  up  some  pieces  of  burned  blubber  out  of 
the  lamps,  or  eat  what  was  left  of  the  blubber  from  which  we 
had  melted  the  lamp-oil.  We  called  these  cakes,  and  thought 
them  uncommonly  nice,  and  we  were  always  talking  of  how  de- 
licious they  would  have  been  if  we  could  have  had  a  little  sugar 
on  them. 

We  still  had  some  of  the  provisions  we  had  brought  from  the 
Fram,  but  these  we  decided  not  to  use  during  the  winter.  They 
were  placed  in  a  depot  to  be  kept  until  the  spring,  when  we 
should  move  on.  The  depot  was  well  loaded  with  stones  to  pre- 
vent the  foxes  from  running  away  with  the  bags.  They  were 
impudent  enough  already,  and  took  all  the  movable  property 
they  could  lay  hold  of.  I  discovered,  for  instance,  on  October 
loth,  that  they  had  gone  off  with  a  quantity  of  odds  and  ends  I 
had  left  in  another  depot  during  the  erection  of  the  hut ;  they  had 
taken  everything  that  they  could  possibly  carry  with  them,  such 
as  pieces  of  bamboo,  steel  wire,  harpoons  and  harpoon-lines,  my 
collection  of  stones,  mosses,  etc.,  which  were  stored  in  small  sail- 
cloth bags.  Perhaps  the  worst  of  all  was  that  they  had  gone  off 
with  a  large  ball  of  twine,  which  had  been  our  hope  and  comfort 
when  thinking  of  the  time  when  we  should  want  to  make  clothes, 
shoes,  and  sleeping-bags  of  bearskin  for  the  winter  ;  for  we  had 
reckoned  on  making  thread  out  of  the  twine.  It  was  fortunate 
that  they  had  not  gone  off  with  the  theodolite  and  our  other  in- 
struments which  stood  there  ;  but  these  must  have  been  too 
heavy  for  them.  I  was  angry  when  I  made  this  discovery,  and, 
what  made  it  more  aggravating,  it  happened  on  my  birthday. 
And  matters  did  not  improve  when,  while  hunting  about  in  the 
twilight  on  the  beach  above  the  place  where  the  things  have  been 
lying  to  see  if  I  could  at  any  rate  discover  tracks  to  show  which 
way  those  demons  had  taken  them,  I  met  a  fox  that  stopped 
at  a  distance  of  20  feet  from  me,  sat  down,  and  uttered  some 
exasperating  howls,  so  piercing  and  weird  that  I  had  to  stop 
my  ears.  It  was  evidently  on  its  way  to  my  things  again,  and 
was  now  provoked  at  being  disturbed.  I  got  hold  of  some  large 
stones  and  flung  them  at  it.  It  ran  off  a  little  way,  but  then 
seated  itself  upon  the  edge  of  the  glacier  and  howled  on,  while  I 
went  home  to  the  hut  in  a  rage,  lay  down,  and  speculated  as  to 


522  FARTHEST  NORTH 

what  we  should  do  to  be  revenged  on  the  obnoxious  animals. 
We  could  not  spare  cartridges  to  shoot  them  with,  but  we  might 
make  a  trap  of  stones.  This  we  determined  to  do,  but  nothing 
ever  came  of  it ;  there  were  always  so  many  other  things  to  oc- 
cupy us  at  first,  while  we  still  had  the  opportunity,  before  the 
snow  covered  the  talus,  and  while  it  was  light  enough  to  find 
suitable  stones.  Meanwhile  the  foxes  continued  to  annoy  us. 
One  day  they  had  taken  our  thermometer,*  which  we  always 
kept  outside  the  hut,  and  gone  off  with  it.  We  searched  for 
it  in  vain  for  a  long  time,  until  at  last  we  found  it  buried  in  a 
heap  of  snow  a  little  way  off.  From  that  time  we  were  very 
careful  to  place  a  stone  over  it  at  night,  but  one  morning  found 
that  the  foxes  had  turned  over  the  stone,  and  had  gone  off 
with  the  thermometer  again.  The  only  thing  we  found  this  time 
was  the  case,  which  they  had  thrown  away  a  little  way  off.  The 
thermometer  itself  we  were  never  to  see  again  ;  the  snow  had 
unfortunately  drifted  in  the  night,  so  that  the  tracks  had  dis- 
appeared. Goodness  only  knows  what  fox-hole  it  now  adorns  ; 
but  from  that  day  we  learned  a  lesson,  and  henceforth  fastened 
our  last  thermometer  securely. 

Meanwhile  time  passed.  The  sun  sank  lower  and  lower,  until 
on  October  15th  we  saw  it  for  the  last  time  above  the  ridge  to 
the  south ;  the  days  grew  rapidly  darker,  and  then  began  our 
third  polar  night. 

We  shot  two  more  bears  in  the  autumn,  one  on  the  8th  and 
one  on  the  21st  of  October  :  but  from  that  time  we  saw  no  more 
until  the  following  spring.  When  I  awoke  on  the  morning  of 
October  8th  I  heard  the  crunching  of  heavy  steps  in  the  snow 
outside,  and  then  began  a  rummaging  about  among  our  meat 
and  blubber  up  on  the  roof.  I  could  hear  it  was  a  bear,  and 
crept  out  with  my  gun  ;  but  when  I  came  out  of  the  passage  I 
could  see  nothing  in  the  moonlight.  The  animal  had  noticed 
me,  and  had  already  disappeared.  We  did  not  altogether  regret 
this,  as  we  had  no  great  desire  to  set  to  at  the  cold  task  of  skin- 
ning now,  in  a  wind,  and  with  39°  (70.2°  Fahr.)  of  frost. 

There  was  not  much  variety  in  our  life.  It  consisted  in  cook- 
ing and  eating  breakfast  in  the  morning.     Then,  perhaps,  came 

*  It  was  a  registering  thermometer,  which  was  also  used  as  a  sling- 
thermometer. 


LAND  AT  LAST  523 

another  nap,  after  which  we  would  go  out  to  get  a  little  exercise. 
Of  this,  however,  we  took  no  more  than  was  necessary,  as  our 
clothes,  saturated  as  they  were  with  fat,  and  worn  and  torn  in 
many  places,  were  not  exactly  adapted  for  remaining  in  the  open 
air  in  winter.  Our  wind  clothes,  which  we  should  have  had  out- 
side as  a  protection  against  the  wind,  were  so  worn  and  torn 
that  we  could  not  use  them  ;  and  we  had  so  little  thread  to  patch 
them  with  that  I  did  not  think  we  ought  to  use  any  of  it  until 
the  spring,  when  we  had  to  prepare  for  our  start.  I  had  counted 
on  being  able  to  make  ourselves  clothes  of  bearskins,  but  it  took 
time  to  cleanse  them  from  all  blubber  and  fat,  and  it  was  even 
a  slower  business  getting  them  dried.  The  only  way  to  do  this 
was  to  spread  them  out  under  the  roof  of  the  hut ;  but  there  was 
room  for  only  one  at  a  time.  When  at  last  one  was  ready  we 
had,  first  of  all,  to  use  it  on  our  bed,  for  we  were  lying  on  raw, 
greasy  skins,  which  were  gradually  rotting.  When  our  bed  had 
been  put  in  order  with  dried  skins  we  had  to  think  about  making 
a  sleeping-bag,  as,  after  a  time,  the  blanket-bag  that  we  had  got 
rather  cold  to  sleep  in.  About  Christmas-time,  accordingly,  we 
at  last  managed  to  make  ourselves  a  bearskm  bag.  In  this  way 
all  the  skins  we  could  prepare  were  used  up,  and  we  continued 
to  wear  the  clothes  we  had  throughout  the  winter. 

These  walks,  too,  were  a  doubtful  pleasure,  because  there  is 
always  a  wind  there,  and  it  blew  hard  under  the  steep  cliff.  We 
felt  it  a  wonderful  relief  when  it  occasionally  happened  to  be 
almost  calm.  As  a  rule,  the  wind  howled  above  us  and  lashed 
the  snow  along,  so  that  everything  was  wrapped  in  mist.  Many 
days  would  sometimes  pass  almost  without  our  putting  our 
heads  out  of  the  passage,  and  it  was  only  bare  necessity  that 
drove  us  out  to  fetch  ice  for  drinking-water,  or  a  leg  or  carcass 
of  a  bear  for  food,  or  some  blubber  for  fuel.  As  a  rule,  we  also 
brought  in  some  sea-water  ice,  or,  if  there  were  an  opening  or  a 
crack  to  be  found,  a  little  sea-water  for  our  soup. 

When  we  came  in,  and  had  mustered  up  appetite  for  another 
meal,  we  had  to  prepare  supper,  eat  till  we  were  satisfied,  and 
then  get  into  our  bag  and  sleep  as  long  as  possible  to  pass  the 
time.  On  the  whole,  we  had  quite  a  comfortable  time  in  our 
hut.  By  means  of  our  train-oil  lamps  we  could  keep  the  tem- 
perature in  the  middle  of  the  room  at  about  freezing-point. 
Near  the  wall,  however,  it  was  considerably  colder,  and  there 


524  FARTHEST  NORTH 

the  damp  deposited  itself  in  the  shape  of  beautiful  hoar  -  frost 
crystals,  so  that  the  stones  were  quite  white  ;  and  in  happy 
moments  we  could  dream  that  we  dwelt  in  marble  halls.  This 
splendor,  however,  had  its  disadvantages,  for  when  the  out- 
side temperature  rose,  or  when  we  heated  up  the  hut  a  little, 
rivulets  ran  down  the  wall  into  our  sleeping-bag.  We  took 
turns  at  being  cook,  and  Tuesday,  when  one  ended  his  cook- 
ing-week and  the  other  began,  afforded  on  that  account  the 
one  variation  in  our  lives,  and  formed  a  boundary  -  mark  by 
which  we  divided  out  our  time.  We  always  reckoned  up  how 
many  cooking  -  weeks  we  had  before  we  should  break  up  our 
camp  in  the  spring.  I  had  hoped  to  get  so  much  done  this  win- 
ter— work  up  my  observations  and  notes,  and  write  some  of  the 
account  of  our  journey  ;  but  very  little  was  done.  It  was  not 
only  the  poor,  flickering  light  of  the  oil-lamp  which  hindered  me, 
nor  yet  the  uncomfortable  position — either  lying  on  one's  back, 
or  sitting  up  and  fidgeting  about  on  hard  stones,  while  the  part 
of  the  body  thus  exposed  to  pressure  ached ;  but  altogether 
these  surroundings  did  not  predispose  one  to  work.  The  brain 
worked  dully,  and  I  never  felt  inclined  to  write  anything.  Per- 
haps, too,  this  was  owing  to  the  impossibility  of  keeping  what 
you  wrote  upon  clean  ;  if  you  only  took  hold  of  a  piece  of  paper 
your  fingers  left  a  dark-brown,  greasy  mark,  and  if  a  corner  of 
your  clothes  brushed  across  it,  a  dark  streak  appeared.  Our 
journals  of  this  period  look  dreadful.  They  are  "black  books" 
in  the  literal  sense  of  the  term.  Ah  !  how  we  longed  for  the 
time  when  we  should  once  more  be  able  to  write  on  clean  white 
paper  and  with  black  ink !  I  often  had  difficulty  in  reading  the 
pencil  notes  I  had  written  the  day  before,  and  now,  in  writing 
this  book,  it  is  all  I  can  do  to  find  out  what  was  once  written  on 
these  dirty  dark -brown  pages.  I  expose  them  to  all  possible 
lights,  I  examine  them  with  a  magnifying-glass ;  but,  notwith- 
standing, I  often  have  to  give  it  up. 

The  entries  in  my  journal  for  this  time  are  exceedingly 
meagre  ;  there  are  sometimes  weeks  when  there  is  nothing  but 
the  most  necessary  meteorological  observations  with  remarks. 
The  chief  reason  for  this  is  that  our  life  was  so  monotonous  that 
there  was  nothing  to  write  about.  The  same  thoughts  came  and 
went  day  after  day  ;  there  was  no  more  variety  in  them  than  in 
our  conversation.   The  very  emptiness  of  the  journal  really  gives 


LAND  AT  LAST  525 

the  best  representation  of  our  life  during  the  nine  months  we 
lived  there. 

"Wednesday,  November  27th.  —23°  C.  (9.4°  below  zero, 
Fahr.).  It  is  windy  weather,  the  snow  whirling  about  your 
ears,  directly  you  put  your  head  out  of  the  passage.  Everything 
is  gray  ;  the  black  stones  can  be  made  out  in  the  snow  a  little 
way  up  the  beach,  and  above  you  can  just  divine  the  presence  of 
the  dark  cliff ;  but  wherever  else  the  gaze  is  turned,  out  to  sea 
or  up  the  fjord,  there  is  the  same  leaden  darkness ;  one  is  shut 
out  from  the  wide  world,  shut  into  one's  self.  The  wind  comes 
in  sharp  gusts,  driving  the  snow  before  it ;  but  up  under  the 
crest  of  the  mountain  it  whistles  and  roars  in  the  crevices  and 
holes  of  the  basaltic  walls — the  same  never-epding  song  that  it 
has  sung  through  the  thousands  of  years  that  are  past,  and  will 
go  on  singing  through  thousands  of  years  to  come.  And  the 
snow  whirls  along  in  its  age-old  dance  ;  it  spreads  itself  in  all  the 
crevices  and  hollows,  but  it  does  not  succeed  in  covering  up  the 
stones  on  the  beach  ;  black  as  ever,  they  project  into  the  night. 
On  the  open  space  in  front  of  the  hut  two  figures  are  run- 
ning up  and  down  like  shadows  in  the  winter  darkness  to  keep 
themselves  warm,  and  so  they  will  run  up  and  down  on  the 
path  they  have  trampled  out,  day  after  day,  till  the  spring 
comes. 

*'  Sunday,  December  ist.  Wonderfully  beautiful  weather  for 
the  last  few  days ;  one  can  never  weary  of  going  up  and  down 
outside,  while  the  moon  transforms  the  whole  of  this  ice-world 
into  a  fairy-land.  The  hut  is  still  in  shadow  under  the  mountain 
which  hangs  above  it,  dark  and  lowering ;  but  the  moonlight 
floats  over  ice  and  fjord,  and  is  cast  back  glittering  from  every 
snowy  ridge  and  hill.  A  weird  beauty,  without  feeling,  as  though 
of  a  dead  planet,  built  of  shining  white  marble.  Just  so  must  the 
mountains  stand  there,  frozen  and  icy  cold  ;  just  so  must  the 
lakes  lie  congealed  beneath  their  snowy  covering;  and  now  as 
ever  the  moon  sails  silently  and  slowly  on  her  endless  course 
through  the  lifeless  space.  And  everything  so  still,  so  awfully 
still,  with  the  silence  that  shall  one  day  reign  when  the  earth 
again  becomes  desolate  and  empty,  when  the  fox  will  no  more 
haunt  these  moraines,  when  the  bear  will  no  longer  wander 
about  on  the  ice  out  there,  when  even  the  wind  will  not  rage — 
infinite  silence  !     In  the  flaming  aurora  borealis  the  spirit  of 


526  FARTHEST  NORTH 

space  hovers  over  the  frozen  waters.     The  soul  bows  down  be- 
fore the  majesty  of  night  and  death. 

*'  Monday,  December  2d.  Morning.  To-day  I  can  hear  it  blow- 
ing again  outside,  and  we  shall  have  an  unpleasant  walk.  It  is 
bitterly  cold  now  in  our  worn,  greasy  clothes.  It  is  not  so  bad 
when  there  is  no  wind ;  but  even  if  there  is  only  a  little  it  goes 
right  through  one.  But  what  does  it  matter?  Will  not  the 
spring  one  day  come  here  too  ?  Yes ;  and  over  us  arches  the 
same  heaven  now  as  always,  high  and  calm  as  ever ;  and  as  we 
walk  up  and  down  here  shivering  we  gaze  into  the  boundless 
starry  space,  and  all  our  privations  and  sorrows  shrink  into 
nothingness.  Starlit  night,  thou  art  sublimely  beautiful !  But 
dost  thou  not  lend  our  spirit  too  mighty  wings,  greater  than  we 
can  control  ?  Couldst  thou  but  solve  the  riddle  of  existence ! 
We  feel  ourselves  the  centre  of  the  universe,  and  struggle  for 
life,  for  immortality  —  one  seeking  it  here,  another  hereafter — 
while  thy  silent  splendor  proclaims :  At  the  command  of  the 
Eternal,  you  came  into  existence  on  a  paltry  planet,  as  diminu- 
tive links  in  the  endless  chain  of  transformations ;  at  another 
command,  you  will  be  wiped  out  again.  Who  then,  through  an 
eternity  of  eternities,  will  remember  that  there  once  was  an 
ephemeral  being  who  could  bind  sound  and  light  in  chains,  and 
who  was  purblind  enough  to  spend  years  of  his  brief  existence  in 
drifting  through  frozen  seas  ?  Is,  then,  the  whole  thing  but  the 
meteor  of  a  moment  ?  Will  the  whole  history  of  the  world  evap- 
orate like  a  dark,  gold -edged  cloud  in  the  glow  of  evening — 
achieving  nothing,  leaving  no  trace,  passing  like  a  caprice  ? 

*'  Evening.  That  fox  is  playing  us  a  great  many  tricks  ;  what- 
ever he  can  move  he  goes  off  with.  He  has  once  gnawed  off  the 
band  with  which  the  door-skin  is  fastened,  and  every  now  and 
then  we  hear  him  at  it  again,  and  have  to  go  out  and  knock  on 
the  roof  of  the  passage.  To  -  day  he  went  off  with  one  of  our 
sails,  in  which  our  salt-water  ice  was  lying.  We  were  not  a  little 
alarmed  when  we  went  to  fetch  ice  and  found  sail  and  all  gone. 
We  had  no  doubt  as  to  who  had  been  there,  but  we  could  not  un- 
der any  circumstances  afford  to  lose  our  precious  sail,  on  which 
we  depended  for  our  voyage  to  Spitzbergen  in  the  spring,  and 
we  tramped  about  in  the  dark,  up  the  beach,  over  the  level,  and 
down  towards  the  sea.  We  looked  everywhere,  but  nothing  was 
to  be  seen  of  it.     At  last  we  had  almost  given  it  up  when  Johan- 


LAND  AT  LAST  527 

sen,  in  going  on  to  the  ice  to  get  more  salt-water  ice,  found  it  at 
the  edge  of  the  shore.  Our  joy  was  great ;  but  it  was  wonderful 
that  the  fox  had  been  able  to  drag  that  great  sail,  full  of  ice  too, 
so  far.  Down  there,  however,  it  had  come  unfolded,  and  then  he 
could  do  nothing  with  it.  But  what  does  he  want  with  things 
like  this  ?  Is  it  to  lie  upon  in  his  winter  den  ?  One  would  almost 
thinkso.  I  only  wish  I  could  come  upon  that  den,  and  find  the 
thermometer  again,  and  the  ball  of  twine,  and  the  harpoon-line, 
and  all  the  other  precious  things  he  has  taken,  the  brute  ! 

"Thursday,  December  5th.  It  seems  as  if  it  would  never  end. 
But  patience  a  little  longer,  and  spring  will  come,  the  fairest 
spring  that  earth  can  give  us.  There  is  furious  weather  outside, 
and  snow,  and  it  is  pleasant  to  lie  here  in  our  warm  hut,  eating 
steak,  and  listening  to  the  wind  raging  over  us. 

"Tuesday,  December  loth.  It  has  been  a  bad  wind.  Johansen 
discovered  to-day  that  his  kayak  had  disappeared.  After  some 
search  he  found  it  again  several  hundred  feet  off,  up  the  beach ; 
it  was  a  good  deal  knocked  about,  too.  The  wind  must  first  have 
lifted  it  right  over  my  kayak,  and  then  over  one  big  stone  after 
another.  It  begins  to  be  too  much  of  a  good  thing  when  even 
the  kayaks  take  to  flying  about  in  the  air.  The  atmosphere  is 
dark  out  over  the  sea,  so  the  wind  has  probably  broken  up  the 
ice,  and  driven  it  out,  and  there  is  open  water  once  more.* 

"  Last  night  it  all  at  once  grew  wonderfully  calm,  and  the  air 
was  surprisingly  mild.  It  was  delightful  to  be  out,  and  it  is  long 
since  we  have  had  such  a  long  walk  on  our  beat.  It  does  one 
good  to  stretch  one's  legs  now  and  then,  otherwise  I  suppose  we 
should  become  quite  stiff  here  in  our  winter  lair.  Fancy,  only 
12°  (2ii°  Fahr.)  of  frost  in  the  middle  of  December  !  We  might 
almost  imagine  ourselves  at  home — forget  that  we  were  in  a  land 
of  snow  to  the  north  of  the  eighty-first  parallel. 

"  Thursday,  December  12th.  Between  six  and  nine  this  morn- 
ing there  were  a  number  of  shooting-stars,  most  of  them  in  Ser- 
pentarius.  Some  came  right  from  the  Great  Bear ;  aft-erwards 
they  chiefly  came  from  the  Bull,  or  Aldebaran,  or  the  Pleiades. 
Several  of  them  were  very  bright,  and  some  drew  a  streak  of 

*  It  often  blew  very  fresh  there  under  the  mountain.  Another  time, 
one  of  my  snow-shoes,  which  was  stuck  into  the  snowdrift  beside  the  hut, 
was  broken  short  off  by  the  wind.     It  was  a  strong  piece  of  maple. 


528  FARTHEST  NORTH 

shining  dust  after  them.  Lovely  weather.  But  night  and  day 
are  now  equally  dark.  We  walk  up  and  down,  up  and  down,  on 
the  level,  in  the  darkness.  Heaven  only  knows  how  many  steps 
we  shall  take  on  that  level  before  the  winter  ends.  Through  the 
gloom  we  could  see  faintly  only  the  black  cliffs,  and  the  rocky 
ridges,  and  the  great  stones  on  the  beach,  which  the  wind  always 
sweeps  clean.  Above  us  the  sky,  clear  and  brilliant  with  stars, 
sheds  its  peace  over  the  earth  ;  far  in  the  west  falls  shower  after 
shower  of  stars,  some  faint,  scarcely  visible,  others  bright  like 
Roman  candles,  all  with  a  message  from  distant  worlds.  Low  in 
the  south  lies  a  bank  of  clouds,  now  and  again  outlined  by  the 
gleam  of  the  northern  lights ;  but  out  over  the  sea  the  sky  is 
dark ;  there  is  open  water  there.  It  is  quite  pleasant  to  look  at 
it ;  one  does  not  feel  so  shut  in  ;  it  is  like  a  connecting  link  with 
life,  that  dark  sea,  the  mighty  artery  of  the  world,  which  carries 
tidings  from  land  to  land,  from  people  to  people,  on  which  civili- 
zation is  borne  victorious  through  the  earth  ;  next  summer  it 
will  carry  us  home. 

"Thursday,  December  19th.  —28.5°  (19.3°  below  zero,  Fahr.). 
It  has  turned  cold  again,  and  is  bitter  weather  to  be  out  in.  But 
what  does  it  signify?  We  are  comfortable  and  warm  in  here,  and 
do  not  need  to  go  out  more  than  we  like.  All  the  out-of-door 
work  we  have  is  to  bring  in  fresh  and  salt  water  ice  two  or  three 
times  a  week,  meat  and  blubber  now  and  again,  and  very  occa- 
sionally a  skin  to  dry  under  the  roof.  And  Christmas,  the  season 
of  rejoicing,  is  drawing  near.  At  home,  every  one  is  busy  now 
scarcely  knowing  how  to  get  time  for  everything  ;  but  here  there 
is  no  bustle  ;  all  we  want  is  to  make  the  time  pass.  Ah,  to  sleep, 
sleep  !  The  pot  is  simmering  pleasantly  over  the  hearth  ;  I  am 
sitting  waiting  for  breakfast,  and  gazing  into  the  flickering  flames, 
while  my  thoughts  travel  far  away.  What  is  the  strange  power 
in  fire  and  light  that  all  created  beings  seek  them,  from  the  pri- 
mary lump  of  protoplasm  in  the  sea  to  the  roving  child  of  man, 
who  stops  in  his  wanderings,  makes  up  a  fire  in  the  wood,  and 
sits  down  to  dismiss  all  care  and  revel  in  the  crackling  warmth. 
Involuntarily  do  these  snake-like,  fiery  tongues  arrest  the  eye  ; 
you  gaze  down  into  them  as  if  you  could  read  your  fate  there, 
and  memories  glide  past  in  motley  train.  What,  then,  is  priva- 
tion ?  What  the  present  ?  Forget  it,  forget  yourselves ;  you  have 
the  power  to  recall  all  that  is  beautiful,  and  then  wait  for  the 


LAND  AT  LAST  529 

summer.  ...  By  the  light  of  the  lamp  she  sits  sewing  in  the 
winter  evening.  Beside  her  stands  a  little  maiden  with  blue  eyes 
and  golden  hair,  playing  with  a  doll.  She  looks  tenderly  at  the 
child  and  strokes  her  hair ;  but  her  eyes  fill,  and  the  big  tears  fall 
upon  her  work. 

"  Johansen  is  lying  beside  me  asleep ;  he  smiles  in  his  sleep. 
Poor  fellow  !  he  must  be  dreaming  he  is  at  home  at  Christmas- 
time with  those  he  loves.  But  sleep  on — sleep  and  dream,  while 
the  winter  passes  ;  for  then  comes  spring — the  spring  of  life  ! 

"Sunday,  December  2 2d.  Walked  about  outside  for  a  long 
time  yesterday  evening,  while  Johansen  was  having  a  thorough 
clearing  in  the  hut  in  preparation  for  Christmas.  This  consisted 
chiefly  in  scraping  the  ashes  out  of  the  hearth,  gathering  up  the 
refuse  of  bone  and  meat,  and  throwing  it  away,  and  then  break- 
ing up  the  ice,  which  has  frozen  together  with  all  kinds  of  rub- 
bish and  refuse  into  a  thick  layer  upon  the  floor,  making  the  hut 
rather  low  in  the  roof. 

"  The  northern  lights  were  wonderful.  However  often  we  see 
this  weird  play  of  light,  we  never  tire  of  gazing  at  it ;  it  seems  to 
cast  a  spell  over  both  sight  and  sense  till  it  is  impossible  to  tear 
one's  self  away.  It  begins  to  dawn  with  a  pale,  yellow,  spectral 
light  behind  the  mountain  in  the  east,  like  the  reflection  of  a  fire 
far  away.  It  broadens,  and  soon  the  whole  of  the  eastern  sky  is 
one  glowing  mass  of  fire.  Now  it  fades  again  and  gathers  in  a 
brightly  luminous  belt  of  mist  stretching  towards  the  southwest, 
with  only  a  few  patches  of  luminous  haze  visible  here  and  there. 
After  a  while  scattered  rays  suddenly  shoot  up  from  the  fiery 
mist,  almost  reaching  to  the  zenith ;  then  more  ;  they  play  over 
the  belt  in  a  wild  chase  from  east  to  west.  They  seem  to  be  al- 
ways darting  nearer  from  a  long,  long  way  off.  But  suddenly  a 
perfect  veil  of  rays  showers  from  the  zenith  out  over  the  northern 
sky  ;  they  are  so  fine  and  bright,  like  the  finest  of  glittering  sil- 
ver threads.  Is  it  the  fire-giant  Surt  himself,  striking  his  mighty 
silver  harp,  so  that  the  strings  tremble  and  sparkle  in  the  glow 
of  the  flames  of  Muspellsheim  ?  Yes,  it  is  harp  music,  wildly 
storming  in  the  darkness ;  it  is  the  riotous  war-dance  of  Surt's 
sons.  And  again  at  times  it  is  like  softly  playing,  gently  rocking, 
silvery  waves,  on  which  dreams  travel  into  unknown  worlds. 

"The  winter  solstice  has  come,  and  the  sun  is  at  its  lowest ; 
but  still  at  mid-day  we  can  just  see  a  faint  glimmer  of  it  over  the 

34 


530  FARTHEST  NORTH 

ridges  in  the  south.  Now  it  is  again  beginning  to  mount  north- 
ward ;  day  by  day  it  will  grow  lighter  and  lighter,  and  the  time 
will  pass  rapidly.  Oh,  how  well  I  can  now  understand  our  fore- 
fathers' old  custom  of  holding  an  uproarious  sacrificial  banquet 
in  the  middle  of  winter,  when  the  power  of  the  winter  darkness 
was  broken.  We  would  hold  an  uproarious  feast  here  if  we  had 
anything  to  feast  with  ;  but  we  have  nothing.  What  need  is 
there,  either  ?  We  shall  hold  our  silent  festival  in  the  spirit,  and 
think  of  the  spring. 

"  In  my  walk  I  look  at  Jupiter  over  there  above  the  crest  of 
the  mountain — Jupiter,  the  planet  of  the  home  ;  it  seems  to  smile 
at  us,  and  I  recognize  my  good  attendant  spirit.  Am  I  super- 
stitious ?  This  life  and  this  scenery  might  well  make  one  so  ; 
and,  in  fact,  is  not  every  one  superstitious,  each  in  his  own  way  ? 
Have  not  I  a  firm  belief  in  my  star,  and  that  we  shall  meet 
again  ?  It  has  scarcely  forsaken  me  for  a  day.  Death,  I  believe, 
can  never  approach  before  one's  mission  is  accomplished— never 
comes  without  one  feeling  its  proximity  ;  and  yet  a  cold  fate  may 
one  day  cut  the  thread  without  warning. 

"Tuesday,  December  24th.  At  2  p.m.  to-day  —24°  C.  (11.2° 
below  zero,  Fahr.).  And  this  is  Christmas-eve — cold  and  windy 
out-of-doors,  and  cold  and  draughty  in-doors.  How  desolate  it  is! 
Never  before  have  we  had  such  a  Christmas-eve. 

"  At  home  the  bells  are  now  ringing  Christmas  in.  I  can  hear 
their  sound  as  it  swings  through  the  air  from  the  church  tower. 
How  beautiful  it  is  ! 

"  Now  the  candles  are  being  lighted  on  the  Christmas  -  trees, 
the  children  are  let  in  and  dance  round  in  joyous  delight.  I  must 
have  a  Christmas  party  for  children  when  I  get  home.  This  is 
the  time  of  rejoicing,  and  there  is  feasting  in  every  cottage  at 
home.  And  we  are  keeping  the  festival  in  our  little  way.  Johan- 
sen  has  turned  his  shirt  and  put  the  outside  shirt  next  him  ;  I 
have  done  the  same,  and  then  I  have  changed  my  drawers,  and 
put  on  the  others  that  I  had  wrung  out  in  warm  water.  And  I 
have  washed  myself  too,  in  a  quarter  of  a  cup  of  warm  water, 
with  the  discarded  drawers  as  sponge  and  towel.  Now  I  feel 
quite  another  being  ;  my  clothes  do  not  stick  to  my  body  as  much 
as  they  did.  Then  for  supper  we  had  '  fiskegratin,'  made  of  pow- 
dered fish  and  maize-meal,  with  train-oil  to  it  instead  of  butter, 
both  fried  and  boiled  (one  as  dry  as  the  other),  and  for  dessert  we 


LAND  AT  LAST  53^ 

had  bread  fried  in  train-oil.  To-morrow  morning  we  are  going 
to  have  chocolate  and  bread."* 

"  Wednesday,  December  25th.  We  have  got  lovely  Christmas 
weather,  hardly  any  wind,  and  such  bright,  beautiful  moonlight. 
It  gives  one  quite  a  solemn  feeling.  It  is  the  peace  of  thousands 
of  years.  In  the  afternoon  the  northern  lights  were  exception- 
ally beautiful.  When  I  came  out  at  6  o'clock  there  was  a  bright, 
pale -yellow  bow  in  the  southern  sky.  It  remained  for  a  long 
time  almost  unchanged,  and  then  began  to  grow  much  brighter 
at  the  upper  margin  of  the  bow  behind  the  mountain  crests  in 
the  east.  It  smouldered  for  some  time,  and  then  all  at  once 
light  darted  out  westward  along  the  bow  ;  streamers  shot  up  all 
along  it  towards  the  zenith,  and  in  an  instant  the  whole  of  the 
southern  sky  from  the  arc  to  the  zenith  was  aflame.  It  flickered 
and  blazed,  it  whirled  round  like  a  whirlwind  (moving  with  the 
sun),  rays  darted  backward  and  forward,  now  red  and  reddish- 
violet,  now  yellow,  green,  and  dazzling  white  ;  now  the  rays  were 
red  at  the  bottom  and  yellow  and  green  farther  up,  and  then 
again  this  order  was  inverted.  Higher  and  higher  it  rose  ;  now 
it  came  on  the  north  side  of  the  zenith  too  ;  for  a  moment  there 
was  a  splendid  corona,  and  then  it  all  became  one  whirling  mass 
of  fire  up  there  ;  it  was  like  a  whirlpool  of  -fire  in  red,  yellow,  and 
green,  and  the  eye  was  dazzled  with  looking  at  it.  It  then  drew 
across  to  the  northern  sky,  where  it  remained  a  long  time,  but 
not  in  such  brilliancy.  The  arc  from  which  it  had  sprung  in  the 
south  was  still  visible,  but  soon  disappeared.  The  movement  of  the 
rays  was  chiefly  from  west  to  east,  but  sometimes  the  reverse.  It 
afterwards  flared  up  brightly  several  times  in  the  northern  sky  ; 
I  counted  as  many  as  six  parallel  bands  at  one  time,  but  they 
did  not  attain  to  the  brightness  of  the  former  ones. 

"  And  this  is  Christmas-day  !  There  are  family  dinners  going 
on  at  home.  I  can  see  the  dignified  old  father  standing  smiling 
and  happy  in  the  doorway  to  welcome  children  and  grandchil- 
dren. Out-of-doors  the  snow  is  falling  softly  and  silently  in  big 
flakes ;  the  young  folk  come  rushing  in  fresh  and  rosy,  stamp 
the  snow  off  their  feet  in  the  passage,  shake  their  things  and 

*  Christmas-eve  and  New-year's  eve  were  the  only  occasions  on  which 
we  allowed  ourselves  to  take  any  of  the  provisions  which  we  were  keeping 
for  our  journey  southward. 


532  FARTHEST  NORTH 

hang  them  up,  and  then  enter  the  drawing-room,  where  the  fire 
is  crackling  comfortably  and  cosily  in  the  stove,  and  they  can 
see  the  snowflakes  falling  outside  and  covering  the  Christmas 
corn-sheaf.  A  delicious  smell  of  roasting  comes  from  the  kitch- 
en, and  in  the  dining-room  the  long  table  is  laid  for  a  good,  old- 
fashioned  dinner  with  good  old  wine.  How  nice  and  comfortable 
everything  is  !  One  might  fall  ill  with  longing  to  be  home.  But 
wait,  wait ;  when  summer  comes.  .  .  . 

*'Oh,  the  road  to  the  stars  is  both  long  and  difficult ! 

"  Tuesday,  December  31st.  And  this  year  too  is  vanishing. 
It  has  been  strange,  but,  after  all,  it  has  perhaps  not  been  so 
bad. 

"They  are  ringing  out  the  old  year  now  at  home.  Our 
church-bell  is  the  icy  wind  howling  over  glacier  and  snow-field, 
howling  fiercely  as  it  whirls  the  drifting  snow  on  high  in  cloud 
after  cloud,  and  sweeps  it  down  upon  us  from  the  crest  of  the 
mountain  up  yonder.  Far  in  up  the  fjord  you  can  see  the  clouds 
of  snow  chasing  one  another  over  the  ice  in  front  of  the  gusts  of 
wind,  and  the  snow-dust  glittering  in  the  moonlight.  And  the 
full  moon  sails  silent  and  still  out  of  one  year  into  another.  She 
shines  alike  upon  the  good  and  the  evil,  nor  does  she  notice  the 
wants  and  yearnings  x)f  the  new  year.  Solitary,  forsaken,  hun- 
dreds of  miles  from  all  that  one  holds  dear ;  but  the  thoughts  flit 
restlessly  to  and  fro  on  their  silent  paths.  Once  more  a  leaf  is 
turned  in  the  book  of  eternity,  a  new  blank  page  is  opened,  and 
no  one  knows  what  will  be  written  on  it." 


CHAPTER   XVI 
THE  NEW   YEAR,   1 896 

"Wednesday,  January  i,  1896.  —41. 5°  C.  (42.2°  below  zero, 
Fahr.).  So  a  new  year  has  come,  the  year  of  joy  and  home- 
coming. In  bright  moonlight  1895  departed,  and  in  bright 
moonlight  1896  begins ;  but  it  is  bitterly  cold,  the  coldest  days 
we  have  yet  known  here.  I  felt  it,  too,  yesterday,  when  all  my 
finger-tips  were  frost-bitten.  I  thought  I  had  done  with  all  that 
last  spring. 

"  Friday,  January  3d.  Morning.  It  is  still  clear  and  cold  out- 
of-doors  ;  I  can  hear  reports  from  the  glacier.  It  lies  up  there 
on  the  crest  of  the  mountain  like  a  mighty  ice -giant  peering 
down  at  us  through  the  clefts.  It  spreads  its  giant  body  all  over 
the  land,  and  stretches  out  its  limbs  on  all  sides  into  the  sea.  But 
whenever  it  turns  cold — colder  than  it  has  hitherto  been — it 
writhes  horribly,  and  crevice  after  crevice  appears  in  the  huge 
body ;  there  is  a  noise  like  the  discharge  of  guns,  and  the  sky 
and  the  earth  tremble  so  that  I  can  feel  the  ground  that  I  am 
lying  on  quake.  One  is  almost  afraid  that  it  will  some  day  come 
rolling  over  upon  one.* 

"  Johansen  is  asleep,  and  making  the  hut  resound.  I  am  glad 
his  mother  cannot  see  him  now.  She  would  certainly  pity  her 
boy,  so  black  and  grimy  and  ragged  as  he  is,  with  sooty  streaks 
all  over  his  face.  But  wait,  only  wait !  She  shall  have  him 
again,  safe  and  sound  and  fresh  and  rosy. 

"Wednesday,  January  8th.  Last  night  the  wind  blew  the 
sledge  to  which  our  thermometer  was   hanging  out  over  the 

*  These  rumblings  in  the  glacier  are  due  to  rifts  which  are  formed  in 
the  mass  of  ice  when  the  cold  causes  it  to  contract.  New  rifts  seemed 
to  be  formed  only  when  the  temperature  sank  lower  than  it  had  previously 
been  in  the  course  of  that  winter ;  at  least,  it  was  only  then  that  we  heard 
the  rumblings. 


534  FARTHEST  NORTH 

slope.  Stormy  weather  outside — furious  weather,  almost  taking 
away  your  breath  if  you  put  your  head  out.  We  lie  here  trying 
to  sleep— sleep  the  time  away.  But  we  cannot  always  do  it. 
Oh,  those  long  sleepless  nights  when  you  turn  from  side  to  side, 
kick  your  feet  to  put  a  little  warmth  into  them,  and  wish  for 
only  one  thing  in  the  world— sleep !  The  thoughts  are  con- 
stantly busy  with  everything  at  home,  but  the  long,  heavy  body 
lies  here  trying  in  vain  to  find  an  endurable  position  among  the 
rough  stones.  However,  time  crawls  on,  and  now  little  Liv's 
birthday  has  come.  She  is  three  years  old  to-day,  and  must  be 
a  big  girl  now.  Poor  little  thing !  You  don't  miss  your  father 
now,  and  next  birthday  I  shall  be  with  you,  I  hope.  What  good 
friends  we  shall  be  !  You  shall  ride  a-cockhorse,  and  I  will  tell 
you  stories  from  the  north  about  bears,  foxes,  walruses,  and  all 
the  strange  animals  up  there  in  the  ice.  No,  I  can't  bear  to 
think  of  it. 

"  Saturday,  February  ist.  Here  I  am  down  with  the  rheuma- 
tism. Outside  it  is  growing  gradually  lighter  day  by  day ;  the 
sky  above  the  glaciers  in  the  south  grows  redder,  until  at  last 
one  day  the  sun  will  rise  above  the  crest,  and  our  last  winter 
night  be  past.  Spring  is  coming !  I  have  often  thought  spring 
sad.  Was  it  because  it  vanished  so  quickly,  because  it  carried 
promises  that  summer  never  fulfilled  ?  But  there  is  no  sadness 
in  this  spring  ;  its  promises  will  be  kept ;  it  would  be  too  cruel  if 
they  were  not." 

It  was  a  strange  existence,  lying  thus  in  a  hut  underground 
the  whole  winter  through,  without  a  thing  to  turn  one's  hand 
to.  How  we  longed  for  a  book  !  How  delightful  our  life  on 
board  the  Fram  appeared,  when  we  had  the  whole  library  to  fall 
back  upon  !  We  would  often  tell  each  other  how  beautiful  this 
sort  of  life  would  have  been,  after  all,  if  we  had  only  had  any- 
thing to  read.  Johansen  always  spoke  with  a  sigh  of  Heyse's 
novels ;  he  had  specially  liked  those  on  board,  and  he  had  not 
been  able  to  finish  the  last  one  he  was  reading.  The  little  read- 
able matter  which  was  to  be  found  in  our  navigation-table  and 
almanac  I  had  read  so  many  times  already  that  I  knew  it  almost 
by  heart — all  about  the  Norwegian  royal  family,  all  about  per- 
sons apparently  drowned,  and  all  about  self-help  for  fishermen. 
Yet  it  was  always  a  comfort  to  see  these  books  ;  the  sight  of  the 
printed  letters   gave  one  a  feeling  that   there  was,  after  all,  a 


o 

fa 


THE  NEW   YEAR,  i8g6  535 

little  bit  of  the  civilized  man  left.  All  that  we  really  had  to 
talk  about  had  long  ago  been  thoroughly  thrashed  out,  and,  in- 
deed, there  were  not  many  thoughts  of  common  interest  that  we 
had  not  exchanged.  The  chief  pleasure  left  to  us  was  to  picture 
to  each  other  how  we  should  make  up  next  winter  at  home  for 
everything  we  had  missed  during  our  sojourn  here.  We  fell 
that  we  should  have  learned  for  good  and  all  to  set  store  by  all 
the  good  things  of  life,  such  as  food,  drink,  clothes,  shoes,  house, 
home,  good  neighbors,  and  all  the  rest  of  it.  Frequently  we 
occupied  ourselves,  too,  in  calculating  how  far  the  Fram  could 
have  drifted,  and  whether  there  was  any  possibility  of  her  getting 
home  to  Norway  before  us.  It  seemed  a  safe  assumption  that  she 
might  drift  out  into  the  sea  between  Spitzbergen  and  Greenland 
next  summer  or  autumn,  and  probability  seemed  to  point  to  her 
being  in  Norway  in  August  or  September.  But  there  was  just 
the  possibility  that  she  might  arrive  earlier  in  the  summer  ;  or, 
on  the  other  hand,  we  might  not  reach  home  until  later  in  the 
autumn.  This  was  the  great  question  to  which  we  could  give  no 
certain  answer,  and  we  reflected  with  sorrow  that  she  might 
perhaps  get  home  first.  What  would  our  friends  then  think 
about  us  ?  Scarcely  any  one  would  have  the  least  hope  of  seeing 
us  again,  not  even  our  comrades  on  board  the  Fram.  It  seemed 
to  us,  however,  that  this  could  scarcely  happen  ;  we  could  not 
but  reach  home  in  July,  and  it  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that 
the  Fram  could  be  free  from  the  ice  so  early  in  the  summer. 

But  where  were  we  ?  And  how  great  was  the  distance  we 
had  to  travel  ?  Over  and  over  again  I  reckoned  out  our  obser- 
vations of  the  autumn  and  summer  and  spring,  but  the  whole 
matter  was  a  perpetual  puzzle.  It  seemed  clear,  indeed,  that  we 
must  be  lying  somewhere  far  to  the  west,  perhaps  off  the  west 
coast  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  a  little  north  of  Cape  Lofley,  as  I 
had  conjectured  in  the  autumn.  But,  if  that  were  so,  what 
could  the  lands  be  which  we  had  seen  to  the  northward  ?  And 
what  was  the  land  to  which  we  had  first  come  ?  From  the  first 
group  of  islands,  which  I  had  called  White  Land  (Hvidtenland),  to 
where  we  now  lie,  we  had  passed  about  7°  of  longitude — that  our 
observations  proved  conclusively.  But  if  we  were  now  in  the  long- 
itude of  Cape  Fligely  these  lands  must  lie  on  a  meridian  so  far 
east  that  it  would  fall  between  King  Oscar's  Land  and  Crown 
Prince  Rudolf  Land  ;   and  yet  we  had  been  much  farther  east 


536  FARTHEST  NORTH 

and  had  seen  nothing  of  these  lands.  How  was  this  to  be  ex- 
plained? And,  furthermore,  the  land  we  saw  had  disappeared 
to  the  southward  ;  and  we  saw  no  indication  of  islands  farther 
east.  No,  we  could  not  have  been  near  any  known  land  ;  we 
must  be  upon  some  island  lying  farther  west,  in  the  strait  be- 
tween Franz  Josef  Land  and  Spitzbergen  ;  and  we  could  not  but 
think  of  the  hitherto  so  enigmatic  Gillies  Land.  But  this,  too, 
seemed  difficult  to  explain  ;  for  it  was  hard  to  understand  how, 
in  this  comparatively  narrow  strait,  such  an  extensive  mass  of 
land  as  this  could  find  room  without  coming  so  near  the  North- 
east Land  of  Spitzbergen  that  it  could  easily  be  seen  from  it. 
No  other  conclusion,  however,  seemed  at  all  plausible.  We  had 
long  ago  given  up  the  idea  that  our  watches  could  be  even  ap- 
proximately right ;  for  in  that  case,  as  already  mentioned,  we 
must  have  come  right  across  Payer's  Wilczek  Land  and  Dove 
Glacier  without  having  noticed  them.  This  theory  was  conse- 
quently excluded.  There  were  other  things,  too,  that  greatly 
puzzled  me.  If  we  were  on  a  new  land,  near  Spitzbergen,  why 
were  the  rosy  gulls  never  seen  there,  while  we  had  found  them 
in  flocks  here  to  the  north  ?  And  then  there  was  the  great  varia- 
tion of  the  compass.  Unfortunately,  I  had  no  chart  of  the  vari- 
ations with  me,  and  I  could  not  remember  where  the  zero  me- 
ridian of  variation  lay — the  boundary-line  between  easterly  and 
westerly  variation.  I  thought,  however,  that  it  lay  somewhere 
near  the  Northeast  Land;  and  here  we  had  still  a  variation  of 
about  20°.  The  whole  thing  was,  and  remained,  an  insoluble 
riddle. 

As  the  daylight  began  to  lengthen  later  in  the  spring,  I  made 
a  discovery  which  had  the  effect  of  still  more  hopelessly  bewilder- 
ing us.  At  two  points  on  the  horizon,  about  W.S.W.,  I  fancied 
that  I  could  see  land  looming  in  the  air.  The  appearance  re- 
curred again  and  again,  and  at  last  I  was  quite  certain  that  it 
really  was  land  ;  but  it  must  be  very  far  away — at  least  69  miles, 
I  thought.*  If  it  had  been  difficult  to  find  room  between  Franz 
Josef  Land  and  Northeast  Land  for  the  islands  we  had  hitherto 
seen,  it  was  more  difficult  still  to  find  room  for  these  new  ones. 
Could  it  be  the  Northeast  Land  itself?  This  seemed  scarcely 
credible.     This  land  must  lie  in  about  81°  or  so  northward,  while 

*  It  proved  afterwards  that  the  distance  was  about  56  miles. 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  1896  537 

the  Northeast  Land  does  not  reach  much  north  of  80°.  But  at 
least  these  islands  must  be  pretty  near  Northeast  Land,  and  if 
we  once  reached  them,  we  could  not  have  much  farther  to  go, 
and  would  perhaps  find  open  water  all  the  way  to  the  Tromso 
sloop,  on  which  our  fancy  had  now  dwelt  for  over  a  year,  and 
which  was  to  take  us  home. 

The  thought  of  all  the  good  things  we  should  find  on  board 
that  sloop  was  what  comforted  us  whenever  the  time  hung  un- 
endurably  heavy  on  our  hands.  Our  life  was  not,  indeed,  alto- 
gether luxurious.  How  we  longed  for  a  change  in  the  uniform- 
ity of  our  diet !  If  only  we  could  have  had  a  little  sugar  and 
farinaceous  food,  in  addition  to  all  the  excellent  meat  we  had,  we 
could  have  lived  like  princes.  Our  thoughts  dwelt  longingly  on 
great  platters  full  of  cakes,  not  to  mention  bread  and  potatoes. 
How  we  would  make  up  for  lost  time  when  we  got  back !  And 
we  would  begin  as  soon  as  we  got  on  board  that  Tromso  sloop. 
Would  they  have  potatoes  on  board?  Would  they  have  fresh 
bread?  At  worst,  even  hard  ship's  bread  would  not  be  so  bad, 
especially  if  we  could  get  it  fried  in  sugar  and  butter.  But  bet- 
ter even  than  food  would  be  the  clean  clothes  we  could  put  on. 
And  then  books — only  to  think  of  books !  Ugh,  the  clothes  we 
lived  in  were  horrible  !  and  when  we  wanted  to  enjoy  a  really 
delightful  hour  we  would  set  to  work  imagining  a  great,  bright, 
clean  shop,  where  the  walls  were  hung  with  nothing  but  new, 
clean,  soft  woollen  clothes,  from  which  we  could  pick  out  every- 
thing we  wanted.  Only  to  think  of  shirts,  vests,  drawers,  soft 
and  warm  woollen  trousers,  deliciously  comfortable  jerseys,  and 
then  clean  woollen  stockings,  and  warm  felt  slippers — could  any- 
thing more  delightful  be  imagined  ?  And  then  a  Turkish  bath  ! 
We  would  sit  up  side  by  side  in  our  sleeping-bag  for  hours  at  a 
time  and  talk  of  all  these  things.  They  seemed  almost  unim- 
aginable. Fancy  being  able  to  throw  away  all  the  heavy,  oily 
rags  we  had  to  live  in,  glued  as  they  were  to  our  bodies !  Our 
legs  suffered  most ;  for  there  our  trousers  stuck  fast  to  our  knees, 
so  that  when  we  moved  they  abraded  and  tore  the  skin  inside 
our  thighs  till  it  was  all  raw  and  bleeding.  I  had  the  greatest 
difficulty  in  keeping  these  sores  from  becoming  altogether  too 
ingrained  with  fat  and  dirt,  and  had  to  be  perpetually  washing 
them  with  moss,  or  a  rag  from  one  of  the  bandages  in  our  medi- 
cine-bag, and  a  little  water,  which  I  warmed  in  a  cup  over  the 


538  FARTHEST  NORTH 

lamp.  I  have  never  before  understood  what  a  magnificent  in- 
vention soap  really  is.  We  made  all  sorts  of  attempts  to  wash 
the  worst  of  the  dirt  away  ;  but  they  were  all  equally  unsuccess- 
ful. Water  had  no  effect  upon  all  this  grease  ;  it  was  better  to 
scour  one's  self  with  moss  and  sand.  We  could  find  plenty  of 
sand  in  the  walls  of  the  hut,  when  we  hacked  the  ice  off  them. 
The  best  method,  however,  was  to  get  our  hands  thoroughly 
lubricated  with  warm  bear's  blood  and  train-oil,  and  then  scrub 
it  off  again  with  moss.  They  thus  became  as  white  and  soft  as 
the  hands  of  the  most  delicate  lady,  and  we  could  scarcely  be- 
lieve that  they  belonged  to  our  own  bodies.  When  there  was 
none  of  this  toilet  preparation  to  be  had,  we  found  the  next  best 
plan  was  to  scrape  our  skin  with  a  knife. 

If  it  was  difficult  to  get  our  own  bodies  clean,  it  was  a  sheer 
impossibility  as  regards  our  clothes.  We  tried  all  possible  ways ; 
we  washed  them  both  in  Eskimo  fashion  and  in  our  own  ;  but 
neither  was  of  much  avail.  We  boiled  our  shirts  in  the  pot  hour 
after  hour,  but  took  them  out  only  to  find  them  just  as  full  of 
grease  as  when  we  put  them  in.  Then  we  took  to  wringing  the 
train-oil  out  of  them.  This  was  a  little  better;  but  the  only 
thing  that  produced  any  real  effect  was  to  boil  them,  and  then 
scrape  them  with  a  knife  while  they  were  still  warm.  By  hold- 
ing them  in  our  teeth  and  our  left  hand  and  stretching  them 
out,  while  we  scraped  them  all  over  with  the  right  hand,  we 
managed  to  get  amazing  quantities  of  fat  out  of  them  ;  and 
we  could  almost  have  believed  that  they  were  quite  clean  when 
we  put  them  on  again  after  they  were  dry.  The  fat  which  we 
scraped  off  was,  of  course,  a  welcome  addition  .to  our  fuel. 

In  the  meanwhile  our  hair  and  beard  grew  entirely  wild.  It 
is  true  we  had  scissors  and  could  have  cut  them  ;  but  as  pur  sup- 
ply of  clothes  was  by  no  means  too  lavish,  we  thought  it  kept  us 
a  little  warmer  to  have  all  this  hair,  which  began  to  flow  down 
over  our  shoulders.  But  it  was  coal-black,  like  our  faces,  and  we 
thought  our  teeth  and  the  whites  of  our  eyes  shone  with  an  un- 
canny whiteness,  now  that  we  could  see  each  other  again  in  the 
daylight  of  the  spring.  On  the  whole,  however,  we  were  so  ac- 
customed to  each  other's  appearance  that  we  really  found  noth- 
ing remarkable  about  it ;  and  not  until  we  fell  in  with  other  people 
and  found  that  they  were  precisely  of  that  opinion  did  we  begin 
to  recognize  that  our  outer  man  was,  perhaps,  open  to  criticism. 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  i8g6  539 

It  was  a  strange  life,  and  in  many  ways  it  put  our  patience  to 
a  severe  test  ;  but  it  was  not  so  unendurable  as  one  might  sup- 
pose. We  at  any  rate  thought  that,  all  things  considered,  we 
were  fairly  well  off.  Our  spirits  were  good  the  whole  time  ;  we 
looked  serenely  towards  the  future,  and  rejoiced  in  the  thought 
of  all  the  delights  it  had  in  store  for  us.  We  did  not  even  have 
recourse  to  quarrelling  to  while  away  the  time.  After  our  re- 
turn, Johansen  was  once  asked  how  we  two  had  got  on  during 
the  winter,  and  whether  we  had  managed  not  to  fall  out  with 
each  other  ;  for  it  is  said  to  be  a  severe  test  for  two  men  to  live 
so  long  together  in  perfect  isolation.  "  Oh  no,"  he  answered, 
"  we  didn't  quarrel ;  the  only  thing  was  that  I  had  the  bad  habit 
of  snoring  in  my  sleep,  and  then  Nansen  used  to  kick  me  in  the 
back."  I  cannot  deny  that  this  is  the  case  ;  I  gave  him  many  a 
well-meant  kick,  but  fortunately  he  only  shook  himself  a  little 
and  slept  calmly  on. 

Thus  did  our  time  pass.  We  did  our  best  to  sleep  away  as 
much  as  possible  of  it.  We  carried  this  art  to  a  high  pitch  of 
perfection,  and  could  sometimes  put  in  as  much  as  20  hours'  sleep 
in  the  24.  If  any  one  still  holds  to  the  old  superstition  that 
scurvy  is  due  to  lack  of  exercise,  he  may  look  upon  us  as  living 
evidences  to  the  contrary  ;  for  all  the  time  our  health  was  ex- 
cellent. As  the  light  now  began  to  return  with  the  spring,  how- 
ever, we  were  more  inclined  to  go  out.  Besides,  it  was  not  al- 
ways so  cold  now,  and  we  had  to  restrict  our  sleep  a  little.  Then, 
too,  the  time  for  our  departure  was  approaching,  and  we  had 
plenty  to  occupy  us  in  the  way  of  preparation  and  so  forth. 

"  Tuesday,  February  25th.  Lovely  weather  to  be  out  in  to- 
day ;  it  is  as  though  spring  were  beginning.  We  have  seen  the 
first  birds — first  a  flock  of  half  a  score  of  little  auks  {Mergulus 
alle),  then  a  flock  of  four ;  they  came  from  the  south  along  the 
land,  evidently  through  the  sound  in  the  southeast,  and  disap- 
peared behind  the  mountain  crest  to  the  northwest  of  us.  Once 
more  we  heard  their  cheerful  twittering,  and  it  roused  a  respon- 
sive echo  in  the  soul.  A  little  later  we  heard  it  again,  and  then 
it  seemed  as  if  they  were  perched  on  the  mountain  above  us.  It 
was  the  first  greeting  from  life.  Blessed  birds,  how  welcome  you 
are! 


"  It  was  quite  like  a  spring  evening  at  home ;   the  sun's  red 
glow  faded  little  by  little  into  golden  clouds,  and  the  moon  rose. 


540  FARTHEST  NORTH 

I  went  up  and  down  outside,  and  dreamt  I  was  in  Norway  on  a 
spring  evening. 

*'  Wednesday,  February  26th.  To-day  we  ought  to  have  had 
the  sun  again,  but  the  sky  was  cloudy. 

"  Friday,  February  28th.  I  have  discovered  that  it  is  possible 
to  get  12  threads  out  of  a  bit  of  twine,  and  am  as  happy  as  a 
king.  We  have  thread  enough  now,  and  our  wind  clothes  shall 
be  whole  once  more.  It  is  possible,  too,  to  ravel  out  the  canvas 
in  the  bags,  and  use  it  for  thread. 

"  Saturday,  February  29th.  The  sun  high  above  the  glacier 
to-day.  We  must  begin  to  economize  in  train-oil  in  earnest  now 
if  we  are  to  get  away  from  here,  or  there  will  be  too  little  blubber 
for  the  journey. 

"Wednesday,  March  4th.  When  Johansen  went  out  this  morn- 
ing the  mountain  above  lis  was  covered  with  little  auks,  which 
flew  twittering  from  crest  to  crest,  and  sat  all  over  the  glacier. 
When  we  went  out  again  later  on  they  were  gone. 

"  Friday,  March  6th.  We  are  faring  badly  now.  We  have  to 
sleep  in  the  dark  to  save  oil,  and  can  only  cook  once  a  day. 

"  Sunday,  March  8th.  Shot  a  bear.  Johansen  saw  ten  flocks 
of  little  auks  flying  up  the  sound  this  morning. 

"  Tuesday,  March  loth.  That  bear  the  day  before  yesterday 
came  in  the  nick  of  time,  and  an  amusing  fellow  he  was,  too. 
We  were  very  badly  off  both  for  blubber  and  meat,  but  most  for 
blubber,  and  we  were  longing  for  a  bear  ;  we  thought  it  must  be 
about  time  for  them  to  come  again  now.  I  had  just  spent  Sun- 
day morning  in  mending  my  wind  trousers  and  patching  my 
*  komager,'  so  as  to  be  all  ready  if  a  bear  should  come.  Johansen, 
whose  cooking-week  it  was,  had  been  sewing  a  little  too,  and  was 
just  cleaning  up  the  hut  for  Sunday  and  taking  out  some  bone 
and  meat — he  had  taken  it  as  far  as  the  passage.  But  no  sooner 
had  he  raised  the  skin  over  the  opening  out  there  than  I  heard 
him  come  tumbling  head  foremost  in  again,  over  the  bone  heap 
and  say,  '  There's  a  bear  standing  just  outside  the  door.'  He 
snatched  his  gun  down  from  where  it  hung  under  the  roof  and 
again  put  his  head  into  the  passage,  but  drew  it  quickly  back, 
saying,  '  He  is  standing  close  by,  and  must  be  thinking  about 
coming  in.'  He  managed  to  draw  aside  a  corner  of  the  door- 
skin,  just  enough  to  give  him  elbow-room  to  shoot ;  but  it  was 
not  altogether  easy.     The  passage  was  narrow  enough  before. 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  i8g6  54i 

and  now,  in  addition,  it  was  full  of  all  the  backbones  and  scraps 
of  meat.  I  saw  him  once  lift  the  gun  to  his  shoulder  as  he  lay 
crouched  together,  but  take  it  down  again  ;  he  had  forgotten  to 
cock  it,  and  the  bear  had  moved  a  little  away,  so  that  he  only 
saw  its  muzzle  and  paws.  But  now  it  began  scraping  down  in 
the  passage  with  one  paw,  as  if  it  wanted  to  come  in,  and  Johan- 
sen  thought  he  must  fire,  even  if  he  could  not  see.  He  put  out 
his  gun,  pointing  the  barrel  at  the  upper  edge  of  the  opening; 
he  thought  the  shot  must  go  right  into  the  bear's  breast,  and  so 
he  fired.  I  heard  a  dull  growl  and  the  crunching  of  the  snow 
under  heavy  footsteps,  which  went  up  towards  the  talus.  Johan- 
sen  loaded  again,  and  put  his  head  out  at  the  opening.  He  said 
he  saw  it  going  up  there,  and  that  it  didn't  seem  up  to  much, 
and  forthwith  he  rushed  after  it.  I,  meanwhile,  was  lying  head 
foremost  in  the  bag,  hunting  for  a  sock  which  I  could  not  find. 
At  last,  after  a  long  search,  I  found  it — on  the  floor,  of  course. 
Then  I,  too,  was  ready ;  and  well  equipped  with  gun,  cartridges, 
knife,  and  file  (to  sharpen  the  seal-knife),  I  followed.  I  had  my 
wind  trousers  on,  too ;  they  had  been  hanging  unused  all  through 
the  winter's  cold,  for  want  of  thread  to  mend  them  with,  but 
now,  when  the  temperature  was  only  —2°  C.  (28.4°  Fahr.),  they 
of  course  had  to  come  out.  I  followed  the  tracks ;  they  went 
westward  and  northward  along  the  shore.  After  a  little  while  I 
at  last  met  Johansen,  who  said  that  the  bear  lay  farther  on ;  he 
had  at  last  got  up  to  it,  and  finished  it  with  a  shot  in  the  back. 
While  he  returned  to  fetch  the  sledges  I  went  on  to  begin  skin- 
ning. It  was  not  to  be  done  quite  so  quickly,  however.  As  I 
approached  the  place  where  I  thought  it  must  be  lying,  I  caught 
sight  of  the  '  dead  bear '  far  ahead,  trotting  pretty  briskly  along 
the  shore.  Now  and  then  it  stopped  to  look  round  at  me.  I  ran 
out  on  to  the  ice,  to  get  outside  it,  if  possible,  and  drive  it  back, 
so  that  we  should  not  have  so  far  to  drag  it.  When  I  had  kept 
on  at  this  for  some  time,  and  was  about  on  a  level  with  it,  it 
began  clambering  up  the  glacier  and  under  some  ragged  rock. 
I  had  not  reckoned  on  a  *  dead  bear '  being  able  to  do  this,  and 
the  only  thing  was  to  stop  it  as  soon  as  possible ;  but  just  as  I 
got  within  range  it  disappeared  over  the  crest.  Soon  I  saw  it 
again,  a  good  deal  higher  up,  and  far  out  of  range.  It  was  cran- 
ing its  neck  to  see  if  I  were  following.  I  went  up  some  way 
after  it,  but  as  it  went  on  along  the  mountain  more  quickly  than 


542  FARTHEST  NORTH 

I  could  follow  it  in  the  deep  snow,  under  which,  moreover,  there 
were  crevices  into  which  I  kept  falling  up  to  my  waist,  I  pre- 
ferred to  clamber  down  on  to  the  fjord-ice  again.  In  a  little 
while  the  bear  emerged  from  beneath  a  perpendicular  cliff  with 
a  precipitous  bit  of  talus  beneath  it.  Here  it  began  to  crawl 
carefully  along  at  the  very  top  of  the  talus.  I  was  now  afraid 
of  its  lying  down  in  a  place  like  this,  where  we  could  not  get  at 
it,  and  even  though  the  range  was  long  I  felt  I  must  fire  and  see 
if  I  could  not  make  it  fall  over.  It  did  not  look  as  if  it  had  too 
firm  a  footing  up  there.  It  was  blowing  like  anything  here 
under  the  cliff,  and  I  saw  that  the  bear  had  to  lie  flat  down  and 
hold  on  with  its  claws  when  the  worst  gusts  came,  and  then, 
too,  it  had  only  three  paws  to  hold  on  with  ;  the  right  fore-leg 
had  been  broken.  I  went  up  to  a  big  stone  at  the  lower  edge  of 
the  talus,  took  good  aim,  and  fired.  I  saw  the  bullet  strike  the 
snow  just  beneath  it,  but,  whether  it  was  hit  or  not,  it  started 
up  and  tried  to  jump  over  a  drift,  but  slipped,  and  rolled  over. 
It  tried  several  times  to  stop  itself,  but  went  on,  until  at  last  it 
found  its  feet  and  began  to  crawl  slowly  up  again.  Meanwhile  I 
had  loaded  again,  and  the  range  was  now  shorter.  I  fired  once 
more.  It  stood  still  a  moment,  then  slipped  farther  and  farther 
down  the  drift,  at  first  slowly,  then  quicker  and  quicker  rolling 
over  and  over.  I  thought  it  was  coming  straight  towards  me, 
but  comforted  myself  with  the  thought  that  the  stone  I  was 
standing  behind  was  a  good  solid  one.  I  squatted  down  and 
quickly  put  a  fresh  cartridge  into  my  gun.  The  bear  had  now 
arrived  at  the  talus  below  the  drift ;  it  came  tearing  down,  to- 
gether with  stones  and  lumps  of  snow,  in  a  series  of  leaps,  each 
longer  than  the  last.  It  was  a  strange  sight,  this  great  white 
body  flying  through  the  air,  and  turning  somersault  after  som- 
ersault, as  if  it  had  been  a  piece  of  wood.  At  last  it  took  one 
tremendous  leap,  and  landed  against  an  enormous  stone.  There 
was  a  regular  crash,  and  there  it  lay  close  beside  me  ;  a  few 
spasms  passed  through  it,  and  all  was  over.  It  was  an  uncom- 
monly large  he-bear,  with  a  beautiful  thick  fur,  which  one  might 
well  wish  to  have  at  home  ;  but  the  best  thing  of  all  was  that  it 
was  very  fat.  It  was  so  windy  that  the  gusts  were  apt  to  blow 
you  over  if  you  were  not  prepared  for  them  ;  but  with  the  air  so 
mild  as  it  was,  wind  did  not  matter  much  ;  it  would  not  have 
been  such  bad  work  to  skin  it  had  it  not  been  that  it  was  lying 


THE  NEW   YEAR,  1896  543 

in  a  hollow  and  was  so  big  that  one  man  could  not  stir  it.  After 
a  time,  however,  Johansen  came,  and  at  last  we  had  got  it  dis- 
membered, and  had  dragged  it  down  to  the  ice  and  piled  it  on 
the  sledge.  We  had  not  gone  far,  however,  before  we  found  that 
it  would  be  too  heavy  for  us  to  draw  all  at  once  against  this 
wind  and  for  such  a  distance.  We  laid  half  of  it  in  a  heap  on 
the  ice  and  spread  the  skin  over  it,  intending  to  fetch  it  in  a  day 
or  two ;  and  even  then  we  had  difficulty  enough  in  fighting  on 
against  the  wind  in  the  dark,  so  that  it  was  late  at  night  before 
we  got  home.  But  it  was  long  since  we  had  so  much  enjoyed 
our  home-coming  and  being  able  to  lie  down  in  our  bag  and  sup 
off  fresh  meat  and  hot  soup." 

We  lived  on  that  bear  for  six  weeks. 

"  When  Johansen  was  out  this  morning  at  six,  he  thought  he 
saw  little  auks  in  millions  flying  up  the  sound.  When  we  went 
out  at  two  in  the  afternoon  there  was  an  unceasing  passage  of 
flock  after  flock  out  to  sea,  and  this  continued  until  late  in  the 
afternoon.  I  saw  two  guillemots  ( Uria  grylle)^  too,  fly  over  our 
heads.     They  are  the  first  we  have  seen.* 

"  Wednesday,  March  25th.  There  is  the  same  dark  water-sky 
behind  the  promontory  in  the  southwest,  stretching  thence  west- 
ward almost  to  the  extreme  west.  It  has  been  there  all  through 
this  mild  weather,  with  southwesterly  wind,  from  the  very  begin- 
ning of  the  month.  There  seems  to  be  always  open  water  there, 
for  no  sooner  is  the  sky  overcast  than  the  reflection  of  water  ap- 
pears in  that  quarter. 

"Thursday,  April  2d.  As  I  awoke  at  about  eight  this  evening 
(our  morning  happened  to  fall  in  the  evening  to-day),  we  heard 
an  animal  rustling  about  outside  and  gnawing  at  something. 
We  did  not  take  much  notice  of  it,  thinking  it  was  a  fox,  busy  as 
usual  with  some  meat  up  on  the  roof  ;  and  if  it  did  seem  to  be 
making  rather  more  noise  than  we  had  of  late  been  accustomed 
to  hear  from  foxes,  yet  it  was  scarcely  noise  enough  to  come  from 
a  bear.  We  did  not  take  into  consideration  that  the  snow  was 
not  so  cold  and  crackling  now  as  it  had  been  earlier  in  the  win- 

*  We  had  now,  as  the  spring  advanced,  a  good  opportunity  of  seeing 
how  the  little  auk  in  great  flocks  and  the  black  guillemots  in  smaller  num- 
bers, invariably  set  forth  from  land  at  certain  times  of  the  day  towards  the 
open  sea,  and  then  at  other  times  returned  in  unbroken  lines  up  the  ice- 
bound fjords  to  their  nest-rocks  again. 


544  FARTHEST  NORTH 

ter.  When  Johansen  went  out  to  read  the  thermometer,  he  saw 
that  it  was  a  bear  that  had  been  there.  It  had  gone  round  the 
hut,  but  had  evidently  not  liked  all  the  bears'  carcasses,  and  had 
not  ventured  past  them  up  to  the  walrus  blubber  on  the  roof. 
At  the  opening  of  the  passage  and  the  chimney  it  had  sniffed 
hard,  doubtless  enjoying  the  delicious  scent  of  burned  blubber  and 
live  human  flesh.  Then  it  had  dragged  a  walrus  hide  that  was 
lying  outside  a  little  way  off  and  scraped  the  blubber  off  it.  It 
had  come  from  the  ice  obliquely  up  the  hill  following  the  scent, 
had  then  followed  our  footsteps  from  the  hut  to  the  place  where 
we  get  salt-water,  and  had  thence  gone  farther  out  over  the  ice 
until  it  had  got  scent  of  the  walrus  carcasses  out  there,  and  was 
going  towards  them  when  Johansen  caught  sight  of  it.  There  it 
set  to  work  to  gnaw.  As  my  gun  was  not  fit  to  use  at  the  mo- 
ment, I  took  Johansen's  and  went  alone.  The  bear  was  so  busy 
gnawing  and  tearing  pieces  off  the  carcass  that  I  could  get  close 
up  to  it  from  behind  without  troubling  about  cover.  Wishing  to 
try  how  near  I  could  get,  I  went  on,  and  it  was  not  until  I  was  so 
near  that  I  could  almost  touch  it  with  the  muzzle  of  my  gun  that 
it  heard  my  steps,  so  busy  had  it  been.  It  started  round,  gazed 
defiantly  and  astonished  at  me,  and  I  saluted  it  with  a  charge 
right  in  its  face.  It  threw  up  its  head,  sneezed,  and  blew  blood 
out  over  the  snow  as  it  turned  round  again  and  galloped  away. 
I  was  going  to  load  again,  but  the  cartridge  jammed,  and  it  was 
only  by  using  my  knife  that  I  got  it  out.  While  I  was  doing  this 
the  bear  had  bethought  himself,  stopped,  turned  towards  me,  and 
snorted  angrily,  as  he  made  up  his  mind  to  set  upon  me.  He  then 
went  up  on  to  a  piece  of  ice  close  by,  placed  himself  in  an  atti- 
tude of  defence,  and  stretched  out  his  neck  towards  me,  while 
the  blood  poured  from  his  mouth  and  nostrils.  The  ball  had 
gone  right  through  his  head,  but  without  touching  the  brain.  At 
last  I  had  put  another  cartridge  in,  but  had  to  give  him  five  shots 
before  I  finally  killed  him.  At  each  shot  he  fell,  but  got  up  again. 
I  was  not  accustomed  to  the  sights  on  Johansen's  gun,  and  shot 
rather  too  high  with  it.  At  last  I  grew  angry,  rushed  up  to  him, 
and  finished  him  off." 

We  were  beginning  to  be  well  supplied  with  blubber  and  meat 
for  the  journey  south,  and  were  now  busy  fitting  ourselves  out. 
And  there  was  a  great  deal  to  be  done.  We  had  to  begin  to  make 
ourselves  new  clothes  out  of  our  blankets  ;  our  wind  clothes  had 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  1896  545 

to  be  patched  and  mended  ;  our  "  komager  "  had  to  be  soled,  and 
we  had  to  make  socks  and  gloves  out  of  bearskin.  Then  we  had 
to  make  a  light,  good  sleeping-bag  of  bearskin.  All  this  would 
take  time ;  and  from  this  time  we  worked  industriously  at  our 
needle  from  early  morning  till  late  at  night.  Our  hut  was  sud- 
denly transformed  into  a  busy  tailor's  and  shoemaker's  work- 
room, where  we  sat  side  by  side  in  the  sleeping-bag  upon  the 
stone  bed,  and  sewed  and  sewed  and  thought  about  the  home- 
coming. We  got  thread  by  unravelling  the  cotton  canvas  of 
some  provision  bags.  It  need  hardly  be  said  that  we  were  always 
talking  about  the  prospects  for  our  journey,  and  we  found  great 
comfort  in  the  persistence  of  the  dark  sky  in  the  southwest,  which 
indicated  much  open  water  in  that  direction.  I  consequently 
thought  we  should  have  good  use  for  our  kayaks  on  the  journey 
to  Spitzbergen.  I  mention  this  open  water  several  times  in  my 
journal.  For  instance,  on  April  12th  :  "  Open  water  from  the 
promontory  in  the  southwest,  northward  as  far  as  we  can  see." 
By  this  I  mean,  of  course,  that  there  was  dark  air  over  the  whole 
horizon  in  this  direction,  showing  clearly  that  there  was  open 
water  there.  This  could  not  really  surprise  us ;  indeed,  we  ought 
to  have  been  prepared  for  it,  since  Payer  had  found  open  water 
in  the  middle  of  April  at  a  more  northerly  point  on  the  west 
coast  of  Crown  Prince  Rudolf  Land ;  and  this  had  been  contin- 
ually in  my  thoughts  all  through  the  winter. 

Another  thing  which  made  us  believe  in  the  close  vicinity  of 
the  sea  was  that  we  were  daily  visited  by  ivory  gulls  and  fulmars 
{Procellaria  glacialis),  sometimes  skuas  also.  We  saw  the  first 
ivory  gulls  on  March  12th  ;  throughout  April  they  became  more 
and  more  numerous,  and  soon  we  had  plenty,  both  of  them  and 
of  the  burgomasters  {Larus  glaucus),  sitting  on  our  roof  and 
round  the  hut,  and  drumming  and  pecking  at  the  bones  and  re- 
mains of  bears  they  found  there.  During  the  winter  the  con- 
tinual gnawing  of  the  foxes  at  the  meat  up  there  had  entertained 
us,  and  reminded  us  that  we  were  not  quite  forsaken  by  living 
things ;  when  half  asleep  we  could  often  imagine  that  we  were 
in  our  beds  at  home  and  heard  the  rats  and  mice  holding  their 
revels  in  the  attic  above  us.  With  the  coming  of  daylight  the 
foxes  vanished.  They  now  found  plenty  of  little  auks  up  in  the 
clefts  of  the  mountains,  and  had  no  longer  to  depend  on  our 
stone-hard  frozen  bear-meat.  But  now  we  had  the  drumming 
35 


546  FARTHEST  NORTH 

of  the  gulls  instead  ;  but  they  did  not  call  up  the  same  illusions, 
and,  when  we  had  them  on  the  roof  just  over  our  heads,  were 
often  very  tiresome,  and  even  disturbed  our  sleep,  so  that  we 
had  to  knock  on  the  roof  or  go  out  and  frighten  them  away, 
which,  however,  had  the  desired  effect  only  for  a  few  minutes. 

On  the  1 8th  of  April,  while  I  was  at  work  on  some  solar-time 
observations,  I  happened  to  look  up,  and  was  surprised  to  see  a 
bear  standing  just  opposite  to  me  down  on  the  ice  by  the  shore. 
It  must  have  been  standing  there  a  long  time,  wondering  what 
I  was  about.  I  ran  to  the  hut  for  a  gun,  but  when  I  returned  it 
took  to  its  heels,  and  I  was  not  eager  to  follow  it. 

"  Sunday,  April  19th.  I  was  awakened  at  7  o'clock  this  morn- 
ing by  the  heavy  steps  of  a  bear  outside.  I  wakened  Johansen, 
who  struck  a  light,  and  I  got  on  my  trousers  and  *  komager '  and 
crept  out  with  loaded  gun.  During  the  night  a  great  deal  of 
snow  had,  as  usual,  drifted  over  the  skin  that  covered  the  open- 
ing, and  was  difficult  to  break  through.  At  last,  by  kicking  with 
all  my  might  from  below,  I  managed  to  knock  the  snow  off,  and 
put  my  head  out  into  the  daylight  which  was  quite  dazzling 
after  the  darkness  down  in  the  hut.  I  saw  nothing,  but  knew 
that  the  bear  must  be  standing  just  behind  the  hut.  Then  I 
heard  a  snorting  and  blowing,  and  off  went  the  brute  in  a  clumsy 
bear's  gallop  up  the  slope.  I  did  not  know  whether  to  shoot  or 
not,  and,  to  tell  the  truth,  I  had  little  inclination  for  bear  skin- 
ning in  this  bitter  weather ;  but  half  at  random  I  sent  a  shot 
after  it,  which  of  course  missed,  and  I  was  not  sorry.  I  did  not 
shoot  again ;  the  one  shot  was  enough  to  frighten  it,  and  keep 
it  from  coming  again  for  the  present ;  we  did  not  want  it,  if  only 
it  would  leave  our  things  in  peace.  At  the  cleft  to  the  north  it 
looked  back,  and  then  went  on.  As  usual  it  had  come  against 
the  wind,  and  must  have  scented  us  far  west  upon  the  ice.  It 
had  made  several  tacks  to  leeward  to  us,  had  been  at  the  en- 
trance of  the  hut,  where  it  had  left  a  visiting-card,  and  had  then 
gone  straight  to  a  mound  at  the  back  of  us,  where  there  is  some 
walrus  blubber,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  bears'  carcasses. 
These  had  no  terrors  for  it.  The  bearskin  which  covered  it  it 
had  dragged  a  long  way,  but  fortunately  it  had  not  succeeded 
in  getting  anything  eaten  before  I  came. 

"  Sunday,  May  3d.  When  Johansen  came  in  this  morning  he 
said  he  had  seen  a  bear  out  on  the  ice  ;  it  was  coming  in.     He 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  i8g6  547 

went  out  a  little  later  to  look  for  it,  but  did  not  see  it ;  it  had 
probably  gone  into  the  bay  to  the  north.  We  expected  a  visit 
from  it,  however,  as  the  wind  was  that  way  ;  and  as  we  sat  later 
in  the  day,  sewing  as  hard  as  we  could  sew,  we  heard  heavy  foot- 
steps on  the  snow  outside.  They  stopped,  went  backward  and 
forward  a  little,  and  then  something  was  drawn  along,  and  all 
was  quiet.  Johansen  crept  cautiously  out  with  his  gun.  When 
he  put  his  head  out  of  the  hole,  and  his  eyes  had  recovered  from 
the  first  dazzling  effects  of  the  daylight,  he  saw  the  bear  stand- 
ing gnawing  at  a  bearskin.  A  bullet  through  the  head  killed  it 
on  the  spot.  It  was  a  lean  little  animal,  but  worth  taking,  inas- 
much as  it  saved  us  the  trouble  of  throwing  up  carcasses  in  order 
to  cut  provisions  for  our  journey  off  them.  Frozen  stiff  as  they 
now  are,  we  cannot  cut  them  up  outside  in  the  cold,  but  have  to 
bring  them  into  the  hut  and  soften  them  in  the  warmth  before 
we  can  cut  anything  off  them,  and  this  takes  time.  Two  bears 
were  here  on  a  visit  last  night,  but  they  turned  back  again  at 
the  sledge,  which  is  stuck  up  on  end  in  the  moraine  to  the  west 
of  us,  to  serve  as  a  stand  for  our  thermometer." 

As  we  were  breakfasting  on  May  9th  we  again  heard  a  bear's 
footstep  outside,  and  being  afraid  that  it  was  going  to  eat  up 
our  blubber,  we  had  no  other  resource  than  to  shoot  it.  We 
now  had  far  more  meat  than  we  required,  and  did  not  care  to 
use  more  cartridges  on  these  animals  for  the  present ;  but  what 
grieved  us  most  was  the  thought  of  all  the  beautiful  bearskins 
which  we  should  leave  behind  us.  The  time  was  now  drawing 
near  when  we  should  break  up  our  camp,  and  we  worked  eagerly 
at  our  preparations.  Our  clothes  were  now  ready.  The  entry 
for  Tuesday,  May  12th,  runs  thus:  "Took  leave  to-day  of  my 
old  trousers.  I  was  quite  sad  at  the  thought  of  the  good  service 
they  had  done  ;  but  they  are  now  so  heavy  with  oil  and  dirt  that 
they  must  be  several  times  their  original  weight,  and,  if  they 
were  squeezed,  oil  would  ooze  out  of  them."  It  was  undeniably 
pleasant  to  put  on  the  new,  light,  soft  trousers  of  blanket,  which 
were,  to  some  extent,  free  from  grease.  As,  however,  this  ma- 
terial was  loose  in  texture,  I  was  afraid  it  might  wear  out  before 
we  reached  Spitzbergen,  and  we  had  therefore  strengthened  it 
both  inside  and  outside  with  pieces  of  an  old  pair  of  drawers  and 
of  a  shirt  to  protect  it  from  wear. 

While  I  was  taking  some  observations  outside  the  hut  on  Sat- 


548  FARTHEST  NORTH 

urday,  May  i6th,  I  saw  a  bear  with  quite  a  small  young  one  out 
on  the  ice.  I  had  just  taken  a  turn  out  there,  and  they  were  ex- 
amining my  tracks.  The  mother  went  first,  going  up  on  to  all 
the  hummocks  I  had  been  upon,  turning  round  and  sniffing  and 
looking  at  the  tracks,  and  then  descending  again  and  going  on. 
The  tiny  young  one  trotted  along  behind,  exactly  repeating  the 
movements  of  its  mother.  At  last  they  grew  tired  of  this,  and 
turned  their  steps  towards  the  shore,  disappearing  behind  the 
promontory  to  the  north  of  us.  Shortly  after  Johansen  came 
out,  and  I  told  him  about  it,  and  said :  "  I  expect  we  shall  soon 
see  them  in^  the  cleft  up  there,  as  the  wind  is  that  way."  I 
had  scarcely  said  it,  when,  looking  across,  we  saw  them  stand- 
ing, stretching  their  necks,  sniffing,  and  looking  at  us  and  the 
hut.  We  did  not  want  to  shoot  them,  as  we  had  abundance  of 
food  ;  but  we  thought  it  would  be  amusing  to  go  nearer  and 
watch  them,  and  then,  if  possible,  frighten  them  sufficiently  to 
keep  them  from  visiting  us  in  the  night,  so  that  we  could  sleep 
in  peace.  When  we  approached,  the  mother  snorted  angrily, 
turned  several  times  as  if  to  go,  pushing  the  young  one  on  first, 
but  turned  back  again  to  observe  us  more  closely.  At  last 
they  jogged  slowly  off,  continually  hesitating  and  looking  back. 
When  they  got  down  to  the  shore,  they  again  went  quite  slowly 
among  the  hummocks,  and  I  ran  after  them.  The  mother  went 
first,  the  young  one  trotting  after  exactly  in  her  footsteps.  I  was 
soon  close  to  them  ;  the  mother  saw  me,  started,  and  tried  to  get 
the  young  one  to  go  with  her  ;  but  I  now  discovered  that  it  could 
run  no  faster  than  I  could  follow  it.  As  soon  as  the  mother  saw 
this,  she  turned  round,  snorted,  and  came  storming  right  at  me. 
I  halted,  and  prepared  to  shoot  in  case  she  should  come  too  near, 
and  in  the  meantime  the  little  one  tramped  on  as  fast  as  it  could. 
The  mother  halted  at  the  distance  of  a  few  paces  from  me,  snort- 
ed and  hissed  again,  looked  round  at  the  young  one,  and  when 
the  latter  had  got  a  good  way  on  trotted  after  it.  I  ran  on  again 
and  overtook  the  young  one.  and  again  the  mother  went  through 
the  same  manoeuvres  ;  she  seemed  to  have  the  greatest  possible 
desire  to  strike  me  to  the  earth,  but  then  the  young  one  had 
again  got  ahead  a  little,  and  she  did  not  wait  to  do  it,  but  trotted 
after.  This  was  repeated  several  times,  and  then  they  began  to 
clamber  up  the  glacier,  the  mother  in  front,  the  young  one  after. 
But  the  latter  did  not  get  on  very  fast ;  it  trudged  along  as  well 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  i8g6  549 

as  it  could  in  its  mother's  footprints  in  the  deep  snow.  It  re- 
minded me  exactly  of  a  child  in  trousers,  as  it  clambered  up  and 
kept  looking  round,  half  frightened,  half  curious.  It  was  touch- 
ing to  see  how  incessantly  the  mother  turned  round  to  hasten  it 
on,  now  and  then  jogging  it  with  her  head,  hissing  and  snorting 
all  the  while  at  me  standing  quietly  below  and  looking  on.  When 
they  reached  the  crest  the  mother  stopped  and  hissed  worse  than 
ever,  and  when  she  had  let  the  young  one  pass  her,  they  both 
disappeared  over  the  glacier,  and  I  went  back  to  continue  my 
work. 

For  the  last  few  weeks  a  feverish  activity  had  reigned  in  our 
hut.  We  had  become  more  and  more  impatient  to  make  a  start ; 
but  there  was  still  a  great  deal  to  be  done.  We  realized  in  bitter 
earnest  that  we  had  no  longer  the  Pram's  stores  to  fall  back  upon. 
On  board  the  Fram  there  might  be  one  or  two  things  lacking ; 
but  here  we  lacked  practically  everything.  What  would  we  not 
have  given  even  for  a  single  box  of  dog-biscuits — for  ourselves — 
out  of  the  Pram's  abundance  ?  Where  were  we  to  find  all  that 
we  needed  ?  "  For  a  sledge  expedition  one  must  lay  in  light  and 
nourishing  provisions,  which  at  the  same  time  afford  as  much 
variety  as  possible ;  one  must  have  light  and  warm  clothing, 
strong  and  practical  sledges,"  etc.,  etc. — we  knew  by  heart  all 
these  maxims  of  the  Arctic  text  -  book.  The  journey  that  lay 
before  us,  indeed,  was  not  a  very  great  one ;  the  thing  was  sim- 
ply to  reach  Spitzbergen  and  get  on  board  the  sloop ;  but  it  was 
long  enough,  after  all,  to  make  it  necessary  for  us  to  take  certain 
measures  of  precaution. 

When  we  dug  up  the  stores  which  we  had  buried  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  winter,  and  opened  the  bags,  we  found  that  there 
were  some  miserable  remains  of  a  commissariat  which  had  once, 
indeed,  been  good,  but  was  now  for  the  most  part  mouldy  and 
spoiled  by  the  damp  of  the  previous  autumn.  Our  flour  —  our 
precious  flour — had  got  mildewed,  and  had  to  be  thrown  away. 
The  chocolate  had  been  dissolved  by  the  damp,  and  no  longer 
existed ;  and  the  pemmican — well,  it  had  a  strange  appearance, 
and  when  we  tasted  it — ugh  !  It,  too,  had  to  be  thrown  away. 
There  remained  a  certain  quantity  of  fish  flour,  some  aleuronate 
flour,  and  some  damp  half -mouldy  bread,  which  we  carefully 
boiled  in  train-oil,  partly  to  dry  it,  as  all  damp  was  expelled  by 
the  boiling  oil,  partly  to  render  it  more  nutritious  by  impreg- 


550  FARTHEST  NORTH 

nating  it  with  fat.  We  thought  it  tasted  delightful,  and  pre- 
served it  carefully  for  festal  occasions  and  times  when  all  other 
food  failed  us.  Had  we  been  able  to  dry  bear's  flesh  we  should 
have  managed  very  well ;  but  the  weather  was  too  raw  and  cold, 
and  the  strips  of  flesh  we  hung  up  became  only  half  dry.  There 
was  nothing  for  it  but  to  lay  in  a  store  of  as  much  cut-up  raw  flesh 
and  blubber  as  we  could  carry  with  us.  Then  we  filled  the  three 
tin  boxes  that  had  held  our  petroleum  with  train-oil,  which  we 
used  as  fuel.  For  cooking  on  the  journey  we  would  use  the  pot 
belonging  to  our  cooking  apparatus  ;  and  our  lamp  we  used  as  a 
brazier  in  which  to  burn  blubber  and  train-oil  together.  These 
provisions  and  this  fuel  did  not  constitute  a  particularly  light 
equipment ;  but  it  had  this  advantage,  that  we  should  probably 
be  able  to  replace  what  we  consumed  of  it  by  the  way.  It  was 
to  be  hoped  that  we  should  find  plenty  of  game. 

Our  short  sledges  were  a  greater  trouble  to  us,  for  of  course 
we  could  not  get  them  lengthened  now.  If  we  failed  to  find  open 
water  all  the  way  over  to  Spitzbergen,  and  were  compelled  to 
drag  them  over  the  uneven  drift-ice,  we  could  scarcely  imagine 
how  we  should  get  on  with  the  kayaks  lying  on  these  short 
sledges,  without  getting  them  knocked  to  pieces  on  hummocks 
and  pressure-ridges  ;  for  the  kayaks  were  supported  only  at  the 
middle,  while  both  ends  projected  far  beyond  the  sledge,  and  at 
the  slightest  inequality  these  ends  hacked  against  the  ice,  and 
scraped  holes  in  the  sail-cloth.  We  had  to  protect  them  well  by 
lashing  bearskins  under  them  ;  and  then  we  had  to  make  the  best 
grips  we  could  contrive  out  of  the  scanty  wood  we  had  to  fix  on 
the  sledges.  This  was  no  easy  matter,  for  the  great  point  was  to 
make  the  grips  high  in  order  to  raise  the  kayaks  as  much  as  pos- 
sible and  keep  them  clear  of  the  ice ;  and  then  they  had  to  be 
well  lashed  in  order  to  keep  their  places.  But  we  had  no  cord  to 
lash  them  with,  and  had  to  make  it  for  ourselves  of  raw  bear- 
skin or  walrus  hide,  which  is  not  the  best  possible  material  for 
lashings.  This  difficulty,  too,  we  overcame,  and  got  our  kayaks 
to  lie  steadily  and  well.  We  of  course  laid  the  heaviest  part  of 
their  cargo  as  much  as  possible  in  the  middle,  so  that  the  ends 
should  not  be  broken  down  by  the  weight.  Our  own  personal 
equipment  was  quite  as  difficult  to  get  in  order.  I  have  men- 
tioned that  we  made  ourselves  new  clothes,  and  this  took  a  long 
time,  with  two  such  inexpert  tailors  ;  but  practice  made  us  grad- 


THE  NEW  YEAR,  i8g6  55 1 

ually  more  skilful,  and  I  think  we  had  good  reason  to  be  proud 
of  the  results  we  finally  achieved.  When  we  at  last  put  them 
on,  the  clothes  had  quite  an  imposing  appearance — so  we  thought, 
at  any  rate.  We  saved  them  up,  and  kept  them  hanging  as  long  as 
possible,  in  order  that  they  might  still  be  new  when  we  started  ; 
Johansen,  I  believe,  did  not  wear  his  new  coat  before  we  fell  in 
with  other  people.  He  declared  he  must  keep  it  fresh  till  we  ar- 
rived in  Norway  ;  he  could  not  go  about  like  a  pirate  when  he 
got  among  his  countrymen  again.  The  poor  remains  of  under- 
clothes that  we  possessed  had,  of  course,  to  be  thoroughly  washed 
before  we  started,  so  that  it  should  be  possible  to  move  in  them 
without  their  rasping  too  many  holes  in  our  skin.  The  washing 
we  accomplished  as  previously  described.  Our  foot-gear  was  in 
anything  but  a  satisfactory  condition.  Socks,  indeed,  we  could 
make  of  bearskin  ;  but  the  worst  of  it  was  that  the  soles  of  our 
"  komager  "  were  almost  Worn  out.  We  managed,  however,  to 
make  soles  of  a  sort  out  of  walrus  hide,  by  scraping  about  half 
its  thickness  away  and  then  drying  it  over  the  lamp.  With 
these  soles  we  mended  our  "  komager,"  after  the  fashion  of  the 
Finns ;  we  had  plenty  of  "  senne  "  thread  (sedge  thread),  and  we 
managed  to  get  our  "  komagers  "  pretty  well  water-tight  again. 
Thus,  in  spite  of  everything,  we  were  tolerably  well  off  for 
clothes,  though  it  cannot  be  said  that  those  we  had  were  remark- 
able for  their  cleanliness.  To  protect  us  against  wind  and  rain, 
we  had  still  our  wind  clothes,  which  we  had  patched  and  stitched 
together  as  well  as  we  could  ;  but  it  took  a  terrible  time,  for  the 
whole  garments  now  consisted  of  scarcely  anything  else  but 
patches  and  seams,  and  when  you  had  sewed  up  a  hole  at  one 
place  they  split  at  another  the  next  time  you  put  them  on.  The 
sleeves  were  particularly  bad,  and  at  last  I  tore  both  sleeves  off 
my  jacket,  so  that  I  should  not  have  the  annoyance  of  seeing 
them  perpetually  stripped  away. 

It  was  very  desirable,  too,  that  we  should  have  a  tolerably  light 
sleeping-bag.  The  one  we  had  brought  with  us  no  longer  ex- 
isted, as  we  had  made  clothes  out  of  the  blankets  ;  so  the  only 
thing  was  to  try  and  make  as  light  a  bag  as  possible  out  of  bear- 
skin. By  picking  out  the  thinnest  skins  we  possessed,  we  man- 
aged to  make  one  not  so  much  heavier  than  the  reindeer-skin 
bag  which  we  had  taken  with  us  on  leaving  the  Fram.  A  great- 
er difficulty  was  to  procure  a  practicable  tent.     The  one  we  had 


552  FARTHEST  NORTH 

had  was  out  of  the  question.  It  had  been  worn  and  torn  to 
pieces  on  our  five  months*  journey  of  the  year  before,  and  what 
was  left  of  it  the  foxes  had  made  an  end  of,  as  we  had  had  it 
lying  spread  over  our  meat  and  blubber  heap  in  the  autumn  to 
protect  it  against  the  gulls.  The  foxes  had  gnawed  and  torn  it 
in  all  directions*,  and  had  carried  off  great  strips  of  it,  which  we 
found  scattered  around.  We  speculated  a  great  deal  as  to  how 
we  could  make  ourselves  a  new  tent.  The  only  thing  we  could 
think  of  was  to  put  our  sledges,  with  the  kayaks  upon  them, 
parallel  to  each  other  at  the  distance  of  about  a  man's  height, 
then  pile  snow  around  them  at  the  sides  until  they  were  closed 
in,  lay  our  snow-shoes  and  bamboo  staffs  across,  and  then  spread 
our  two  sails,  laced  together,  over  the  whole,  so  that  they  should 
reach  the  ground  on  both  sides.  In  this  way  we  managed  to 
make  ourselves  a  quite  effective  shelter,  the  kayaks  forming  the 
roof  ridges,  and  the  sails  the  side  walls  of  the  tent.  It  was  not 
quite  impervious  to  drifting  snow,  and  we  had  usually  a  good 
deal  of  trouble  in  stopping  up  cracks  and  openings  with  our 
wind  clothes  and  things  of  that  sort. 

But  the  most  important  part  of  our  equipment  was,  after  all, 
our  firearms,  and  these,  fortunately,  we  had  kept  in  tolerably 
good  order.  We  cleaned  the  rifles  thoroughly  and  rubbed  them 
with  train-oil.  We  had  also  a  little  vaseline  and  gun-oil  left  for 
the  locks.  On  taking  stock  of  our  ammunition,  we  found,  to  our 
joy,  that  we  still  had  about  loo  rifle  cartridges  and  no  small- 
shot  cartridges.  We  had  thus  enough,  if  necessary,  for  several 
more  winters. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD 

At  last,  on  Tuesday,  May  19th,  we  were  ready  for  the  start. 
Our  sledges  stood  loaded  and  lashed.  The  last  thing  we  did  was 
to  photograph  our  hut,  both  outside  and  inside,  and  to  leave  in  it 
a  short  report  of  our  journey.     It  ran  thus  : 

**  Tuesday,  May  19,  1896.  We  were  frozen  in  north  of  Kotel- 
noi  at  about  78°  43'  north  latitude,  September  22,  1893.  Drifted 
northwestward  during  the  following  year,  as  we  had  expected  to 
do.  Johansen  and  I  left  the  Fram  March  14, 1895,  at  about  84°  4' 
north  latitude  and  103°  east  longitude,*  to  push  on  northward. 
The  command  of  the  remainder  of  the  expedition  was  transferred 
to  Sverdrup.  Found  no  land  northward.  On  April  6,  1895,  we 
had  to  turn  back  at  86°  14'  north  latitude  and  about  95°  east 
longitude,  the  ice  having  become  impassable.  Shaped  our  course 
for  Cape  Fligely ;  but  our  watches  having  stopped,  we  did  not 
know  our  longitude  with  certainty,  and  arrived  on  August  6, 
1895,  at  four  glacier-covered  islands  to  the  north  of  this  line  of 
islands,  at  about  81°  30'  north  latitude,  and  about  7°  E.  of  this 
place.  Reached  this  place  August  26,  1895,  and  thought  it  safest 
to  winter  here.  Lived  on  bear's  flesh.  Are  starting  to-day  south- 
westward  along  the  land,  intending  to  cross  over  to  Spitzbergen 
at  the  nearest  point.   We  conjecture  that  we  are  on  Gillies  Land. 

"Fridtjop  Nansen." 

This  earliest  report  of  our  journey  was  deposited  in  a  brass 
tube  which  had  formed  the  cylinder  of  the  air-pump  of  our 
"  Primus."  The  tube  was  closed  with  a  plug  of  wood  and  hung 
by  a  wire  to  the  roof-tree  of  the  hut. 

At  length,  on  Tuesday,  the  19th  of  May,  we  were  ready,  and  at 

*  This  was  a  slip  of  the  pen ;  it  ought  to  be  102^  east  longitude. 


554  FARTHEST  NORTH 

7  P.M.  left  our  winter  lair  and  began  our  journey  south.  After 
having  had  so  little  exercise  all  the  winter,  we  were  not  much 
disposed  for  walking,  and  thought  our  sledges  with  the  loaded 
kayaks  heavy  to  pull  along.  In  order  not  to  do  too  much  at  first, 
but  make  our  joints  supple  before  we  began  to  exert  ourselves 
seriously,  we  walked  for  only  a  few  hours  the  first  day,  and  then, 
well  satisfied,  pitched  our  camp.  There  was  such  a  wonderfully 
happy  feeling  in  knowing  that  we  were,  at  last,  on  the  move,  and 
that  we  were  actually  going  homeward. 

The  following  day  (Wednesday,  May  20th)  we  also  did  only  a 
short  day's  march.  We  were  making  for  the  promontory  to  the 
southwest  of  us  that  we  had  been  looking  at  all  the  winter.  Judg- 
ing from  the  sky,  it  was  on  the  farther  side  of  this  headland  that 
we  should  find  open  water.  We  were  very  eager  to  see  how  the 
land  lay  ahead  of  this  .point.  If  we  were  north  of  Cape  Lofley, 
the  land  must  begin  to  trend  to  the  southeast.  If,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  trend  of  the  coast  was  to  the  southwest,  then  this  must 
be  a  new  land  farther  west,  and  near  Gillies  Land. 

The  next  day  (Thursday,  May  21st)  we  reached  this  promon- 
tory, and  pitched  our  camp  there.  All  through  the  winter  we 
had  called  it  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  as  we  expected  to  find  dif- 
ferent conditions  there  which  would  facilitate  our  advance ;  and 
our  hopes  were  not  to  be  disappointed.  From  the  crest  of  the 
mountain  I  saw  open  water  not  far  off  to  the  south,  and  also  two 
new  snow-lands,  one  large  one  in  front  (in  the  south,  40°  W.),  and 
one  not  much  smaller  in  the  west  (S.  85°  W.).  It  was  completely 
covered  with  glacier,  and  looked  like  an  evenly  vaulted  shield. 
I  could  not  see  clearly  how  the  coast  ran  on  account  of  a  headland 
to  the  southward.  But  it  did  not  seem  to  trend  to  the  southeast, 
so  that  we  could  not  be  near  Cape  Lofley.  We  now  hoped  that 
we  might  be  able  to  launch  our  kayaks  the  very  next  day,  and 
that  we  should  then  make  rapid  progress  in  a  southwesterly  di- 
rection ;  but  in  this  we  were  disappointed.  The  next  day  there 
was  a  snowstorm,  and  we  had  to  stay  where  we  were.  As  I 
lay  in  the  bag  in  the  morning,  preparing  breakfast,  I  all  at  once 
caught  sight  of  a  bear  walking  quietly  past  us  at  a  distance  of 
about  twenty  paces.  It  looked  at  us  and  our  kayaks  once  or 
twice,  but  could  not  quite  make  out  what  we  were,  as  the  wind 
was  in  another  direction  and  it  could  not  get  scent  of  us,  so  it 
continued  its  way.    I  let  it  go  unharmed;  we  still  had  food  enough. 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  555 

On  Saturday,  May  23d,  the  weather  was  still  bad,  but  we  went 
ahead  a  little  way  to  examine  our  road  onward.  The  point  to 
be  found  out  was  whether  we  ought  at  once  to  make  for  the 
open  water,  that  lay  on  the  other  side  of  an  island  to  the  west, 
or  whether  we  ought  to  travel  southward  upon  the  shore -ice 
along  the  land.  We  came  to  a  headland  consisting  of  uncom- 
monly marked  columnar  basalt,  which  on  account  of  its  pecul- 
iar form  we  called  the  "  Castle."  *  We  here  saw  that  the  land 
stretched  farther  in  a  southerly  direction,  and  that  the  open 
water  went  the  same  way,  only  separated  from  the  land  by  a 
belt  of  shore-ice.  As  the  latter  appeared  to  be  full  of  cracks,  we 
decided  to  go  over  to  the  island  in  the  west,  and  put  to  sea  as 
quickly  as  possible.  We  therefore  returned  and  made  all  ready. 
Our  preparations  consisted,  first  and  foremost,  in  carefully  calk- 
ing the  seams  of  our  kayaks  by  melting  stearine  over  them,  and 
then  restowing  the  cargo  so  as  to  leave  room  for  us  to  sit  in 
them.  The  following  day  (Sunday,  May  24th)  we  moved  on 
westward  towards  the  island,  and  as  the  wind  was  easterly  and 
we  were  able  to  employ  sails  on  the  sledges  we  got  on  pretty 
quickly  across  the  flat  ice.  As  we  approached  the  island,  how- 
ever, a  storm  blew  up  from  the  southwest,  and  after  the  sledges 
had  upset  several  times  we  were  obliged  to  take  down  our  sails. 
The  sky  became  overcast,  the  air  grew  misty,  and  we  worked  our 
way  against  the  strong  wind  in  towards  the  land.  The  thing 
was  to  get  to  land  as  quickly  as  possible,  as  we  might  evidently 
expect  bad  weather.  .  But  now  the  ice  became  treacherous.  As 
we  approached  the  land  there  was  a  number  of  cracks  in  every 
direction,  and  these  were  covered  with  a  layer  of  snow,  so  that 
it  was  diflicult  to  see  them.  While  Johansen  was  busy  lashing 
the  sail  and  mast  securely  to  the  deck  of  his  kayak,  so  that  the 
wind  should  not  carry  them  away,  I  went  on  ahead  as  fast  as  I 
could  to  look  for  a  camping-ground  ;  but  all  of  a  sudden  the  ice 
sank  beneath  me,  and  I  lay  in  the  water  in  a  broad  crack  which 
had  been  concealed  by  the  snow.  I  tried  to  get  out  again,  but 
with  my  snow-shoes  firmly  fastened  it  was  not  possible  to  get 
them  through  all  the  rubble  of  snow  and  lumps  of  ice  that  had 
fallen  into  the  water  on  the  top  of  them.  In  addition  to  this,  I 
was  fastened  to  the  sledge  by  the  harness,  so  that  I  could  not 

*  Jackson's  "Cape  M'Clintock." 


556  FARTHEST  NORTH 

turn  round.  Fortunately,  in  the  act  of  falling,  I  had  dug  my 
pikestaff  into  the  ice  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  crack,  and,  hold- 
ing myself  up  by  its  aid  and  the  one  arm  that  I  had  got  above 
the  edge  of  the  ice,  I  lay  waiting  patiently  for  Johansen  to  come 
and  pull  me  out.  I  was  sure  he  must  have  seen  me  fall  in,  but 
could  not  turn  enough  to  look  back.  When  I  thought  a  long 
time  had  passed,  and  I  felt  the  staff  giving  way  and  the  water 
creeping  farther  and  farther  up  my  body,  I  began  to  call  out, 
but  received  no  answer.  I  shouted  louder  for  help,  and  at  last 
heard  a  "  Hullo !"  far  behind.  After  some  little  time,  when  the 
water  was  up  to  my  chest,  and  it  would  not  have  been  long  be- 
fore I  was  right  under,  Johansen  came  up  and  I  was  pulled  out. 
He  had  been  so  occupied  with  his  sledge  that  he  had  not  noticed 
that  I  was  in  the  water  until  the  last  time  I  called.  This  ex- 
perience had  the  effect  of  making  me  careful  in  the  future  not 
to  go  on  such  deceitful  ice  with  my  snow-shoes  firmly  attached. 
By  observing  a  little  more  caution,  we  at  length  reached  the 
land,  and  found  a  camping  -  place  where  there  was  a  certain 
amount  of  shelter.  To  our  surprise,  we  discovered  a  number  of 
walruses  lying  along  the  shore  here,  herd  upon  herd,  beside  the 
cracks ;  but  we  took  no  notice  of  them  either,  for  the  present ; 
we  thought  we  still  had  a  sufficient  supply  of  food  and  blubber 
to  draw  upon. 

During  the  succeeding  days  the  storm  raged,  and  we  could 
not  move.  The  entry  for  Tuesday,  May  26th,  is  as  follows :  ''  We 
have  lain  weather-bound  yesterday  and  to-day  beneath  the  glac- 
ier cliff  on  the  north  side  of  this  island.  The  snow  is  so  wet 
that  it  will  be  difficult  to  get  anywhere  ;  but  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  open  channel  outside  is  not  far  off,  and  we  shall  get  on 
quickly  there  when  once  the  storm  abates.  We  shall  then  make 
up  for  this  long  delay."  But  our  stay  was  to  be  longer  than  we 
thought.  On  Thursday,  May  28th,  the  journal  says  :  "  We  were 
up  on  the  island  yesterday,  and  saw  open  sea  to  the  south,  but 
are  still  lying  weather-bound  as  before.  I  only  moved  our  tent- 
place  a  little  on  account  of  the  cracks  ;  the  ice  threatened  to  open 
just  beneath  us.  There  are  a  great  many  walruses  here.  When 
we  go  out  over  the  ice  the  fellows  follow  us  and  come  up  in  the 
cracks  beside  us.  We  can  often  hear  them  grunting  as  they  go, 
and  butting  at  the  ice  under  our  feet." 

That  day,  however,  the  storm  so  far  abated  that  we  were  able 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  557 

to  move  southward  along  the  east  side  of  the  island.  On  the  way 
we  passed  a  large  open  pool  in  the  shore-ice  between  this  island 
and  the  land.  It  must  have  been  shallow  here,  for  there  was  a 
strong  current,  which  was  probably  the  cause  of  this  pool  being 
kept  open.  We  passed  two  or  three  herds  of  walruses  lying  on  the 
ice  near  it.  Concerning  these  I  wrote  that  evening  :  "  I  went  up 
to  one  herd  of  about  nine  to  take  photographs  of  the  animals.  I 
went  close  up  to  them,  behind  a  little  mound,  and  they  did  not 
see  me  ;  but  directly  I  rose  up,  not  more  than  20  feet  away  from 
them,  a  female  with  her  young  one  plunged  into  the  water  through 
a  hole  close  by.  I  could  not  get  the  others  to  stir,  however  much 
I  shouted.  Johansen  now  joined  me,  and,  although  he  threw 
lumps  of  snow  and  ice  at  them,  they  would  not  move  ;  they  only 
struck  their  tusks  into  the  lumps  and  sniffed  at  them,  while  I 
kept  on  photographing  them.  When  I  went  right  up  to  them, 
most  of  them  at  last  got  up  and  floundered  away  towards  the 
hole,  and  one  plunged  in  ;  but  the  others  stopped  and  composed 
themselves  to  sleep  again.  Soon,  too,  the  one  that  had  first  dis- 
appeared came  back  and  crept  on  to  the  ice.  The  two  that  lay 
nearest  to  me  never  stirred  at  all ;  they  raised  their  heads  a  little 
once  or  twice,  looked  contemptuously  at  me  as  I  stood  three 
paces  from  them,  laid  their  heads  down  and  went  to  sleep  again. 
They  barely  moved  when  I  pricked  them  in  the  snout  with  my 
pikestaff,  but  I  was  able  to  get  a  pretty  good  photograph  of  them. 
I  thought  I  now  had  enough,  but  before  I  went  I  gave  the  nearest 
one  a  parting  poke  in  the  snout  with  my  pikestaff ;  it  got  right 
up,  grunted  discontentedly,  looked  in  astonishment  at  me  with 
its  great  round  eyes,  and  then  quietly  began  to  scratch  the  back 
of  its  head,  and  I  got  another  photograph,  whereupon  it  again 
lay  quietly  down.  When  we  went  on,  they  all  immediately  set- 
tled themselves  again,  and  were  lying  like  immovable  masses  of 
flesh  when  we  finally  rounded  the  promontory  and  lost  sight  of 
them." 

Once  more  we  had  snow-storms,  and  now  lay  weather-bound 
on  the  south  side  of  the  island. 

"  Friday,  May  29th.     Lying  weather-bound. 

"  Saturday,  May  30th.  Lying  weather  -  bound,  stopping  up 
the  tent  against  the  driving  snow  while  the  wind  flits  round  us, 
attacking  first  one  side  and  then  another."  It  was  all  we  could 
do  to  keep  ourselves  tolerably  dry  during  this  time,  with  the  snow 


558  '   FARTHEST  NORTH 

drifting  in  through  the  cracks  on  all  sides,  on  us  and  our  bag, 
melting  and  saturating  everything. 

"Monday,  June  ist.  Yesterday  it  at  last  grew  a  little  calmer, 
and  cleared  up  so  that  we  had  bright  sunshine  in  the  evening. 
We  rejoiced  in  the  thought  of  moving  on,  got  our  kayaks  and 
everything  ready  to  launch,  and  crept  into  our  bag,  to  turn  out 
early  this  morning  for  a  fine  day,  as  we  thought.  The  only  thing 
that  made  it  a  little  doubtful  was  that  the  barometer  had  ceased 
rising — had  fallen  again  i  millim.,  in  fact.  In  the  night  the  storm 
came  on  again — the  same  driving  snow,  only  with  this  difference, 
that  now  the  wind  is  going  round  the  compass  with  the  sun,  so 
there  must  soon  be  an  end  of  it.  This  is  beginning  to  be  too 
much  of  a  good  thing ;  I  am  now  seriously  afraid  that  the  Fram 
will  get  home  before  us.  I  went  for  a  walk  inland  yesterday. 
There  were  fiat  clay  and  gravel  stretches  everywhere.  I  saw 
numerous  traces  of  geese,  and  in  one  place  some  white  egg-shell, 
undoubtedly  belonging  to  a  goose's  ^zz.''  We  therefore  called 
the  island  Goose  Island.* 

"  Tuesday,  June  2d.  Still  lay  weather-bound  last  night,  and 
to-day  it  has  been  windier  than  ever.  But  now,  towards  evening, 
it  has  begun  to  abate  a  little,  with  a  brightening  sky  and  sun- 
shine now  and  again  ;  so  we  hope  that  there  will  really  be  a 
change  for  the  better.  Here  we  lie  in  a  hollow  in  the  snow,  get- 
ting wetter  and  wetter,  and  thinking  that  it  is  June  already  and 
everything  looks  beautiful  at  home,  while  we  have  got  no  farther 
than  this.  But  it  cannot  be  much  longer  before  we  are  there. 
Oh,  it  is  too  much  to  think  of  !  If  only  I  could  be  sure  about  the 
Frajn  !  If  she  arrives  before  us,  ah  !  what  will  those  poor  wait- 
ing ones  do  ?" 

At  length,  on  Wednesday,  June  3d,  we  went  on  ;  but  now  the 
west  wind  had  driven  the  ice  landward,  so  that  there  was  no 
longer  open  sea  to  travel  south  upon,  and  there  was  nothing  for 
it  but  to  go  over  the  ice  along  the  land.  However,  the  wind  was 
from  the  north,  and  we  could  put  up  a  sail  on  our  sledges,  and 
thus  get  along  pretty  fast.  We  still  saw  several  walruses  on  the 
ice,  and  there  were  also  some  in  the  water  that  were  continually 
putting  their  heads  up  in  the  cracks  and  grunting  after  us.    The 

*  Jackson,  who  saw  it  in  the  spring  of  1895,  called  it  Mary  Elizabeth 
Island. 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  559 

ice  we  were  crossing  here  was  remarkably  thin  and  bad,  and  as 
we  got  farther  south  it  became  even  worse.  It  was  so  weighed 
down  with  the  masses  of  snow  that  lay  upon  it  that  there  was 
water  beneath  the  snow  wherever  we  turned.  We  had  to  make 
towards  land  as  quickly  as  possible,  as  it  looked  still  worse  far- 
ther south.  By  going  on  snow-shoes,  however,  we  kept  fairly 
well  on  the  top  of  the  snow,  though  often  both  sledge  and  snow- 
shoes  sank  down  into  the  water  below  and  stuck  fast,  and  no 
little  trouble  was  caused  in  getting  everything  safely  on  to 
firmer  ice  again.  At  last,  however,  we  got  in  under  a  high,  per- 
pendicular basaltic  cliff,*  which  swarmed  with  auks.  This  was 
the  first  time  we  had  seen  these  birds  in  any  great  quantity ; 
hitherto  we  had  only  seen  one  or  two  singly.  We  took  it  as  a 
sign  that  we  were  approaching  better-known  regions.  Alongside 
of  it,  to  the  southeast,  there  was  a  small  rocky  knoll,  where  num- 
bers of  fulmar  {Procellaria  glacialis)  seemed  to  be  breeding. 
Our  supply  of  food  was  now  getting  very  low,  and  we  had  been 
hoping  for  a  visit  from  some  bear  or  other  ;  but  how  that  we 
needed  them  they  of  course  kept  away.  We  then  determined  to 
shoot  birds,  but  the  auks  flew  too  high,  and  all  we  got  was  a 
couple  of  fulmars.  As  we  just  then  passed  a  herd  of  walruses,  we 
determined  to  take  some  of  this  despised  food,  and  we  shot  one 
of  them,  killing  it  on  the  spot.  At  the  report  the  others  raised 
their  heads  a  little,  but  only  to  let  them  fall  again,  and  went 
on  sleeping.  To  get  our  prize  skinned  with  these  brutes  lying 
around  us  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  and  we  must  drive  them 
into  the  water  in  some  way  or  other.  This  was  no  easy  matter, 
however.  We  went  up  to  them,  shouted  and  halloed,  but  they 
only  looked  at  us  lazily,  and  did  not  move.  Then  we  hit  them 
with  snow-shoe  staves ;  they  became  angry  and  struck  their  tusks 
into  the  ice  until  the  chips  flew,  but  still  would  not  move.  At 
last,  however,  by  continuing  to  poke  and  beat,  we  drove  the 
whole  herd  into  the  water,  but  it  was  not  quick  work.  In  state- 
ly, dignified  procession  they  drew  back  and  shambled  slowly  off, 
one  after  the  other,  to  the  water's  edge.  Here  they  again  looked 
round  at  us,  grunting  discontentedly,  and  then  plunged  into  the 
water  one  by  one.  But  while  we  were  cutting  up  their  comrade 
they  kept  coming  up  again  in  the  crack  beside  us,  grunting  and 

*  Jackson's  "  Cape  Fisher." 


56o  FARTHEST  NORTH 

creeping  half  up  on  the  ice,  as  if  to  demand  an  explanation  of 
our  conduct. 

After  having  supplied  ourselves  with  as  much  meat  and  blub- 
ber as  we  thought  we  needed  for  the  moment,  as  well  as  a  quan- 
tity of  blood,  we  pitched  our  tent  close  by  and  boiled  a  good  mess 
of  blood  porridge,  which  consisted  of  a  wonderful  mixture  of  blood, 
powdered  fish,  Indian  meal,  and  blubber.  We  still  had  a  good 
wind,  and  sailed  away  merrily  with  our  sledges  all  night.  When 
we  got  to  the  promontory  to  the  south  of  us  we  came  to  open 
water,  which  here  ran  right  up  to  the  edge  of  the  glacier-covered 
land  ;  and  all  we  had  to  do  was  to  launch  our  kayaks  and  set  off 
along  by  the  glacier  cliff,  in  open  sea  for  the  first  time  this  year. 
It  was  strange  to  be  using  paddles  again  and  to  see  the  water 
swarming  with  birds  —  auks  and  little  auks  and  kittiwakes  all 
round.  The  land  was  covered  with  glaciers,  the  basaltic  rock 
only  projecting  in  one  or  two  places.  There  were  moraines,  too, 
in  several  places  on  the  glaciers.  We  were  not  a  little  surprised, 
after  going  some  way,  when  we  discovered  a  flock  of  eider-ducks 
on  the  water.  A  little  later  we  saw  two  geese  sitting  on  the 
shore,  and  felt  as  if  we  had  come  into  quite  civilized  regions 
again.  After  a  couple  of  hours'  paddling  our  progress  south  was 
stopped  by  shore-ice,  while  the  open  water  extended  due  west 
towards  some  land  we  had  previously  seen  in  that  direction,  but 
which  was  now  covered  by  mist.  We  were  very  much  in  doubt 
as  to  which  way  to  choose,  whether  to  go  on  in  the  open  water 
westward — which  must  take  us  towards  Spitzbergen — or  to  leave 
it  and  again  take  to  our  sledges  over  the  smooth  shore-ice  to  the 
south.  Although  the  air  was  thick  and  we  could  not  see  far,  we  felt 
convinced  that  by  going  over  the  ice  we  should  at  last  reach  open 
water  on  the  south  side  of  these  islands  among  which  we  were. 
Perhaps  we  might  there  find  a  shorter  route  to  Spitzbergen.  In 
the  meantime  morning  was  far  advanced  (June  5th),  and  we 
pitched  our  camp,  well  pleased  at  having  got  so  far  south.* 

As  it  was  still  so  hazy  the  following  day  (Saturday,  June  6th) 
that  we  could  not  see  any  more  of  our  surroundings  than  before, 
and  as  there  was  a  strong  north  wind,  which  would  be  incon- 
venient in  crossing  the  open  sea  westward,  we  determined  on  go- 

*  This  was  on  the  south  side  of  Jackson's  "  Cape  Richthofen,"  the 
most  northerly  point  which  Jackson  had  reached  earlier  the  same  spring. 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  5^1 

ing  southward  over  the  shore-ice.  We  were  once  more  able  to 
use  a  sail  on  our  sledges,  and  we  got  on  better  than  ever.  We 
often  went  along  without  any  exertion  ;  we  could  stand  on  our 
snow-shoes,  each  in  front  of  our  sledge,  holding  the  steering- 
pole  (a  bamboo  cane  bound  firmly  to  the  stem  of  the  kayaks) 
and  letting  the  wind  carry  us  along.  In  the  gusts  we  often  went 
along  like  feathers,  at  other  times  we  had  to  pull  a  little  our- 
selves. We  made  good  progress,  and  kept  on  until  far  into  the 
night,  as  we  wanted  to  make  as  much  use  of  the  wind  as  possible. 
We  crossed  right  over  the  broad  sound  we  had  had  in  front  of 
us,  and  did  not  stop  until  we  were  able  to  pitch  our  camp  by  an 
island  on  its  southern  side. 

Next  evening  (Sunday,  June  7th)  we  went  on  again,  still 
southward,  before  the  same  northerly  wind,  and  we  could  sail 
well.  We  had  hoped  to  be  able  to  reach  the  land  before  we 
again  pitched  our  camp,  but  it  was  farther  than  we  had  thought, 
and  at  last,  when  morning  (Monday,  June  8th)  was  far  ad- 
vanced, we  had  to  stop  in  the  middle  of  the  ice  in  a  furious 
storm.  The  numerous  islands  among  which  we  now  were  seemed 
more  and  more  mysterious  to  us.  I  find  in  my  journal  for  that 
day :  "  Are  continually  discovering  new  islands  or  lands  to  the 
south.  There  is  one  great  land  of  snow  beyond  us  in  the  west, 
and  it  seems  to  extend  southward  a  long  way."  This  snow  land 
seemed  to  us  extremely  mysterious ;  we  had  not  yet  discovered 
a  single  dark  patch  upon  it,  only  snow  and  ice  everywhere.  We 
had  no  clear  idea  of  its  extent,  as  we  had  only  caught  glimpses 
of  it  now  and  then  when  the  mist  lifted  a  little.  It  seemed  to  be 
quite  low,  but  we  thought  that  it  must  be  of  a  wider  extent  than 
any  of  the  lands  we  had  hitherto  travelled  along.  To  the  east 
we  found  island  upon  island,  and  sounds  and  fjords  the  whole 
way  along.  We  mapped  it  all  as  well  as  we  could,  but  this  did 
not  help  us  to  find  out  where  we  were  ;  they  seemed  to  be  only  a 
crowd  of  small  islands,  and  every  now  and  then  a  view  of  what 
we  took  to  be  the  ocean  to  the  east  opened  up  between  them. 

The  ice  over  which  we  were  now  travelling  was  remarkably 
different  from  that  which  we  had  had  farther  north,  near  our 
winter-hut ;  it  was  considerably  thinner,  and  covered,  too,  with 
very  thick  snow,  so  that  it  was  not  in  a  good  condition  for  travel- 
ling over.  When,  therefore,  the  following  day  (Tuesday,  June 
9th),  it  also  began  to  stick  in  lumps  to  our  snow-shoes  and  the 
36 


562  FARTHEST  NORTH 

sledge-runners,  they  both  worked  rather  heavily  ;  but  the  wind 
was  still  favorable,  and  we  sailed  along  well  notwithstanding. 
As  we  were  sailing  full  speed,  flying  before  the  wind,  and  had 
almost  reached  the  land,  Johansen  and  his  sledge  suddenly  sank 
down,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  that  he  managed  to  back  him- 
self and  his  things  against  the  wind  and  on  to  the  firmer  ice. 
As  I  was  rushing  along,  I  saw  that  the  snow  in  front  of  me  had 
a  suspiciously  wet  color,  and  my  snow-shoes  began  to  cut  through ; 
but  fortunately  I  still  had  time  to  luff  before  any  further  mis- 
fortune occurred.  We  had  to  take  down  our  sails  and  make  a 
long  detour  westward,  before  we  could  continue  our  sail.  Next 
day,  also,  the  snow  clogged,  but  the  wind  had  freshened,  and  we 
sailed  better  than  ever.  As  the  land  to  the  east*  now  appeared 
to  trend  to  the  southeast,  we  steered  for  the  southernmost  point 
of  a  land  to  the  southwest.f  It  began  to  be  more  and  more  ex- 
citing. We  thought  we  must  have  covered  about  14  miles  that 
day,  and  reckoned  that  we  must  be  in  80°  8'  north  latitude,  and 
we  still  had  land  in  the  south.  If  it  continued  far  in  that  direc- 
tion it  was  certain  that  we  could  not  be  on  Franz  Josef  Land  (as 
I  still  thought  might  be  the  case) ;  but  we  could  not  see  far  in 
this  hazy  atmosphere,  and  then  it  was  remarkable  that  the  coast 
on  the  east  began  to  run  in  an  easterly  direction.  I  thought 
it  might  agree  with  Leigh  Smith's  map  of  Markham  Sound.  In 
that  case  we  must  have  come  south  through  a  sound  which 
neither  he  nor  Payer  could  have  seen,  and  we  were  therefore  not 
so  far  out  of  our  longitude,  after  all.  But  no !  in  our  journey 
southward  we  could  not  possibly  have  passed  right  across  Payer's 
Dove  Glacier  and  his  various  islands  and  lands  without  having 
seen  them.  There  must  still  be  a  land  farther  west  of  this,  be- 
tween Franz  Josef  Land  and  Spitzbergen  ;  Payer's  map  could 
not  be  altogether  wrong.  I  wanted  to  reach  the  land  in  the 
southwest,  but  had  to  stop  on  the  ice  ;  it  was  too  far. 

"  Our  provisions  are  getting  low ;  we  have  a  little  meat  for 
one  more  day,  but  there  is  no  living  thing  to  be  seen,  not  a  seal 
on  the  ice,  and  no  open  water  anywhere.  How  long  is  this  going 
on  ?  If  we  do  not  soon  reach  open  sea  again,  where  there  may 
be  game  to  be  had,  things  will  not  look  very  pleasant. 

*  It  proved  to  be  "  Hooker  Island." 

t  It  proved  to  be  "  Northbrook  Island." 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  5^3 

"Tuesday,  June  i6th.  The  last  few  days  have  been  so  event- 
ful that  there  has  been  no  time  to  write.  I  must  try  to  make 
up  for  lost  time  this  beautiful  morning,  while  the  sun  is  peep- 
ing in  under  the  tent.  The  sea  lies  blue  and  shining  outside, 
and  one  can  lie  and  fancy  one's  self  at  home  on  a  June  morn- 
ing." 

On  Friday,  June  12th,  we  started  again  at  4  a.m.,  with  sails  on 
our  sledges.  There  had  been  frost,  so  the  snow  was  in  much 
better  condition  again.  It  had  been  very  windy  in  the  night, 
too,  so  we  hoped  for  a  good  day.  On  the  preceding  day  it  had 
cleared  up  so  that  we  could  at  last  see  distinctly  the  lands  around. 
We  now  discovered  that  we  must  steer  in  a  more  westerly  direc- 
tion than  we  had  done  during  the  preceding  days,  in  order  to 
reach  the  south  point  of  the  land  to  the  west.  The  lands  to  the 
east  disappeared  eastward,  so  we  had  said  good-bye  to  them  the 
day  before.  We  now  saw,  too,  that  there  was  a  broad  sound  in 
the  land  to  the  west,*  and  that  it  was  not  one  entire  land,  as  we 
had  taken  it  to  be.  The  land  north  of  this  sound  was  now  so  far 
away  that  I  could  only  just  see  it.  In  the  meantime  the  wind 
had  dropped  a  good  deal ;  the  ice,  too,  became  more  and  more 
uneven — it  was  evident  that  we  had  come  to  the  drift-ice,  and  it 
was  much  harder  work  than  we  had  expected.  We  could  see  by 
the  air  that  there  must  be  open  water  to  the  south,  and  as  we 
went  on  we  heard,  to  our  joy,  the  sound  of  breakers.  At  6  a.m. 
we  stopped  to  rest  a  little,  and  on  going  up  on  to  a  hummock  to 
take  a  longitude  observation  I  saw  the  water  not  far  off.  From 
a  higher  piece  of  glacier-ice  we  could  see  it  better.  It  extended 
towards  the  promontory  to  the  southwest.  Even  though  the 
wind  had  become  a  little  westerly  now,  we  still  hoped  to  be  able 
to  sail  along  the  edge  of  the  ice,  and  determined  to  go  to  the 
water  by  the  shortest  way.  We  were  quickly  at  the  edge  of  the 
ice,  and  once  more  saw  the  blue  water  spread  out  before  us.  We 
soon  had  our  kayaks  lashed  together  and  the  sail  up,  and  put  to 
sea.  Nor  were  our  hopes  disappointed ;  we  sailed  well  all  day 
long.  At  times  the  wind  was  so  strong  that  we  cut  through  the 
water,  and  the  waves  washed  unpleasantly  over  our  kayaks  ;  but 
we  got  on,  and  we  had  to  put  up  with  being  a  little  wet.     We 

*  The  sound  between  Northbrook  Island  and  Bruce  Island  on  the  one 
side  and  Peter  Head,  on  Alexandra  Land,  on  the  other  side. 


5^4  FARTHEST  NORTH 

soon  passed  the  point  we  had  been  making  for,*  and  here  we  saw 
that  the  land  ran  westward,  that  the  edge  of  the  unbroken  shore- 
ice  extended  in  the  same  direction,  and  that  we  had  water  in 
front  of  us.  In  good  spirits,  we  sailed  westward  along  the  mar- 
gin of  the  ice.  So  we  were  at  last  at  the  south  of  the  land  on 
which  we  had  been  wandering  for  so  long,  and  where  we  had 
spent  a  long  winter.  It  struck  me  more  than  ever  that,  in  spite 
of  everything,  this  south  coast  would  agree  well  with  Leigh 
Smith's  map  of  Franz  Josef  Land  and  the  country  surrounding 
their  winter  quarters ;  but  then  I  remembered  Payer's  map  and 
dismissed  the  thought. 

In  the  evening  we  put  in  to  the  edge  of  the  ice,  so  as  to  stretch 
our  legs  a  little  ;  they  were  stiff  with  sitting  in  the  kayak  all  day, 
and  we  wanted  to  get  a  little  view  over  the  water  to  the  west  by 
ascending  a  hummock.  As  we  went  ashore  the  question  arose  as 
to  how  we  should  moor  our  precious  vessel.  "  Take  one  of  the 
braces,"  said  Johansen  ;  he  was  standing  on  the  ice.  "  But  is  it 
strong  enough  ?"  "  Yes,"  he  answered ;  "  I  have  used  it  as  a  hal- 
yard on  my  sledge-sail  all  the  time."  "  Oh,  well,  it  doesn't  require 
much  to  hold  these  light  kayaks,"  said  I,  a  little  ashamed  of  hav- 
ing been  so  timid,  and  I  moored  them  with  the  halyard,  which 
was  a  strap  cut  from  a  raw  walrus  hide.  We  had  been  on  the  ice 
a  little  while,  moving  up  and  down  close  to  the  kayaks.  The  wind 
had  dropped  considerably,  and  seemed  to  be  more  westerly,  mak- 
ing it  doubtful  whether  we  could  make  use  of  it  any  longer,  and  we 
went  up  on  to  a  hummock  close  by  to  ascertain  this  better.  As 
we  stood  there,  Johansen  suddenly  cried,  "  I  say  !  the  kayaks  are 
adrift !"  We  ran  down  as  hard  as  we  could.  They  were  already 
a  little  way  out,  and  were  drifting  quickly  off ;  the  painter  had 
given  way.  "  Here,  take  my  watch  !"  I  said  to  Johansen,  giving 
it  to  him  ;  and  as  quickly  as  possible  I  threw  off  some  clothing,  so 
as  to  be  able  to  swim  more  easily.  I  did  not  dare  to  take  every- 
thing off,  as  I  might  so  easily  get  cramp.  I  sprang  into  the  water, 
but  the  wind  was  off  the  ice,  and  the  light  kayaks,  with  their  high 
rigging,  gave  it  a  good  hold.  They  were  already  well  out,  and 
were  drifting  rapidly.  The  water  was  icy  cold  ;  it  was  hard  work 
swimming  with  clothes  on ;  and  the  kayaks  drifted  farther  and 
farther,  often  quicker  than  I  could  swim.     It  seemed  more  than 

*  Cape  Barentz. 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  5^5 

doubtful  whether  I  could  manage  it.  But  all  our  hope  was  drift- 
ing there;  all  we  possessed  was  on  board  —  we  had  not  even  a 
knife  with  us  ;  and  whether  I  got  cramp  and  sank  here,  or  turned 
back  without  the  kayaks,  it  would  come  to  pretty  much  the  same 
thing ;  so  I  exerted  myself  to  the  utmost.  When  I  got  tired  I 
turned  over,  and  swam  on  my  back,  and  then  I  could  see  Johan- 
sen  walking  restlessly  up  and  down  on  the  ice.  Poor  lad  !  He 
could  not  stand  still,  and  thought  it  dreadful  not  to  be  able  to  do 
anything.  He  had  not  much  hope  that  I  could  do  it,  but  it  would 
not  improve  matters  in  the  least  if  he  threw  himself  into  the 
water  too.  He  said  afterwards  that  these  were  the  worst  moments 
he  had  ever  lived  through.  But  when  I  turned  over  again  and 
saw  that  I  was  nearer  the  kayaks,  my  courage  rose,  and  I  re- 
doubled my  exertions.  I  felt,  however,  that  my  limbs  were  grad- 
ually stiffening  and  losing  all  feeling,  and  I  knew  that  in  a  short 
time  I  should  not  be  able  to  move  them.  But  there  was  not  far 
to  go  now ;  if  I  could  only  hold  out  a  little  longer  we  should  be 
saved — and  I  went  on.  The  strokes  became  more  and  more  feeble, 
but  the  distance  became  shorter  and  shorter,  and  I  began  to  think 
I  should  reach  the  kayaks.  At  last  I  was  able  to  stretch  out  my 
hand  to  the  snow-shoe  which  lay  across  the  sterns.  I  grasped  it, 
pulled  myself  in  to  the  edge  of  the  kayak — and  we  were  saved  ! 
I  tried  to  pull  myself  up,  but  the  whole  of  my  body  was  so  stiff 
with  cold  that  this  was  an  impossibility.  For  a  moment  I  thought 
that,  after  all,  it  was  too  late ;  I  was  to  get  so  far,  but  not  be  able 
to  get  in.  After  a  little,  however,  I  managed  to  swing  one  leg  up 
on  to  the  edge  of  the  sledge  which  lay  on  the  deck,  and  in  this 
way  managed  to  tumble  up.  There  I  sat,  but  so  stiff  with  cold 
that  I  had  difficulty  in  paddling.  Nor  was  it  easy  to  paddle  in 
the  double  vessel,  where  I  first  had  to  take  one  or  two  strokes  on 
one  side,  and  then  step  into  the  other  kayak  to  take  a  few  strokes 
on  the  other  side.  If  I  had  been  able  to  separate  them,  and  row 
in  one  while  I  towed  the  other,  it  would  have  been  easy  enough  ; 
but  I  could  not  undertake  that  piece  of  work,  for  I  should  have 
been  stiff  before  it  was  done ;  the  thing  to  be  done  was  to  keep 
warm  by  rowing  as  hard  as  I  could.  The  cold  had  robbed  my 
whole  body  of  feeling,  but  when  the  gusts  of  wind  came  they 
seemed  to  go  right  through  me  as  I  stood  there  in  my  thin,  wet 
woollen  shirt.  I  shivered,  my  teeth  chattered,  and  I  was  numb 
almost  all  over ;  but  I  could  still  use  the  paddle,  and  I  should  get 


566  FARTHEST  NORTH 

warm  when  I  got  back  on  to  the  ice  again.  Two  auks  were  lying 
close  to  the  bow,  and  the  thought  of  having  auk  for  supper  was 
too  tempting ;  we  were  in  want  of  food  now.  I  got  hold  of  my 
gun  and  shot  them  with  one  discharge.  Johansen  said  afterwards 
that  he  started  at  the  report,  thinking  some  accident  had  hap- 
pened, and  could  not  understand  what  I  was  about  out  there,  but 
when  he  saw  me  paddle  and  pick  up  two  birds  he  thought  I  had 
gone  out  of  my  mind.  At  last  I  managed  to  reach  the  edge  of 
the  ice,  but  the  current  had  driven  me  a  long  way  from  our  land- 
ing-place. Johansen  came  along  the  edge  of  the  ice,  jumped  into 
the  kayak  beside  me,  and  we  soon  got  back  to  our  place.  I  was 
undeniably  a  good  deal  exhausted,  and  could  barely  manage  to 
crawl  on  land.  I  could  scarcely  stand ;  and  while  I  shook  and 
trembled  all  over  Johansen  had  to  pull  off  the  wet  things  I  had 
on,  put  on  the  few  dry  ones  I  still  had  in  reserve,  and  spread  the 
sleeping-bag  out  upon  the  ice.  I  packed  myself  well  into  it,  and 
he  covered  me  with  the  sail  and  everything  he  could  find  to  keep 
out  the  cold  air.  There  I  lay  shivering  for  a  long  time,  but  grad- 
ually the  warmth  began  to  return  to  my  body.  For  some  time 
longer,  however,  my  feet  had  no  more  feeling  in  them  than  icicles, 
for  they  had  been  partly  naked  in  the  water.  While  Johansen  put 
up  the  tent  and  prepared  supper,  consisting  of  my  two  auks,  I 
fell  asleep.  He  let  me  sleep  quietly,  and  when  I  awoke  supper 
had  been  ready  for  some  time,  and  stood  simmering  over  the  fire. 
Auk  and  hot  soup  soon  effaced  the  last  traces  of  my  swim.  Dur- 
ing the  night  my  clothes  were  hung  out  to  dry,  and  the  next  day 
were  all  nearly  dry  again. 

As  the  tidal  current  was  strong  here,  and  there  was  no  wind  for 
sailing,  we  had  to  wait  for  the  turn  of  the  tide,  so  as  not  to  have 
the  current  against  us ;  and  it  was  not  until  late  the  following 
evening  that  we  went  on  again.  We  paddled  and  got  on  well 
until  towards  morning  (June  14th),  when  we  came  to  some  great 
herds  of  walrus  on  the  ice.  Our  supply  of  meat  was  exhausted 
but  for  some  auks  we  had  shot,  and  we  had  not  many  pieces  of 
blubber  left.  We  would  rather  have  had  a  bear,  but  as  we  had 
seen  none  lately  it  was  perhaps  best  to  supply  ourselves  here. 
We  put  in,  and  went  up  to  one  herd  behind  a  hummock.  We 
preferred  young  ones,  as  they  were  much  easier  to  manipulate  ; 
and  there  were  several  here.  I  first  shot  one  quite  small,  and 
then  another.     The  full  -  grown  animals  started  up  at  the  first 


THE  JO URNE  V  SO UTHWARD  5^7 

report  and  looked  round,  and  at  the  second  shot  the  whole  herd 
began  to  go  into  the  water.  The  mothers,  however,  would  not 
leave  their  dead  young  ones.  One  sniffed  at  its  young  one,  and 
pushed  it,  evidently  unable  to  make  out  what  was  the  matter  ; 
it  only  saw  the  blood  spurting  from  its  head.  It  cried  and  wailed 
like  a  human  being.  At  last,  when  the  herd  began  to  plunge  in, 
the  mother  pushed  her  young  one  before  her  towards  the  water. 
I  now  feared  that  I  should  lose  my  booty,  and  ran  forward  to 
save  it ;  but  she  was  too  quick  for  me.  She  took  the  young  one 
by  one  fore-leg,  and  disappeared  with  it  like  lightning  into  the 
depths.  The  other  mother  did  the  same.  I  hardly  knew  how  it 
had  all  happened,  and  remained  standing  at  the  edge  looking 
down  after  them.  I  thought  the  young  ones  must  rise  to  the 
surface  again,  but  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen ;  they  had  dis- 
appeared for  good.  The  mothers  must  have  taken  them  a  long 
way.  I  then  went  towards  another  herd,  where  there  were  also 
young  ones,  and  shot  one  of  them  ;  but,  made  wiser  by  experi- 
ence, I  shot  the  mother  too.  It  was  a  touching  sight  to  see  her 
bend  over  her  dead  young  one  before  she  was  shot,  and  even  in 
death  she  lay  holding  it  with  one  fore-leg.  So  now  we  had  meat 
and  blubber  enough  to  last  a  long  time,  and  meat,  too,  that  was 
delicious,  for  the  side  of  young  walrus  tastes  like  loin  of  mutton. 
To  this  we  added  a  dozen  auks,  so  our  larder  was  now  well  fur- 
nished with  good  food  ;  and  if  we  needed  more  the  water  was 
full  of  auks  and  other  food,  so  there  was  no  dearth. 

The  walruses  here  were  innumerable.  The  herds  that  had 
been  lying  on  the  ice  and  had  now  disappeared  were  large ;  but 
there  had  been  many  more  in  the  water  outside.  It  seemed  to 
seethe  with  them  on  every  side,  great  and  small ;  and  when  I 
estimate  their  number  to  have  been  at  least  300,  it  is  certainly 
not  over  the  mark. 

At  1.30  the  next  morning  (Monday,  June  15th)  we  proceeded 
on  our  way  in  beautifully  calm  weather.  As  walruses  swarmed 
on  all  sides,  we  did  not  much  like  paddling  singly,  and  for  some 
distance  lashed  the  kayaks  together  ;  for  we  knew  how  obtrusive 
these  gentlemen  could  be.  The  day  before  they  had  come  pretty 
near,  popped  up  close  beside  my  kayak,  and  several  times  fol- 
lowed us  closely  a  long  distance,  but  without  doing  us  any  harm. 
I  was  inclined  to  think  it  was  curiosity,  and  that  they  were  not 
really  dangerous  ;  but  Johansen  was  not  so  sure  of  this.     He 


568  FARTHEST  NORTH 

thought  we  had  had  experience  to  the  contrary,  and  urged  that 
at  any  rate  caution  could  do  no  harm.  All  day  long  we  saw 
herds,  that  often  followed  us  a  long  way,  pressing  in  round  the 
kayaks.  We  kept  close  to  the  edge  of  the  ice  ;  and  if  any  came 
too  near,  we  put  in,  if  possible,  on  an  ice-foot.*  We  also  kept  close 
together  or  beside  one  another.  We  paddled  past  one  large  herd 
on  the  ice,  and  could  hear  them  a  long  way  off  lowing  like  cows. 

We  glided  quickly  on  along  the  coast,  but  unfortunately  a 
mist  hung  over  it,  so  that  it  was  often  impossible  to  determine 
whether  they  were  channels  or  glaciers  between  the  dark  patches 
which  we  could  just  distinguish  upon  it.  I  wanted  very  much 
to  have  seen  a  little  more  of  this  land.  My  suspicion  that  we 
were  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Leigh  Smith  winter  quarters 
had  become  stronger  than  ever.  Our  latitude,  as  also  the  direc- 
tion of  the  coast-line  and  the  situation  of  the  islands  and  sounds, 
seemed  to  agree  far  too  well  to  admit  of  the  possibility  of  imag- 
ining that  another  such  group  of  islands  could  lie  in  the  short 
distance  between  Franz  Josef  Land  and  Spitzbergen.  Such  a 
coincidence  would  be  altogether  too  remarkable.  Moreover,  we 
caught  glimpses  of  land  in  the  far  west  which  in  that  case  could 
not  lie  far  from  Northeast  Land.  But  Payer's  map  of  the  land 
north  of  this?  Johansen  maintained,  with  reason,  that  Payer 
could  not  possibly  have  made  such  mistakes  as  we  should  in  that 
case  be  obliged  to  assume. 

Towards  morning  we  rowed  for  some  time  without  seeing  any 
walrus,  and  now  felt  more  secure.  Just  then  we  saw  a  solitary 
rover  pop  up  a  little  in  front  of  us.  Johansen,  who  was  in  front 
at  the  time,  put  in  to  a  sunken  ledge  of  ice ;  and  although  I 
really  thought  that  this  was  caution  carried  to  excess,  I  was  on 
the  point  of  following  his  example.  I  had  not  got  so  far,  how- 
ever, when  suddenly  the  walrus  shot  up  beside  me,  threw  itself 
on  to  the  edge  of  the  kayak,  took  hold  farther  over  the  deck 
with  one  fore-flipper,  and,  as  it  tried  to  upset  me,  aimed  a  blow 
at  the  kayak  with  its  tusks.  I  held  on  as  tightly  as  possible,  so 
as  not  to  be  upset  into  the  water,  and  struck  at  the  animal's 
head  with  the  paddle  as  hard  as  I  could.     It  took  hold  of  the 

*  The  ice-foot  is  the  part  of  a  floe  which  often  projects  into  the  water 
under  the  surface.  It  is  formed  through  the  thawing  of  the  upper  part  of 
the  ice  in  the  summer-time  by  the  warmer  surface  layer  of  the  sea. 


THE  JO  URNE  Y  SO  UTHWARD  5^9 

kayak  once  more  and  tilted  me  up,  so  that  the  deck  was  almost 
under  water,  then  let  go,  and  raised  itself  right  up.  I  seized  my 
gun,  but  at  the  same  moment  it  turned  round  and  disappeared 
as  quickly  as  it  had  come.  The  whole  thing  had  happened  in  a 
moment,  and  I  was  just  going  to  remark  to  Johansen  that  we 
were  fortunate  in  escaping  so  easily  from  that  adventure,  when 
I  noticed  that  my  legs  were  wet.  I  listened,  and  now  heard  the 
water  trickling  into  the  kayak  under  me.  To  turn  and  run  her 
in  on  to  the  sunken  ledge  of  ice  was  the  work  of  a  moment,  but 
I  sank  there.  The  thing  was  to  get  out  and  on  to  the  ice,  the 
kayak  all  the  time  getting  fuller.  The  edge  of  the  ice  was  high 
and  loose,  but  I  managed  to  get  up ;  and  Johansen,  by  tilting 
the  sinking  kayak  over  to  starboard,  so  that  the  leak  came  above 
the  water,  managed  to  bring  her  to  a  place  where  the  ice  was 
low  enough  to  admit  of  our  drawing  her  up.  All  I  possessed 
was  floating  about  inside,  soaked  through.  "What  I  most  regret 
is  that  the  water  has  got  into  the  photographic  apparatus,  and 
perhaps  my  precious  photographs  are  ruined. 

"  So  here  we  lie,  with  all  our  worldly  goods  spread  out  to  dry 
and  a  kayak  that  must  be  mended  before  we  can  face  the  walrus 
again.  It  is  a  good  big  rent  that  he  has  made,  at  least  six  inches 
long ;  but  it  is  fortunate  that  it  was  no  worse.  How  easily  he 
might  have  wounded  me  in  the  thigh  with  that  tusk  of  his  !  And 
it  would  have  fared  ill  with  me  if  we  had  been  farther  out,  and 
not  just  at  such  a  convenient  place  by  the  edge  of  the  ice,  where 
there  was  a  sunken  ledge.  The  sleeping-bag  was  soaking  wet ; 
we  wrung  it  out  as  well  as  we  could,  turned  the  hair  outside,  and 
have  spent  a  capital  night  in  it." 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day  I  wrote :  "  To-day  I  have 
patched  my  kayak,  and  we  have  gone  over  all  the  seams  in  both 
kayaks  with  stearine  ;  so  now  we  hope  we  shall  be  able  to  go  on 
in  quite  sound  boats.  In  the  meantime  the  walruses  are  lying 
outside,  staring  at  us  with  their  great,  round  eyes,  grunting  and 
blowing,  and  now  and  then  clambering  up  on  the  edge  of  the 
ice,  as  though  they  wanted  to  drive  us  away. 

"  Tuesday,  June  23d. 

" '  Do  I  sleep  .^    Do  I  dream  ? 
Do  I  wonder  and  doubt  ? 
Are  things  what  they  seem.^ 
Or  are  visions  about  Y 


S70  FARTHEST  NORTH 

What  has  happened  ?  I  can  still  scarcely  grasp  it.  How  inces- 
sant are  the  vicissitudes  in  this  wandering  life  !  A  few  days  ago 
swimming  in  the  water  for  dear  life,  attacked  by  walrus,  living 
the  savage  life  which  I  have  lived*lor  more  than  a  year  now,  and 
sure  of  a  long  journey  before  us  over  ice  and  sea  through  un- 
known regions  before  we  should  meet  with  other  human  beings 
— a  journey  full  of  the  same  ups  and  downs,  the  same  disappoint- 
ments, that  we  have  become  so  accustomed  to — and  now  living 
the  life  of  a  civilized  European,  surrounded  by  everything  that 
civilization  can  afford  of  luxury  and  good  living,  with  abundance 
of  water,  soap,  towels,  clean,  soft  woollen  clothes,  books,  and 
everything  that  we  have  been  sighing  for  all  these  weary 
months. 

"  It  was  past  mid-day  on  June  17th  when  I  turned  out  to  pre- 
pare breakfast.  I  had  been  down  to  the  edge  of  the  ice  to  fetch 
salt-water,  had  made  up  the  fire,  cut  up  the  meat  and  put  it 
in  the  pot,  and  had  already  taken  off  one  boot,  preparatory  to 
creeping  into  the  bag  again,  when  I  saw  that  the  mist  over  the 
land  had  risen  a  little  since  the  preceding  day.  I  thought  it 
would  be  as  well  to  take  the  opportunity  of  having  a  look  round, 
so  I  put  on  my  boot  again  and  went  up  on  to  a  hummock  near 
to  look  at  the  land  beyond.  A  gentle  breeze  came  from  the  land, 
bearing  with  it  a  confused  noise  of  thousands  of  bird- voices  from 
the  mountain  there.  As  I  listened  to  these  sounds  of  life  and 
movement,  watched  flocks  of  auks  flying  to  and  fro  above  my 
head,  and  as  my  eye  followed  the  line  of  coast,  stopping  at  the 
dark,  naked  cliffs,  glancing  at  the  cold,  icy  plains  and  glaciers  in 
a  land  which  I  believed  to  be  unseen  by  any  human  eye  and  un- 
trodden by  any  human  foot,  reposing  in  Arctic  majesty  behind 
its  mantle  of  mist — a  sound  suddenly  reached  my  ear  so  like  the 
barking  of  a  dog  that  I  started.  It  was  only  a  couple  of  barks, 
but  it  could  not  be  anything  else.  I  strained  my  ears,  but  heard 
no  more,  only  the  same  bubbling  noise  of  thousands  of  birds.  I 
must  have  been  mistaken,  after  all ;  it  was  only  birds  I  had 
heard ;  and  again  my  eye  passed  from  sound  to  island  in  the 
west.  Then  the  barking  came  again — first  single  barks,  then 
full  cry  ;  there  was  one  deep  bark,  and  one  sharper  ;  there  was 
no  longer  any  room  for  doubt.  At  that  moment  I  remem- 
bered having  heard  two  reports  the  day  before  which  I  thought 
sounded  like  shots,  but  I  had  explained  them  away  as  noises  in 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  57i 

the  ice.  I  now  shouted  to  Johansen  that  I  heard  dogs  farther 
inland.  Johansen  started  up  from  the  bag  where  he  lay  sleeping 
and  tumbled  out  of  the  tent.  '  Dogs  ?'  He  could  not  quite  take 
it  in,  but  had  to  get  up  and  listen  with  his  own  ears  while  I  got 
breakfast  ready.  He  very  much  doubted  the  possibility  of  such 
a  thing,  yet  fancied  once  or  twice  that  he  heard  something  which 
might  be  taken  for  the  barking  of  dogs  ;  but  then  it  was  drowned 
again  in  the  bird-noises,  and,  everything  considered,  he  thought 
that  what  I  had  heard  was  nothing  more  than  that.  I  said  he 
might  believe  what  he  liked,  but  I  meant  to  set  off  as  quickly  as 
possible,  and  was  impatient  to  get  breakfast  swallowed.  I  had 
emptied  the  last  of  the  Indian  meal  into  the  soup,  feeling  sure 
that  we  should  have  farinaceous  food  enough  by  the  evening. 
As  we  were  eating  we  discussed  who  it  could  be,  whether  our 
countrymen  or  Englishmen.  If  it  was  the  English  expedition 
to  Franz  Josef  Land  which  had  been  in  contemplation  when  we 
started,  what  should  we  do?  'Oh,  we'll  just  have  to  remain  with 
them  a  day  or  two,'  said  Johansen,  'and  then  we'll  have  to  go  on 
to  Spitzbergen,  else  it  will  be  too  long  before  we  get  home.'  We 
were  quite  agreed  on  this  point ;  but  we  would  take  care  to  get 
some  good  provisions  for  the  voyage  out  of  them.  While  I  went 
on,  Johansen  was  to  stay  behind  and  mind  the  kayaks,  so  that 
we  should  run  no  risk  of  their  drifting  away  with  the  ice.  I  got 
out  my  snow-shoes,  glass,  and  gun,  and  was  ready.  Before  start- 
ing I  went  up  once  more  to  listen  and  look  out  a  road  across  the 
uneven  ice  to  the  land.  But  there  was  not  a  sound  like  the  bark- 
ing of  dogs,  only  noisy  auks,  harsh-toned  little  auks,  and  scream- 
ing kittiwakes.  Was  it  these,  after  all,  that  I  had  heard  ?  I  set 
off  in  doubt.  Then  in  front  of  me  I  saw  the  fresh  tracks  of  an 
animal.  They  could  hardly  have  been  made  by  a  fox,  for,  if  they 
were,  the  foxes  here  must  be  bigger  than  any  I  had  ever  seen. 
But  dogs  ?  Could  a  dog  have  been  no  more  than  a  few  hundred 
paces  from  us  in  the  night  without  barking,  or  without  our 
having  heard  it  ?  It  seemed  scarcely  probable  ;  but,  whatever  it 
was,  it  could  never  have  been  a  fox.  A  wolf,  then  ?  I  went  on, 
my  mind  full  of  strange  thoughts,  hovering  between  certainty 
and  doubt.  Was  all  our  toil,  were  all  our  troubles,  privations, 
and  sufferings  to  end  here?  It  seemed  incredible,  and  yet —  Out 
of  the  shadow-land  of  doubt,  certainty  was  at  last  beginning  to 
dawn.     Again  the  sound  of  a  dog  yelping  reached  my  ear,  more 


572  FARTHEST  NORTH 

distinctly  than  ever ;  I  saw  more  and  more  tracks  which  could 
be  nothing  but  those  of  a  dog.  Among  them  were  foxes'  tracks, 
and  how  small  they  looked  !  A  long  time  passed,  and  nothing 
was  to  be  heard  but  the  noise  of  the  birds.  Again  arose  doubt 
as  to  whether  it  was  all  an  illusion.  Perhaps  it  was  only  a  dream. 
But  then  I  remembered  the  dogs'  tracks  ;  they,  at  any  rate,  were 
no  delusion.  But  if  there  were  people  here  we  could  scarcely  be 
on  Gillies  Land  or  a  new  land,  as  we  had  believed  all  the  winter. 
We  must,  after  all,  be  on  the  south  side  of  Franz  Josef  Land, 
and  the  suspicion  I  had  had  a  few  days  ago  was  correct,  namely, 
that  we  had  come  south  through  an  unknown  sound  and  out  be- 
tween Hooker  Island  and  Northbrook  Island,  and  were  now  off 
the  latter,  in  spite  of  the  impossibility  of  reconciling  our  posi- 
tion with  Payer's  map. 

"  It  was  with  a  strange  mixture  of  feelings  that  I  made  my 
way  in  towards  land  among  the  numerous  hummocks  and  in- 
equalities. Suddenly  I  thought  I  heard  a  shout  from  a  human 
voice,  a  strange  voice,  the  first  for  three  years.  How  my  heart 
beat  and  the  blood  rushed  to  my  brain  as  I  ran  up  on  to  a  hum- 
mock and  hallooed  with  all  the  strength  of  my  lungs  !  Behind 
that  one  human  voice  in  the  midst  of  the  icy  desert — this  one 
message  from  life — stood  home  and  she  who  was  waiting  there ; 
and  I  saw  nothing  else  as  I  made  my  way  between  bergs  and 
ice -ridges.  Soon  I  heard  another  shout,  and  saw,  too,  from  an 
ice-ridge,  a  dark  form  moving  among  the  hummocks  farther  in. 
It  was  a  dog  ;  but  farther  off  came  another  figure,  and  that  was 
a  man.  Who  was  it  ?  Was  it  Jackson,  or  one  of  his  companions, 
or  was  it  perhaps  a  fellow  -  countryman  ?  We  approached  each 
other  quickly.  I  waved  my  hat ;  he  did  the  same.  I  heard 
him  speak  to  the  dog,  and  I  listened.  It  was  English,  and  as  I 
drew  nearer  I  thought  I  recognized  Mr.  Jackson,  whom  I  remem- 
bered once  to  have  seen. 

"  I  raised  my  hat ;  we  extended  a  hand  to  each  other,  with  a 
hearty  *  How  do  you  do  ?'  Above  us  a  roof  of  mist  shutting  out 
the  world  around,  beneath  our  feet  the  rugged,  packed  drift-ice, 
and  in  the  background  a  glimpse  of  the  land,  all  ice,  glacier,  and 
mist.  On  one  side  the  civilized  European  in  an  English  check 
suit  and  high  rubber  water -boots,  well  shaved,  well  groomed, 
bringing  with  him  a  perfume  of  scented  soap,  perceptible  to  the 
wild  man's  sharpened  senses  ;  on  the  other  side  the  wild  man 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  573 

clad  in  dirty  rags,  black  with  oil  and  soot,  with  long,  uncombed 
hair  and  shaggy  beard,  black  with  smoke,  with  a  face  in  which 
the  natural  fair  complexion  could  not  possibly  be  discerned 
through  the  thick  layer  of  fat  and  soot  which  a  winter's  endeav- 
ors with  warm  water,  moss,  rags,  and,  at  last,  a  knife  had  sought 
in  vain  to  remove.  No  one  suspected  who  he  was  or  whence  he 
came. 

"Jackson  :  '  I'm  immensely  glad  to  see  you.' 

"'Thank  you;  I  also.' 

"  *  Have  you  a  ship  here?' 

"  '  No  ;  my  ship  is  not  here.' 

" '  How  many  are  there  of  you  ?' 

" '  I  have  one  companion  at  the  ice-edge.' 

"As  we  talked  we  had  begun  to  go  in  towards  land.  I  took 
it  for  granted  that  he  had  recognized  me,  or  at  any  rate  under- 
stood who  it  was  that  was  hidden  behind  this  savage  exterior, 
not  thinking  that  a  total  stranger  would  be  received  so  heart- 
ily. Suddenly  he  stopped,  looked  me  full  in  the  face,  and  said, 
quickly  : 

"  '  Aren't  you  Nansen  ?' 

"'Yes,  lam.' 

"  *  By  Jove  !  I  am  glad  to  see  you  !' 

"  And  he  seized  my  hand  and  shook  it  again,  while  his  whole 
face  became  one  smile  of  welcome,  and  delight  at  the  unex- 
pected meeting  beamed  from  his  dark  eyes. 

" '  Where  have  you  come  from  now  ?'  he  asked. 

" '  I  left  the  Fram  in  84°  north  latitude,  after  having  drifted 
for  two  years,  and  I  reached  the  86°  15'  parallel,  where  we  had  to 
turn  and  make  for  Franz  Josef  Land.  We  were,  however,  obliged 
to  stop  for  the  winter  somewhere  north  here,  and  are  now  on 
our  route  to  Spitzbergen.' 

"'I  congratulate  you  most  heartily.  You  have  made  a  good 
trip  of  it,  and  I  am  awfully  glad  to  be  the  first  person  to  con- 
gratulate you  on  your  return.' 

"  Once  more  he  seized  my  hand  and  shook  it  heartily.  I  could 
not  have  been  welcomed  more  warmly ;  that  hand-shake  was 
more  than  a  mere  form.  In  his  hospitable  English  manner,  he 
said  at  once  that  he  had  '  plenty  of  room '  for  us,  and  that  he  was 
•expecting  his  ship  every  day.  By  '  plenty  of  room '  I  discovered 
afterwards  that  he  meant  that  there  were  still  a  few  square  feet 


574  FARTHEST  NORTH 

on  the  floor  of  their  hut  that  were  not  occupied  at  night  by 
himself  and  his  sleeping  companions.  But  'heart -room  makes 
house-room,'  and  of  the  former  there  was  no  lack.  As  soon  as  I 
could  get  a  word  in,  I  asked  how  things  were  getting  on  at 
home,  and  he  was  able  to  give  me  the  welcome  intelligence  that 
my  wife  and  child  had  both  been  in  the  best  of  health  when  he 
left  two  years  ago.  Then  came  Norway's  turn,  and  Norwegian 
politics  ;  but  he  knew  nothing  about  that,  and  I  took  it  as  a  sign 
that  they  must  be  all  right  too.  He  now  asked  if  we  could  not 
go  out  at  once  and  fetch  Johansen  and  our  belongings ;  but  I 
thought  that  our  kayaks  would  be  too  heavy  for  us  to  drag  over 
this  packed-up  ice  alone,  and  that  if  he  had  men  enough  it  would 
certainly  be  better  to  send  them  out.  If  we  only  gave  Johansen 
notice  by  a  salute  from  our  guns  he  would  wait  patiently  ;  so  we 
each  fired  two  shots.  We  soon  met  several  men — Mr.  Armitage, 
the  second  in  command ;  Mr.  Child,  the  photographer ;  and  the 
doctor,  Mr.  Koetlitz.  As  they  approached,  Jackson  gave  them  a 
sign,  and  let  them  understand  who  I  was ;  and  I  was  again  wel- 
comed heartily.  We  met  yet  others — the  botanist,  Mr.  Fisher  ; 
Mr.  Burgess,  and  the  Finn  Blomqvist  (his  real  name  was  Mele- 
nius).  Fisher  has  since  told  me  that  he  at  once  thought  it 
must  be  me  when  he  saw  a  man  out  on  the  ice ;  but  he  quite 
gave  up  that  idea  when  he  met  me,  for  he  had  seen  me  described 
as  a  fair  man,  and  here  was  a  dark  man,  with  black  hair  and 
beard.  When  they  were  all  there,  Jackson  said  that  I  had  reached 
86°  15'  north  latitude,  and  from  seven  powerful  lungs  I  was  given 
a  triple  British  cheer  that  echoed  among  the  hummocks.  Jack- 
son immediately  sent  his  men  off  to  fetch  sledges  and  go  out 
to  Johansen,  while  we  went  on  towards  the  house,  which  I  now 
thought  I  could  see  on  the  shore.  Jackson  now  told  me  that  he 
had  letters  for  me  from  home,  and  that  both  last  spring  and  this 
he  had  had  them  with  him  when  he  went  north,  on  the  chance 
of  our  meeting.  We  now  found  that  in  March  he  must  have 
been  at  no  great  distance  south  of  our  winter-hut,*  but  had  to 
turn  there,  as  he  was  stopped  by  open  water  —  the  same  open 
water  over  which  we  had  seen  the  dark  atmosphere  all  the  win- 
ter.    Only  when  we  came  up  nearly  to  the  houses  did  he  inquire 

*  He   had    reached  Cape  Richthofen,  about  35   miles   to  the  south 
of  us. 


NANSEN    AT    CAPE    FLORA 
(Frojn  a  photograph  by  Mr.  Jackson) 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  575 

more  particularly  about  the  Pram  and  our  drifting,  and  I  briefly 
told  him  our  story.  He  told  me  afterwards  that  from  the  time 
we  met  he  had  believed  that  the  ship  had  been  destroyed,  and 
that  we  two  were  the  only  survivors  of  the  expedition.  He 
thought  he  had  seen  a  sad  expression  in  my  face  when  he  first 
asked  about  the  ship,  and  was  afraid  of  touching  on  the  subject 
again.  Indeed,  he  had  even  quietly  warned  his  men  not  to  ask. 
It  was  only  through  a  chance  remark  of  mine  that  he  found  out 
his  mistake,  and  began  to  inquire  more  particularly  about  the 
Frain  and  the  others. 

"Then  we  arrived  at  the  house,  a  low  Russian  timber  hut 
lying  on  a  flat  terrace,  an  old  shore-line  beneath  the  mountain, 
and  50  feet  above  the  sea.  It  was  surrounded  by  a  stable  and 
four  circular  tent-houses,  in  which  stores  were  kept.  We  entered 
a  comfortable,  warm  nest  in  the  midst  of  these  desolate,  wintry 
surroundings,  the  roof  and  walls  covered  with  green  cloth.  On 
the  walls  hung  photographs,  etchings,  photo  -  lithographs,  and 
shelves  everywhere,  containing  books  and  instruments  ;  under 
the  roof  clothes  and  shoes  hung  drying,  and  from  the  little  stove 
in  the  middle  of  the  floor  of  this  cosey  room  the  warm  coal  fire 
shone  out  an  hospitable  welcome.  A  strange  feeling  came  over 
me  as  I  seated  myself  in  a  comfortable  chair  in  these  unwonted 
surroundings.  At  one  stroke  of  changing  fate  all  responsibility, 
all  troubles,  were  swept  away  from  a  mind  that  had  been  op- 
pressed by  them  during  three  long  years ;  I  was  in  a  safe  haven, 
in  the  midst  of  the  ice,  and  the  longings  of  three  years  were 
lulled  in  the  golden  sunshine  of  the  dawning  day.  My  duty  was 
done  ;  my  task  was  ended  ;  now  I  could  rest,  only  rest  and  wait. 

"  A  carefully  soldered  tin  packet  was  handed  to  me  ;  it  con- 
tained letters  from  Norway.  It  was  almost  with  a  trembling 
hand  and  a  beating  heart  that  I  opened  it ;  and  there  were  tidings, 
only  good  tidings,  from  home.  A  delightful  feeling  of  peace  set- 
tled upon  the  soul. 

"Then  dinner  was  served,  and  how  nice  it  was  to  have  bread, 
butter,  milk,  sugar,  coffee,  and  everything  that  a  year  had  taught 
us  to  do  without  and  yet  to  long  for  !  But  the  height  of  comfort 
was  reached  when  we  were  able  to  throw  off  our  dirty  rags,  have 
a  warm  bath,  and  get  rid  of  as  much  dirt  as  was  possible  in  one 
bout ;  but  we  only  succeeded  in  becoming  anything  like  clean 
after  several  days  and  many  attempts.     Then  clean,  soft  clothes 


576  FARTHEST  NORTH 

from  head  to  foot,  hair  cut,  and  the  shaggy  beard  shaved  off, 
and  the  transformation  from  savage  to  European  was  complete, 
and  even  more  sudden  than  in  the  reverse  direction.  How  de- 
lightfully comfortable  it  was  to  be  able  to  put  on  one's  clothes 
without  being  made  greasy,  but,  most  of  all,  to  be  able  to  move 
without  feeling  them  stick  to  the  body  with  every  movement  ! 

"It  was  not  very  long  before  Johansen  and  the  others  fol- 
lowed, with  the  kayaks  and  our  things.  Johansen  related  how 
these  warm-hearted  Englishmen  had  given  him  and  the  Norwe- 
gian flag  a  hearty  cheer  when  they  came  up  and  saw  it  waving 
beside  a  dirty  woollen  shirt  on  a  bamboo  rod,  which  he  had  put 
up  by  my  orders,  so  that  I  could  find  my  way  back  to  him.  On 
the  way  hither  they  had  not  allowed  him  to  touch  the  sledges, 
he  had  only  to  walk  beside  them  like  a  passenger,  and  he  said 
that,  of  all  the  ways  in  which  we  had  travelled  over  drift-ice, 
this  was  without  comparison  the  most  comfortable.  His  re- 
ception in  the  hut  was  scarcely  less  hospitable  than  mine,  and 
he  soon  went  through  the  same  transformation  that  I  had  un- 
dergone. I  no  longer  recognize  my  comrade  of  the  long  winter 
night,  and  search  in  vain  for  any  trace  of  the  tramp  who  wan- 
dered up  and  down  that  desolate  shore,  beneath  the  steep  talus 
and  the  dark  basalt  cliff,  outside  the  low  underground  hut.  The 
black,  sooty  troglodyte  has  vanished,  and  in  his  place  sits  a  well- 
favored,  healthy-looking  European  citizen  in  a  comfortable  chair, 
puffing  away  at  a  short  pipe  or  a  cigar,  and  with  a  book  before 
him,  doing  his  best  to  learn  English.  It  seems  to  me  that  he  gets 
fatter  and  fatter  every  day  with  an  almost  alarming  rapidity. 
It  is  indeed  surprising  that  we  have  both  gained  considerably  in 
weight  since  we  left  the  Fram.  When  I  came  here  I  myself 
weighed  about  14!  stone,  or  nearly  22  pounds  more  than  I  did 
when  I  left  the  Fram;  while  Johansen  weighs  over  11  stone  11 
pounds,  having  gained  a  little  more  than  13  pounds.  This  is  the 
result  of  a  winter's  feeding  on  nothing  but  bear's  meat  and  fat 
in  an  Arctic  climate.  It  is  not  quite  like  the  experiences  of 
others  in  parallel  circumstances ;  it  must  be  our  laziness  that 
has  done  it.  And  here  we  are,  living  in  peace  and  quietness, 
waiting  for  the  ship  from  home  and  for  what  the  future  will 
bring  us,  while  everything  is  being  done  for  us  to  make  us  for- 
get a  winter's  privations.  We  could  not  have  fallen  into  better 
hands,  and  it  is  impossible  to  describe  the  unequalled  hospitality 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  S77 

and  kindness  we  meet  with  on  all  hands,  and  the  comfort  we 
feel.  Is  it  the  year's  privations  and  want  of  human  society,  is  it 
common  interests,  that  so  draw  us  to  these  men  in  these  desolate 
regions  ?  I  do  not  know  ;  but  we  are  never  tired  of  talking, 
and  it  seems  as  if  we  had  known  one  another  for  years,  instead 
of  having  met  for  the  first  time  a  few  days  ago. 

"  Wednesday,  June  23d.  It  is  now  three  years  since  we  left 
home.  As  we  sat  at  the  dinner-table  this  evening,  Hayward,  the 
cook,  came  rushing  in  and  said  there  was  a  bear  outside.  We 
went  out,  Jackson  with  his  camera  and  I  with  my  rifle.  We  saw 
the  head  of  the  bear  above  the  edge  of  the  shore  ;  it  was  sniffing 
the  air  in  the  direction  of  the  hut,  while  a  couple  of  dogs  stood 
at  a  respectful  distance  and  barked.  As  we  approached,  it  came 
right  up  over  the  edge  to  us,  stopped,  showed  its  teeth,  and  hissed, 
then  turned  round  and  went  slowly  back  down  towards  the  shore. 
To  hinder  it  enough  for  Jackson  to  get  near  and  photograph  it, 
I  sent  a  bullet  into  its  hind  -  quarters  as  it  disappeared  over  the 
edge.  This  helped,  and  a  ball  in  the  left  shoulder  still  more. 
Surrounded  by  a  few  dogs,  it  now  made  a  stand.  The  dogs  grew 
bolder,  and  a  couple  of  shots  in  the  muzzle  from  Jackson's  re- 
volver made  the  bear  quite  furious.  It  sprang  first  at  one  dog, 
*  Mis^re,'  caught  hold  of  it  by  the  back,  and  flung  it  a  good  way 
out  over  the  ice,  then  sprang  at  the  other,  seizing  it  by  one  paw 
and  tearing  one  toe  badly.  It  then  found  an  old  tin  box,  bit  it 
flat,  and  flung  it  far  away.  It  was  wild  with  fury,  but  a  ball  behind 
the  ear  ended  its  sufferings.  It  was  a  she-bear  with  milk  in  the 
breast ;  but  there  was  no  sign  of  any  embryo,  and  no  young  one 
was  discovered  in  the  neighborhood. 

"  Sunday,  July  15th.  This  evening,  when  Jackson  and  the 
doctor  were  up  on  the  mountain  shooting  auks,  the  dogs  began 
to  make  a  tremendous  row  (especially  the  bear  -  dog  '  Nimrod,' 
which  is  chained  outside  the  door),  and  howled  and  whined  in  a 
suspicious  manner.  Armitage  went  out,  coming  back  a  little 
while  after  and  asking  if  I  cared  to  shoot  a  bear.  I  accompanied 
him  with  my  rifle  and  camera.  The  bear  had  taken  flight  to  a 
little  hummock  out  on  the  ice  south  of  the  house  and  was  lying 
at  full  length  on  the  top  of  it,  with  '  Mis^re '  and  a  couple  of  pup- 
pies round  it,  standing  at  a  little  distance  and  barking  persistent- 
ly. As  we  approached  it  fled  over  the  ice.  The  range  was  long, 
but,  nevertheless,  we  sent  a  few  shots  after  it,  thinking  we  might 
37 


578  FARTHEST  NORTH 

perhaps  retard  its  progress.  With  one  of  these  I  was  fortunate 
enough  to  hit  it  in  the  hind-quarters,  and  it  now  fled  to  a  new 
ice-hill.  Here  I  was  able  to  get  nearer  to  it.  It  was  evidently- 
very  much  enraged  ;  and  when  I  came  under  the  hummock  where 
it  stood  it  showed  its  teeth  and  hissed  at  me,  and  repeatedly  gave 
signs  of  wanting  to  jump  down  on  to  the  top  of  me.  On  these 
occasions  I  rapidly  got  ready  my  rifle  instead  of  the  camera.  It 
scraped  away  the  loose  snow  from  under  its  feet  to  get  a  better 
footing  for  the  leap,  which,  however,  it  never  took ;  and  I  re- 
exchanged  my  rifle  for  my  camera.  In  the  meantime  Jackson 
had  arrived  with  his  camera  on  the  other  side  ;  and  when  we  had 
taken  all  the  photographs  we  wanted  we  shot  the  bear.  It  was  an 
unusually  large  she-bear." 

One  of  the  first  things  we  did  when  we  came  to  Mr.  Jackson's 
station  was  of  course  to  make  a  close  comparison  of  our  watches 
with  his  chronometer  ;  and  Mr.  Armitage  was  also  kind  enough 
to  take  careful  time-observations  for  me.  It  now  appears  that 
we  had  not  been  so  far  out,  after  all.  We  had  put  our  watches 
about  26  minutes  wrong,  making  a  difference  of  about  6J°  in 
longitude.  A  protracted  comparison  undertaken  by  Mr.  Armi- 
tage also  showed  that  the  escapement  of  our  watches  was  very 
nearly  what  we  had  assumed.  With  the  help  of  this  information 
I  was  now  enabled  to  work  out  our  longitude  observations  pretty 
correctly  ;  and  one  of  the  first  tasks  I  here  set  about,  now  that 
we  once  more  had  access  to  paper,  writing  and  drawing  materials, 
and  all  that  we  had  longed  for  so  much  during  the  winter,  was  to 
prepare  a  sketch-map  of  Franz  Josef  Land,  as  our  observations 
led  me  to  conclude  that  it  must  actually  be.  Mr.  Jackson  very 
kindly  allowed  me  to  consult  the  map  he  had  made  of  that  part 
of  the  land  which  he  had  explored.  This  enabled  me  to  dispense 
with  the  labor  of  reckoning  out  my  own  observations  in  these 
localities.  Furthermore,  I  have  to  thank  Mr.  Jackson  for  aid  in 
every  possible  way,  with  navigation  -  tables,  nautical  almanac,* 
scales,  and  all  sorts  of  drawing  material. 

It  is  by  a  comparison  of  Payer's  map,  Jackson's  map,  and  my 
own  observations  that  I  have  made  out  the  sketch-map  repro- 
duced on  the  opposite  page.    I  have  altered  Payer's  and  Jackson's 

*  We  had  not  any  nautical  almanac  for  1896,  and  had  hitherto  used  the 
almanac  for  the  previous  year. 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  579 

map  only  at  places  where  my  observations  differ  essentially  from 
theirs.  I  make  no  pretence  to  give  more  than  a  provisional 
sketch ;  I  had  not  even  time  to  work  out  my  own  observations 
with  absolute  accuracy.  When  this  has  been  done,  and  if  I  can 
gain  access  to  all  Payer's  material,  no  doubt  a  considerably  more 
trustworthy  map  can  be  produced.  The  only  importance  which 
I  claim  for  the  accompanying  map  is  that  it  shows  roughly  how 
what  we  have  hitherto  called  Franz  Josef  Land  is  cut  up  into 
innumerable  small  islands,  without  any  continuous  and  extensive 
mass  of  land.  Much  of  Payer's  map  I  found  to  coincide  well 
enough  with  our  observations.  But  the  enigma  over  which  we 
had  pondered  the  whole  winter  still  remained  unsolved.  Where 
was  Dove  Glacier  and  the  whole  northern  part  of  Wilczek  Land  ? 
Where  were  the  islands  which  Payer  had  named  Braun  Island, 
Hoffmann  Island,  and  Freeden  Island  ?  The  last  might,  no  doubt, 
be  identified  with  the  southernmost  island  of  Hvidtenland  (White 
Land),  but  the  others  had  completely  disappeared.  I  pondered 
for  a  long  time  over  the  question  how  such  a  mistake  could  have 
crept  into  a  map  by  such  a  man  as  Payer — an  experienced  topog- 
rapher, whose  maps,  as  a  rule,  bear  the  stamp  of  great  accuracy 
and  care,  and  a  polar  traveller  for  whose  ability  I  have  always 
entertained  a  high  respect.  I  examined  his  account  of  his  voy- 
age, and  there  I  found  that  he  expressly  mentions  that  during 
the  time  he  was  coasting  along  this  Dove  Glacier  he  had  a  great 
deal  of  fog,  which  quite  concealed  the  land  ahead.  But  one  day 
(it  was  April  7,  1874)  he  says  :*  "At  this  latitude  (81°  23')  it 
seemed  as  if  Wilczek  Land  suddenly  terminated,  but  when  the 
sun  scattered  the  driving  mists  we  saw  the  glittering  ranges  of 
its  enormous  glaciers — the  Dove  Glaciers — shining  down  on  us. 
Towards  the  northeast  we  could  trace  land  trending  to  a  cape 
lying  in  the  gray  distance  :  Cape  Buda-Pesth,  as  it  was  after- 
wards called.  The  prospect  thus  opened  to  us  of  a  vast  glacier 
land  conflicted  with  the  general  impression  we  had  formed  of  the 
resemblance  between  the  newly  discovered  region  and  Spitzber- 
gen  ;  for  glaciers  of  such  extraordinary  magnitude  presuppose 
the  existence  of  a  country  stretching  far  into  the  interior." 

I  have  often  thought  over  this  description,  and  I  cannot  find 
in  Payer's  book  any  other  information  that  throws  light  upon 

♦  New  Lands  Within  the  Arctic  Circle.     By  J.  Payer,  Vol.  II.,  p.  129. 


580  FARTHEST  NORTH 

the  mystery.  Although,  according  to  this,  it  would  appear  as  if 
they  had  had  clear  weather  that  day,  there  must,  nevertheless, 
have  been  fog  -  banks  lying  over  Hvidtenland,  uniting  it  with 
Wilczek  Land  to  the  south  and  stretching  northward  towards 
Crown  Prince  Rudolf  Land.  The  sun  shining  on  these  fog- 
banks  must  have  glittered  so  that  they  were  taken  for  glaciers 
along  a  continuous  coast.  I  can  all  the  more  easily  understand 
this  mistake,  as  I  was  myself  on  the  point  of  falling  into  it.  As 
before  related,  if  the  weather  had  not  cleared  on  the  evening  of 
June  nth,  enabling  us  to  discern  the  sound  between  Northbrook 
Island  and  Peter  Head  (Alexandra  Land),  we  should  have  re- 
mained under  the  impression  that  we  had  here  continuous  land, 
and  should  have  represented  it  as  such  in  mapping  this  region. 

Mr.  Jackson  and  I  frequently  discussed  the  naming  of  the 
lands  we  had  explored.  I  asked  him  whether  he  would  object  to 
my  naming  the  land  on  which  I  had  wintered  "  Frederick  Jack- 
son's Island,"  as  a  small  token  of  our  gratitude  for  the  hospitality 
he  had  shown  us.  We  had  made  the  discovery  that  this  island 
was  separated  by  sounds  from  the  land  farther  north  which 
Payer  had  named  Karl  Alexander  Land.  For  the  rest,  I  re- 
frained from  giving  names  to  any  of  the  places  which  Jackson 
had  seen  before  I  saw  them. 

The  country  around  Cape  Flora  proved  to  be  very  interesting 
from  the  geological  point  of  view,  and  as  often  as  time  permitted 
I  investigated  its  structure,  either  alone,  or  more  frequently  in 
company  with  the  doctor  and  geologist  of  the  English  expedition. 
Dr.  Koetlitz.  Many  an  interesting  excursion  did  we  make  to- 
gether up  and  down  those  steep  moraines  in  search  of  fossils, 
which  in  certain  places  we  found  in  great  numbers.  It  appeared 
that  from  the  sea-level  up  to  a  height  of  about  500  or  600  feet 
the  land  consisted  of  a  soft  clay  mixed  with  lumps  of  a  red-brown 
clay  sandstone,  in  which  lumps  the  fossils  chiefly  abounded.  But 
the  earth  was  so  overstrewn  with  loose  stones,  which  had  rolled 
down  from  the  basalt  walls  above,  that  it  was  difficult  to  reach  it. 
For  a  long  time  I  maintained  that  all  this  clay  was  only  a  com- 
paratively late  strand  formation ;  but  the  doctor  was  indefatiga- 
ble in  his  efforts  to  convince  me  that  it  really  was  an  old  and  very 
extensive  formation,  stretching  right  under  the  superimposed 
basalt.  At  last  I  had  to  yield,  when  we  arrived  at  the  topmost 
stratum  of  the  clay  and  I  saw  it  actually  going  under  the  basalt, 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  581 

and  found  some  shallower  strata  of  basalt  lower  down  in  the  clay. 
An  examination  of  the  fossils,  which  consisted  for  the  most  part 
of  ammonites  and  belemnites,  convinced  me  that  the  whole  of 
this  clay  formation  must  date  from  the  Jurassic  period.  At  sev- 
eral places  Dr.  Koetlitz  had  found  thin  strata  of  coal  in  the  clay. 
Petrified  wood  was  also  of  common  occurrence.  But  over  the 
clay  formation  lay  a  mighty  bed  of  basalt  600  or  700  feet  in  height, 
which  was  certainly  not  the  least  interesting  feature  of  the  coun- 
try. It  was  distinguished  by  its  coarse-grained  structure  from 
the  majority  of  typical  basalts,  and  seemed  to  be  closely  related 
to  those  which  are  found  in  Spitzbergen  and  Northeast  Land.* 
The  basalt,  however,  seems  to  vary  a  good  deal  in  appearance 
here  in  Franz  Josef  Land.  That  which  we  found  farther  north-^- 
for  example,  at  Cape  M'Clintock  and  on  Goose  Island — was  con- 
siderably more  coarse-grained  than  that  which  we  found  here. 
The  situation  of  the  basalt  here  on  Northbrook  Island  and  the 
surrounding  islands  was  also  very  different  from  that  which  we 
had  observed  farther  north.  It  is  here  met  with,  as  a  rule,  only 
at  a  height  of  500  or  600  feet  above  the  sea,  while  on  the  more 
northerly  islands — from  81°  northward — it  reached  right  to  the 
shore.  Thus  it  dropped  in  an  almost  perpendicular  wall  straight 
into  the  sea  at  Jackson's  Cape  Fisher,  in  81°.  It  was  the  same 
at  Cape  M'Clintock,  at  our  winter  cabin,  at  the  headland  of  co- 
lumnar basalt  where  we  passed  the  night  of  August  25,  1895, 
at  Cape  Clements  Markham,  and  at  the  sharp  point  of  rock 
where  we  landed  on  the  night  between  August  i6th  and  17th. 
The  structure  seemed  to  be  similar,  too,  so  far  as  we  had  seen, 
on  the  south  side  of  Crown  Prince  Rudolf's  Land.  Wherever 
we  had  been  to  the  northward  I  had  kept  a  sharp  lookout  for 
strata  whose  fossils  could  give  us  any  information  as  to  the 
geological  age  of  this  country.  According  to  what  I  here  found 
at  Cape  Flora,  it  appeared  as  if  a  great  part  at  least  of  this  basalt 
dated  from  the  Jurassic  period,  as  it  lay  immediately  above,  and 
was  partly  intermixed  with,  strata  of  this  age.  Moreover,  on  the 
top  of  the  basalt,  as  will  presently  appear,  vegetable  fossils  were 
found  dating  from  the  later  part  of  the  Jurassic  period.  It  thus 
seems  as  though  Franz  Josef  Land  were  of  a  comparatively  old 
formation.     All  these  horizontal  strata  of  basalt,  stretching  over 

*  Where  they  are  generally  called  diabases. 


582  FARTHEST  NORTH 

all  the  islands  at  about  the  same  height,  seem  to  indicate  that 
there  was  once  a  continuous  mass  of  land  here,  which  in  the 
course  of  time,  being  exposed  to  various  disintegrating  forces, 
such  as  frost,  damp,  snow,  glaciers,  and  the  sea,  has  been  split  up 
and  worn  away,  and  has  in  part  disappeared  under  the  sea,  so  that 
now  only  scattered  islands  and  rocks  remain,  separated  from  each 
other  by  fjords  and  sounds.  As  these  formations  bear  a  certain 
resemblance  to  what  has  been  found  in  several  places  in  Spitz- 
bergen  and  Northeast  Land,  we  may  plausibly  assume  that  these 
two  groups  of  islands  originally  belonged  to  the  same  mass  of 
land.  It  would  therefore  be  interesting  to  investigate  the  as  yet 
unknown  region  which  separates  them,  the  region  which  we  should 
have  had  to  traverse  had  we  not  fallen  in  with  Jackson  and  his 
expedition.  There  is  doubtless  much  that  is  new,  and  especially 
many  new  islands,  to  be  found  in  this  strait — possibly  a  contin- 
uous series  of  islands,  so  that  there  may  be  some  difficulty  in 
determining  where  the  one  archipelago  ends  and  the  other  be- 
gins. The 'investigation  of  this  region  is  a  problem  of  no  small 
scientific  importance,  which  we  may  hope  that  the  Jackson- 
Harmsworth  expedition  will  succeed  in  solving. 

How  far  the  Franz  Josef  Land  archipelago  stretches  towards 
the  north  cannot  as  yet  be  determined  with  ceftainty.  Accord- 
ing to  our  experience,  indeed,  it  would  seem  improbable  that 
there  is  land  of  any  great  extent  in  that  direction.  It  is  true  that 
Payer,  when  he  was  upon  Crown  Prince  Rudolf's  Land,  saw  Peter- 
mann's  Land  and  Oscar's  Land,  the  first  to  the  north  and  the 
second  to  the  west ;  but  that  Petermann's  Land,  at  any  rate,  can- 
not be  of  any  size  seems  to  be  proved  by  our  observations,  since 
we  saw  no  land  at  all  as  we  came  southward  a  good  way  east  of 
it,  and  the  ice  seemed  to  drift  to  the  westward  practically  unim- 
peded when  we  were  in  its  latitude.  That  King  Oscar's  Land  also 
cannot  be  of  any  great  extent  seems  to  me  evident  from  what  we 
saw  in  the  course  of  the  winter  and  spring,  as  the  wind  swept  the 
ice  unhindered  away  from  the  land,  so  that  there  can  scarcely  be 
any  extensive  and  continuous  mass  of  land  to  the  north  or  north- 
west to  keep  it  back. 

It  is,  perhaps,  even  more  difficult  to  determine  how  far  the 
Franz  Josef  Land  archipelago  stretches  to  the  eastward.  From 
all  we  saw,  I  should  judge  that  Wilczek  Land  cannot  be  of  any 
g^eat  extent ;  but  there  may  nevertheless  be  new  islands  farther 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  583 

to  the  east.  This  seems  probable,  indeed,  from  the  fact  that  in 
June  and  July,  1895,  we  remained  almost  motionless  at  about 
^2"  5'  north  latitude,  in  spite  of  a  long  continuance  of  northerly 
winds  ;  whence  it  seemed  that  there  must  be  a  stretch  of  land 
south  of  us  obstructing,  like  a  long  wall,  the  farther  drift  of  the 
ice  to  the  southward.  But  it  is  useless  to  discuss  this  question 
minutely  here,  as  it,  too,  will  doubtless  be  answered  authorita- 
tively by  the  English  expedition. 

Another  feature  of  Northbrook  Island  which  greatly  interest- 
ed me  was  the  evidence  it  presented  of  changes  in  the  level  of  the 
sea.  I  have  already  mentioned  that  Jackson's  hut  lay  on  an  old 
strand-line  or  terrace  about  from  40  to  50  feet  high,  but  there 
were  also  several  other  strand-lines,  both  lower  and  higher.  Thus 
I  found  that  Leigh  Smith,  who  also  had  wintered  on  this  head- 
land, had  built  his  hut  upon  an  old  strand-line  17  feet  above  the 
sea-level,  while  at  other  places  I  found  strand-lines  at  a  height  of 
80  feet.  I  had  already  noticed  such  strand-lines  at  different  ele-- 
vations  when  I  first  arrived  in  the  previous  autumn  ;at  the  more 
northern  part  of  this  region  (for  example,  on  Torup's  Island). 
Indeed,  we  had  lived  all  winter  on  such  a  terrace. 

Jackson  had  found  whales'  skeletons  at  several  places  about 
Cape  Flora.  Close  to  his  hut,  for  instance,  at  a  height  of  50  feet, 
there  lay  the  skull  of  a  whale,  a  Balcena,  possibly  a  Greenland 
whale  {Balcena  mysticetus  ?\  At  a  point  farther  north  there  lay 
fragments  of  a  whole  skeleton,  probably  of  the  same  species.  The 
under  jaw  was  18  feet  3  inches  long ;  but  these  bones  lay  at  an 
elevation  of  not  more  than  9  feet  above  the  present  sea-level.  I 
also  found  other  indications  that  the  sea  must  at  a  comparative- 
ly recent  period  have  risen  above  these  low  strand-terraces.  For 
instance,  they  were  at  many  points  strewn  with  mussel  -  shells. 
This  land,  then,  seems  to  have  been  subjected  to  changes  of  level 
analogous  to  those  which  have  occurred  in  other  Northern  coun- 
tries, of  which,  as  above  mentioned,  I  had  also  seen  indications 
on  the  north  coast  of  Asia. 

One  day  when  Mr.  Jackson  and  Dr.  Koetlitz  were  out  on  an 
excursion  together  they  found  on  a  "nunatak,"  or  spur  of  rock, 
projecting  above  a  glacier  on  the  north  side  of  Cape  Flora,  two 
places  which  were  strewn  with  vegetable  fossils.  This  discovery, 
of  course,  aroused  my  keenest  interest,  and  on  July  17th  Dr. 
Koetlitz  and  I  set  out  for  the  spot  together.     The  spur  of  rock 


5^4  FARTHEST  NORTH 

consisted  entirely  of  basalt,  at  some  points  showing  a  marked 
columnar  structure,  and  projected  in  the  middle  of  the  glacier, 
at  a  height  which  I  estimated  at  600  or  700  feet  above  the  sea. 
Unfortunately,  there  was  no  time  to  measure  its  elevation  exact- 
ly. At  two  points  on  the  surface  of  the  basalt  there  was  a  layer 
consisting  of  innumerable  fragments  of  sandstone.  In  almost 
every  one  of  these  impressions  were  to  be  found,  for  the  most 
part,  of  the  needles  and  leaves  of  pine  -  trees,  but  also  of  small 
fern -leaves.  We  picked  up  as  many  of  these  treasures  as  we 
could  carry,  and  returned  that  evening  heavily  laden  and  in  high 
contentment.  On  a  snow-shoe  excursion  some  days  later  Johan- 
sen  also  chanced  unwittingly  upon  the  same  place,  and  gathered 
fossils,  which  he  brought  to  me.  Since  my  return  home  this  col- 
lection of  vegetable  fossils  has  been  examined  by  Professor  Na- 
thorst,  and  it  appears  that  Mr.  Jackson  and  Dr.  Koetlitz  have 
here  made  an  extremely  interesting  find. 

Professor  Nathorst  writes  to  me  as  follows  :  "  In  spite  of  their 
very  fragmentary  condition  the  vegetable  fossils  brought  home 
by  you  are  of  great  interest,  as  they  give  us  our  first  insight  into 
the  plant-world  in  regions  north  of  the  eightieth  degree  of  lati- 
tude during  the  latter  part  of  the  Jurassic  period.  The  most  com- 
mon are  leaves  of  a  fir-tree  (Pmus)  which  resembles  the  Pinus 
Nordenskibldi  (Heer)  found  in  the  Jurassic  strata  of  Spitzbergen, 
East  Siberia,  and  Japan,  but  which  probably  belongs  to  a  differ- 
ent species.  There  occur  also  narrower  leaves  of  another  species, 
and,  furthermore,  male  flowers  and  fragments  of  a  pine  cone*  with 
several  seeds  (Figs.  1-3),  one  of  which  (Fig.  i)  suggests  the  Pinus 
Maakiana  (Heer)  from  the  Jurassic  strata  of  Siberia.  Among 
traces  of  other  pine-trees  may  be  mentioned  those  of  a  broad- 
leaved  Taxites^  resembling  Taxites  gramineiis  (Heer),  specially 
found  in  the  Jurassic  strata  of  Spitzbergen  and  Siberia,  which 
has  leaves  of  about  the  same  size  as  those  of  the  Cephalotaxus 
Fortune^  at  present  existing  in  China  and  Japan.  It  is  interest- 
ing, too,  to  find  remains  of  the  genus  Feildcnia  (Figs.  4  and  5), 
which  has  as  yet  been  found  only  in  the  polar  regions.     It  was 

*  Leigh  Smith  had  already  brought  back  from  Spitzbergen  a  fossil 
cone,  which  Carruthers  classified  as  a  Pmus ;  but  he  regarded  it  as  be- 
longing to  the  upper  part  of  the  cretaceous  system. 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD 


585 


first  discovered  by  Nordenskiold  in  the  Tertiary  strata  near  Cape 
Staratschin,  on  Spitzbergen,  in  1868,  and  was  described  by  Heer 
under  the  name  of  Torellia.  It  was  subsequently  found  by  Feild- 
en  in  the  Tertiary  strata  at  Discovery  Bay,  in  Grinnell  Land, 
during  the  English  Polar  Expedition  of  1875-76  ;  and  Heer  now 
changed  the  generic  name  to  Feildenia^  as  Torellia  had  already 


PLANT    FOSSILS 


been  employed  as  the  name  of  a  mussel.  This  species  has  since 
been  found  by  me  in  1882  in  the  Upper  Jurassic  strata  of  Spitz- 
bergen. The  leaves  remind  one  of  the  leaves  of  the  subspecies 
nageia  of  the  existing  genus  Podocarpus. 

"  The  finest  specimens  of  the  whole  collection  are  the  leaves  of 
a  small  Gingko^  of  which  one  is  complete  (Fig.  6).  This  genus, 
with  plum -like  seeds  and  with  leaves  which,  unlike  those  of 
other  pine  -  trees,  have  a  real  leaf -blade,  is  found  at  present,  in 
one  single  species  only,  in  Japan,  but  existed  in  former  times  in 
numerous  forms  and  in  many  regions.  During  the  Jurassic 
period  it  flourished  especially  in  East  Siberia,  and  has  also 
been  found  in  Spitzbergen,  in  East  Greenland  (at  Scoresby 
Sound),  and  at  many  places  in  Europe,  etc.  During  the  Cre- 
taceous and  the  Tertiary  periods  it  was  still  found  on  the  west 
coast  of  Greenland  at  70°  north  latitude.  The  leaf  here  repro- 
duced belongs  to  a  new  species,  which  might  be  called  Gingko 
polaris,  and  which  is  most  closely  related  to  the  G.  flabellata 
(Heer)  from  the  Jurassic  strata  of  Siberia.  It  bears  a  certain 
habitual  resemblance  to  Gingko  digitata  (Lindley  and  Hutton), 
particularly  as  found  in  the  brown  Jurassic  strata  of  England 
and  Spitzbergen  ;  but  its  leaves  are  considerably  smaller.  Be- 
sides this  species,  one  or  two  others  may  also  occur  in  this  col- 


586  FARTHEST  NORTH 

lection,  as  well  as  fragments  of  the  leaves  of  the  genus  Czeka- 
nowskia,  related  to  the  Gingko  family,  but  with  narrow  leaf -blades 
resembling  pine-needles. 

"Ferns  are  very  scantily  represented.  Such  fragments  as 
there  are  belong  to  four  different  types  ;  but  the  species  can 
scarcely  be  determined.  One  fragment  belongs  to  the  genus 
Cladophlebis,  common  in  Jurassic  strata ;  another  suggests  the 
:  Thyrsopteris,  found  in  the  Jurassic  strata  of  East  Siberia  and  of 
England ;  a  third  suggests  the  Onychiopsis  characteristic  of  the 
Upper  Jurassic  strata.  The  fourth,  again,  seems  to  be  closely 
related  to  the  Asplenium  {Petruschinense),  which  Heer  has  de- 
scribed, found  in  the  Siberian  Jurassic  strata.  The  specimen  is 
remarkable  from  the  fact  that  the  epidermis  cells  of  the  leaf 
have  left  a  clear  impression  on  the  rock. 

"  With  its  wealth  of  pine-leaves,  its  poverty  of  ferns,  and  its 
lack  of  Cycadacece,  this  Franz  Josef  Land  flora  has  somewhat  the 
same  character  as  that  of  the  Upper  Jurassic  flora  of  Spitzber- 
gen,  although  the  species  are  somewhat  different.  Like  the 
Spitzbergen  flora,  it  does  not  indicate  a  particularly  genial  cli- 
mate, although  doubtless  enormously  more  so  than  that  of  the 
present  day.  The  deposits  must  doubtless  have  occurred  in  the 
neighborhood  of  a  pine  forest.  So  far  as  the  specimens  enable 
one  to  judge,  the  flora  seems  to  belong  rather  to  the  Upper 
(White)  Jurassic  system  than  to  the  Middle  (Brown)  system." 

It  was  undeniably  a  sudden  transition  to  come  straight  from 
our  long  inert  life  in  our  winter  lair,  where  one's  scientific  inter- 
ests found  little  enough  stimulus,  right  into  the  midst  of  this 
scientific  oasis,  where  there  was  plenty  of  opportunity  for  work, 
where  books  and  all  necessary  apparatus  were  at  hand,  and 
where  one  could  employ  one's  leisure  moments  in  discussing 
'  with  men  of  similar  tastes  all  sorts  of  scientific  questions  con- 
nected with  the  Arctic  zone.  In  the  botanist  of  the  expedition, 
Mr.  Harry  Fisher,  I  found  a  man  full  of  the  warmest  interest  in 
the  fauna  and  flora  of  the  polar  regions,  and  the  exhaustive  in- 
vestigations which  his  residence  here  has  enabled  him  to  make 
into  the  plant-life  and  animal-life  (especially  the  former)  of  the 
locality,  both  by  sea  and  land,  will  certainly  augment  in  a  most 
valuable  degree  our  knowledge  of  its  biological  conditions.  I 
shall  not  easily  forget  the  many  pleasant  talks  in  which  he  com- 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  587 

municated  to  me  his  discoveries  and  observations.  They  were 
all  eagerly  absorbed  by  a  mind  long  deprived  of  such  sustenance. 
I  felt  like  a  piece  of  parched  soil  drinking  in  rain  after  a  drouth 
of  a  whole  year. 

But  other  diversions  were  also  available.  If  my  brain  grew 
fatigued  with  unwonted  labor,  I  could  set  off  with  Jackson  for 
the  top  of  the  moraine  to  shoot  auks,  which  swarmed  under  the 
basalt  walls.  They  roosted  in  hundreds  and  hundreds  on  the 
shelves  and  ledges  above  us;  at  other  places  the  kittiwakes 
brooded  on  their  nests.  It  was  a  refreshing  scene  of  life  and  ac- 
tivity. As  we  stood  up  there  at  a  height  of  500  feet,  and  could 
look  far  out  over  the  sea,  the  auks  flew  in  swarms  backward  and 
forward  over  our  heads,  and  every  now  and  then  we  would  knock 
over  one  or  two  as  they  passed.  Every  time  a  gun  was  fired  the 
report  echoed  through  all  the  rocky  clefts,  and  thousands  of 
birds  flew  shrieking  down  from  the  ledges.  It  seemed  as  though 
a  blast  of  wind  had  swept  a  great  dust-cloud  down  from  the  crest 
above  ;  but  little  by  little  they  returned  to  their  nests,  many  of 
them  meanwhile  falling  to  our  guns.  Jackson  had  here  a  capi- 
tal larder,  and  he  made  ample  use  of  it.  Almost  every  day  he 
was  up  under  the  rock  shooting  auks,  which  formed  a  daily  dish 
at  dinner.  In  the  autumn  great  stores  of  them  were  laid  in  to 
last  through  the  winter.  At  other  times  Jackson  and  Blomqvist 
would  go  up  and  gather  eggs.  They  dragged  a  ladder  up  with 
them,  and  by  its  aid  Jackson  clambered  up  the  perpendicular 
cliffs.  This  egg-hunting  among  the  loose  basalt  cliffs,  where  the 
stones  were  perpetually  slipping  away  from  under  one,  appeared 
to  me  such  dare-devil  work  that  I  was  chary  in  taking  part  in  it. 
Far  be  it  from  me  to  deny,  however,  that  the  eggs  made  deli- 
cious eating,  whether  we  had  them  soft-boiled  for  breakfast  or 
made  into  pancakes  for  dinner.  It  was  remarkable  how  entirely 
I  had  got  out  of  training  for  climbing  in  precipitous  places.  I 
well  remember  that  the  first  time  I  went  up  the  moraine  with 
Jackson  I  had  to  stop  and  take  breath  every  hundred  paces  or 
so.  This  was,  no  doubt,  due  to  our  long  inactivity  ;  perhaps,  too, 
I  had  become  somewhat  anaemic  during  the  winter  in  our  lair. 
But  there  was  more  than  that  in  it ;  the  very  height  and  steep- 
ness made  me  uneasy  ;  I  was  inclined  to  turn  dizzy,  and  had 
great  difficulty  in  coming  down  again,  preferring,  if  possible, 
simply  to  sit  down  and  slide.     After  a  while  this  passed  off  a  lit- 


588  FARTHEST  NORTH 

tie,  and  I  became  more  accustomed  to  the  heights  again.  I  also 
became  less  short-winded,  and  at  last  I  could  climb  almost  like  a 
normal  human  being. 

In  the  meantime  the  days  wore  on,  and  still  we  saw  nothing 
of  the  Windward.  Johansen  and  I  began  to  get  a  little  impa- 
tient. We  discussed  the  possibility  that  the  ship  might  not  make 
its  way  through  the  ice,  and  that  we  should  have  to  winter  here, 
after  all.  This  idea  Was  not  particularly  attractive  to  us — to  be 
so  near  home  and  yet  not  to  reach  home.  We  regretted  that  we 
had  not  at  once  pushed  on  for  Spitzbergen  ;  perhaps  we  should 
by  this  time  have  reached  the  much-talked-of  sloop.  When  we 
came  to  think  of  it,  why  on  earth  had  we  stopped  here  ?  That 
was  easily  explained.  These  people  were  so  kind  and  hospitable 
to  us  that  it  would  have  been  more  than  Spartan  had  we  been 
able  to  resist  their  amiability.  And  then  we  had  gone  through 
a  good  deal  before  we  arrived,  and  here  was  a  warm,  cosey  nest, 
where  we  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  sit  down  and  wait.  Waiting, 
however,  is  not  always  the  easiest  of  work,  and  we  began  seri- 
ously to  think  of  setting  off  again  for  Spitzbergen.  But  had  we 
not  delayed  too  long  ?  It  was  the  middle  of  July,  and  although 
we  should  probably  get  on  quickly  enough,  we  might  meet  with 
unexpected  impediments,  and  it  might  take  us  a  month  or  more 
to  reach  the  waters  in  which  we  could  hope  to  find  a  ship.  That 
would  bring  us  to  the  middle  or  perhaps  to  the  end  of  August, 
by  which  time  the  sloops  had  begun  to  make  for  home.  If  we 
did  not  come  across  one  at  once,  when  we  got  into  September  it 
would  be  difficult  enough  to  get  hold  of  one,  and  then  we  should 
perhaps  be  in  for  another  winter  of  it,  after  all.  No,  it  was  best 
to  remain  here,  for  there  was  every  chance  that  the  ship  would 
make  its  appearance.  The  best  time  for  navigating  these  waters 
is  August  and  the  beginning  of  September,  when  there  is  gener- 
ally the  least  ice.  We  must  trust  to  that,  and  let  the  time  pass 
as  best  it  might.  There  were  others  than  we  who  waited  im- 
patiently for  the  ship.  Four  members  of  the  English  expedition 
were  also  to  go  home  in  her,  after  two  years'  absence. 

"  Monday,  July  20th.  We  begin  to  get  more  and  more  im- 
patient for  the  arrival  of  the  vessel,  but  the  ice  is  still  tolerably 
thick  here.  Jackson  says  that  she  should  have  been  here  by  the 
middle  of  June,  and  thinks  that  there  has  several  times  been  suf- 
ficiently open  water  for  her  to  have  got  through  ;  but  I  have  my 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  589 

doubts  about  that.  Though  only  a  little  scattered  ice  is  to  be 
seen  here,  even  from  a  height  of  500  feet,  that  does  not  mean 
much ;  there  may  be  more  ice  farther  south  blocking  the  way. 
One  day  Jackson  and  the  doctor  were  on  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain here,  and  from  that  point,  too,  there  seemed  to  be  very  little 
ice  in  the  south  ;  but  I  am  not  convinced  any  the  more.  I  think 
all  experience  goes  to  show  that  there  must  still  be  plenty  of  ice 
in  the  sea  to  the  south.  What  Mr,  Jackson  says  about  the  Wind- 
ward having  been  able  to  get  through  as  early  as  July  last  year 
without  needing  to  touch  the  ice,  adding  that  then,  too,  there 
was  no  ice  to  be  seen  from  here,  I  do  not  find  at  all  conclusive. 
During  the  last  few  days  more  ice  has  again  come  drifting  in 
from  the  east.  I  long  to  get  away.  What  if  we  are  shut  in 
here  all  the  winter  ?  Then  we  shall  have  done  wrong  in  stop- 
ping here.  Why  did  we  not  continue  our  journey  to  Spitzber- 
gen  ?  We  should  have  been  at  home  by  now.  The  eye  wanders 
out  over  the  boundless  white  plain.  Not  one  dark  streak  of  wa- 
ter— ice,  ice  ! — shut  out  from  the  world,  from  the  throbbing  life, 
the  life  that  we  believed  to  be  so  near. 

"  Low  down  on  the  horizon  there  is  a  strip  of  blue-gray  cloud. 
Far,  far  away  beyond  the  ice  there  is  open  water,  and  perhaps 
there,  rocked  on  long,  swelling  billows  from  the  great  ocean,  lies 
the  vessel  which  is  to  bear  us  to  the  familiar  shores,  the  vessel 
which  brings  tidings  from  home  and  from  those  we  love. 

"  Dream,  dream  of  home  and  beauty  !  Stray  bird,  here  among 
the  ice  and  snow  you  will  seek  for  them  all  in  vain.  Dream  the 
golden  dream  of  future  reunion  ! 

"Tuesday,  July  21st.  Have  at  last  got  a  good  wind  from  the 
north  which  is  sending  the  ice  out  to  sea.  There  is  nothing  but 
open  sea  to  be  seen  this  evening ;  now  perhaps  there  is  hope  of 
soon  seeing  the  vessel. 

"  Wednesday,  July  2  2d.  Continual  changes  and  continual  dis- 
appointments. Yesterday  hope  was  strong;  to-day  the  wind  has 
changed  to  the  southeast,  and  driven  the  ice  in  again.  We  may 
still  have  to  wait  a  long  time. 

"  Sunday,  July  26th.  The  vessel  has  come  at  last.  I  was 
awakened  this  morning  by  feeling  some  one  pull  my  legs.  It 
was  Jackson,  who,  with  beaming  countenance,  announced  that 
the  Windward  had  come.  I  jumped  up  and  looked  out  of  the 
window.     There  she  was,  just  beyond  the  edge  of  the  ice,  steam- 


590  FARTHEST  NORTH 

ing  slowly  in  to  find  an  anchorage.  Wonderful  to  see  a  ship 
again  !  How  high  the  rigging  seemed,  and  the  hull !  It  was 
like  an  island.  There  would  be  tidings  on  board  from  the  great 
world  far  beyond." 

There  was  a  great  stir.  Every  man  was  up,  arrayed  in  the 
most  wonderful  costumes,  to  gaze  out  of  the  window.  Jackson 
and  Blomqvist  rushed  off  as  soon  as  they  had  got  on  their 
clothes.  As  I  scarcely  had  anything  to  do  on  board  I  went  to 
bed  again,  but  it  was  not  long  before  Blomqvist  came  panting 
back,  sent  by  the  thoughtful  Jackson,  to  say  that  all  was  well 
at  home,  and  that  nothing  had  been  heard  of  the  Fram.  This 
was  the  first  thing  Jackson  had  asked  about.  I  felt  my  heart  as 
light  as  a  feather.  He  said,  too,  that  when  Jackson  had  told  the 
men  who  had  come  to  meet  him  on  the  ice  about  us  and  our  jour- 
ney, they  had  greeted  the  intelligence  with  three  hearty  cheers. 

I  had  hardly  slept  two  hours  that  night,  and  not  much  more 
the  night  before.  I  tried  to  sleep,  but  there  was  no  rest  to  be 
had ;  I  might  just  as  well  dress  and  go  on  board.  As  I  drew 
near  the  vessel  I  was  greeted  with  ringing  cheers  by  the  whole 
crew  gathered  on  the  deck,  where  I  was  heartily  received  by  the 
excellent  Captain  Brown,  commander  of  the  Windward ;  by  Dr. 
Bruce  and  Mr.  Wilton,  who  were  both  to  winter  with  Jackson, 
and  by  the  ship's  company.  We  went  below  into  the  roomy, 
snug  cabin,  and  all  kinds  of  news  were  eagerly  swallowed  by 
listening  ears,  while  an  excellent  breakfast  with  fresh  potatoes 
and  other  delicacies  glided  down  past  a  palate  which  needed  less 
than  that  to  satisfy  it.  There  were  remarkable  pieces  of  news 
indeed.  One  of  the  first  was  that  now  they  could  photograph 
people  through  doors  several  inches  thick.  I  confess  I  pricked 
up  my  ears  at  this  information.  That  they  could  photograph 
a  bullet  buried  in  a  person's  body  was  wonderful  too,  but  noth- 
ing to  this.  And  then  we  heard  that  the  Japanese  had  thrashed 
the  Chinese,  and  a  good  deal  more.  Not  least  remarkable,  we 
thought,  was  the  interest  which  the  whole  world  now  seemed  to 
take  in  the  Arctic  regions.  Spitzbergen  had  become  a  tourist 
country ;  a  Norwegian  steamship  company  (the  Vesteraalen) 
had  started  a  regular  passenger  service  to  it,*  a  hotel  had  been 

*  I  did  not  dream  that  Sverdrup  a  year  after  would  be  in  command  of 
this  steamer. 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  59i 

built  up  there,  and  there  was  a  post-office  and  a  Spitzbergen 
stamp.  And  then  we  heard  that  Andr^e  was  there  waiting  for 
wind  to  go  to  the  Pole  in  a  balloon.  If  we  had  pursued  our 
course  to  Spitzbergen  we  should  thus  have  dropped  into  the  very- 
middle  of  all  this.  We  should  have  found  a  hotel  and  tourists, 
and  should  have  been  brought  home  in  a  comfortable  modern 
steamboat,  very  different  from  the  whaling-sloop  we  had  been 
talking  of  all  the  winter,  and,  indeed,  all  the  previous  year. 
People  are  apt  to  think  that  it  would  be  amusing  to  see  them- 
selves, and  I  form  no  exception  to  this  rule.  I  would  have  given 
a  good  deal  to  see  us  in  our  unwashed,  unsophisticated  condi- 
tion, as  we  came  out  of  our  winter  lair,  plumping  into  the  middle 
of  a  band  of  English  tourists,  male  and  female.  I  doubt  whether 
there  would  then  have  been  much  embracing  or  shaking  of 
hands,  but  I  don't  doubt  that  there  would  have  been  a  great 
deal  of  peering  through  ventilators  or  any  other  loophole  that 
could  have  been  found. 

The  Windward  had  left  London  on  June  9th,  and  Vardo  on 
the  25th.  They  had  brought  four  reindeer  with  them  for  Jack- 
son, but  no  horses,  as  he  had  expected.*  One  reindeer  had  died 
on  the  voyage. 

Every  one  was  now  busily  employed  in  unlading  the  Wind- 
ward, and  bringing  to  land  the  supplies  of  provisions,  coal,  rein- 
deer-moss, and  other  such  things  which  it  had  brought  for  the 
expedition.  Both  the  ship's  crew  and  the  members  of  the  Eng- 
lish expedition  took  part  in  this  work,  which  proceeded  rapidly, 
and  had  soon  made  a  level  road  over  the  uneven  ice ;  and  now 
load  after  load  was  driven  on  sledges  to  land.  In  less  than  a  week 
Captain  Brown  was  ready  to  start  for  home,  and  only  awaited 
Jackson's  letters  and  telegrams.  They  took  a  few  more  days, 
and  then  everything  was  ready  In  the  meantime,  however,  a 
gale  had  sprung  up,  blowing  on  the  shore,  the  Windward's  moor- 
ings at  the  edge  of  the  ice  had  given  way,  she  was  set  adrift  and 
obliged  to  seek  a  haven  farther  in,  where,  however,  it  was  so 
shallow  that  there  was  only  one  or  two  feet  of  water  beneath 
her  keel.     Meanwhile,  the  wind  drove  the  ice  in,  the  navigable 

*  Jackson  had  brought  with  him  several  Russian  horses,  which  he  had 
used  along  with  dogs  on  his  sledge  expeditions.  Only  one  of  these  horses 
was  alive  at  the  time  of  our  arrival. 


592  FARTHEST  NORTH 

water  closed  in  all  round  it  outside,  and  the  floes  were  continu- 
ally drawing  nearer.  For  a  time  the  situation  looked  anything 
but  pleasant ;  but  fortunately  the  ice  did  not  reach  the  vessel, 
and  she  thus  escaped  being  screwed  out  of  the  water.  After  a 
delay  of  a  couple  of  days  on  this  account  the  vessel  got  out 
again. 

And  now  we  were  to  bid  adieu  to  this  last  station  on  our 
route,  where  we  had  met  with  such  a  cordial  and  hospitable  re- 
ception. A  feverish  energy  came  over  the  little  colony.  Those 
who  were  going  home  had  to  make  themselves  ready  for  the  voy- 
age, and  those  who  were  to  remain  had  to  bring  their  letters  and 
other  things  on  board.  This,  however,  was  sufficiently  difficult. 
The  vessel  lay  waiting  impatiently  and  incessantly  sounding  her 
steam-whistle ;  and  a  quantity  of  loose  ice  had  packed  itself  to- 
gether outside  the  edge  of  the  shore-ice,  so  that  it  was  not  easy 
to  move.  At  last,  however,  those  who  were  to  remain  had  gone 
on  shore,  and  we  who  were  going  home  were  all  on  board — that 
is  to  say,  Mr.  Fisher,  the  botanist ;  Mr.  Child,  the  chemist ;  Mr. 
Burgess ;  and  the  Finn,  Blomqvist,  of  the  English  expedition, 
along  with  Johansen  and  myself.  As  the  sun  burst  through  the 
clouds  above  Cape  Flora  we  waved  our  hats,  and  sent  our  last 
cheer  as  a  farewell  to  the  six  men  standing  like  a  little  dark  spot 
on  the  floe  in  that  great  icy  solitude ;  and  under  full  sail  and 
steam  we  set  out  on  August  7th,  with  a  fair  wind,  over  the  un- 
dulating surface  of  the  ocean,  towards  the  south. 

Fortune  favored  us.  On  her  northward  voyage  the  Windward 
had  much  and  difficult  ice  to  combat  with  before  she  at  last  broke 
through  and  came  in  to  land.  Now,  too,  we  met  a  quantity  of 
ice,  but  it  was  slack  and  comparatively  easy  to  get  through.  We 
were  stopped  in  a  few  places,  and  had  to  break  a  way  through 
with  the  engine ;  but  the  ship  was  in  good  hands.  From  his 
long  experience  as  a  whaler.  Captain  Brown  knew  well  how  to 
contend  with  greater  odds  than  the  thin  ice  we  met  with  here — 
the  only  ice  that  is  found  in  this  sea.  From  morning  till  night 
he  sat  up  in  the  crow's-nest  as  long  as  there  was  a  bit  of  ice  in 
the  water.  He  gave  himself  little  time  for  sleep  ;  the  point  was, 
as  he  often  said  to  me,  to  bring  us  home  before  the  Frani  ar- 
rived, for  he  understood  well  what  a  blow  it  would  give  to  those 
near  and  dear  to  us  if  she  got  home  before  us.  Thanks  to  him, 
we  had  as  short  and  pleasant  a  homeward  voyage  as  few,  if  any, 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  593 

can  have  had  from  these  inhospitable  regions,  where  we  had 
spent  three  years.  From  the  moment  we  set  foot  on  deck,  he 
did  everything  to  make  us  comfortable  and  at  home  on  board, 
and  we  spent  many  a  pleasant  hour  together,  which  will  never 
be  forgotten  by  either  of  us.  But  it  was  not  only  the  captain 
who  treated  us  in  this  way.  Every  man  of  the  excellent  crew 
showed  us  kindness  and  good-will  in  every  way.  I  cannot  think 
of  them — of  the  little  steward,  for  instance,  when  he  popped  his 
head  into  the  cabin  to  ask  what  he  could  get  for  us,  or  wakened 
me  in  the  morning  with  his  cheery  voice,  or  sang  his  songs  for 
us — without  a  feeling  of  unspeakable  well-being  and  happiness. 
Then,  too,  we  were  continually  drawing  nearer  home  ;  we  could 
count  the  days  and  hours  that  must  pass  before  we  could  reach 
a  Norwegian  port  and  be  once  more  in  communication  with  the 
world. 

From  the  experience  he  had  had  on  the  northward  voyage. 
Captain  Brown  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  would  find  his 
way  out  of  the  ice  most  easily  by  first  steering  in  a  southeasterly 
direction  towards  Novaya  Zemlya,  which  he  thought  would  be 
the  nearest  way  to  the  open  sea.  This  proved  also  to  be  exactly 
the  case.  After  having  gone  about  220  knots  through  the  ice,  we 
came  into  the  open  sea  at  the  end  of  a  long  bay,  which  ran  north- 
ward into  the  ice.  It  was  just  at  the  right  spot ;  had  we  been  a 
little  farther  east  or  a  little  farther  west,  we  might  have  spent  as 
many  weeks  drifting  about  in  the  ice  as  we  now  spent  days  in  it. 
Once  more  we  saw  the  blue  ocean  itself  in  front  of  us,  and  we 
shaped  our  course  straight  for  Vardo.  It  was  an  indescribably 
delightful  feeling  once  more  to  gaze  over  the  blue  expanse,  as  we 
paced  up  and  down  the  deck,  and  were  day  by  day  carried  nearer 
home.  One  morning,  as  we  stood  looking  over  the  sea,  our  gaze 
was  arrested  by  something  ;  what  could  that  be  on  the  horizon  ? 
We  ran  on  to  the  bridge  and  looked  through  the  glass.  The  first 
sail.  Fancy  being  once  more  in  waters  where  other  people  went 
to  and  fro  !  But  it  was  far  away  ;  we  could  not  go  to  it.  Then 
we  saw  more,  and  later  in  the  day  four  great  monsters  ahead. 
They  were  British  men-of-war,  probably  on  their  way  home  after 
having  been  at  Vadso  for  the  eclipse  of  the  sun,  which  was  to 
have  taken  place  on  August  9th.  Later  in  the  evening  (August 
1 2th)  I  saw  something  dark  ahead,  low  down  on  the  horizon. 
What  was  it  ?  I  saw  it  on  the  starboard  bow,  stretching  low  and 
38 


594  FARTHEST  NORTH 

even  towards  the  south.  I  looked  again  and  again.  It  was  land, 
it  was  Norway !  I  stood  as  if  turned  to  stone,  and  gazed  and 
gazed  out  into  the  night  at  this  same  dark  line,  and  fear  began  to 
tremble  in  my  breast.  What  were  the  tidings  that  awaited  me 
there  ? 

When  I  came  on  deck  next  morning  we  were  close  under  the 
land.  It  was  a  bare  and  naked  shore  we  had  come  up  to,  scarcely 
more  inviting  than  the  land  we  had  left  up  in  the  mist  of  the 
Arctic  Ocean — but  it  was  Norway.  The  captain  had  mistaken  the 
coast  in  the  night  and  had  come  in  too  far  north,  and  we  were 
still  to  have  some  labor  in  beating  down  against  wind  and  sea 
before  we  could  reach  Vardo.  We  passed  several  vessels,  and 
dipped  our  flag  to  them.  We  passed  the  revenue-cutter ;  she 
came  alongside,  but  they  had  nothing  to  do  there,  and  no  one 
came  on  board.  Then  came  pilots,  father  and  son.  They  greeted 
Brown,  but  were  not  prepared  to  meet  a  countryman  on  board  an 
English  vessel.  They  were  a  little  surprised  to  hear  me  speak 
Norwegian,  but  did  not  pay  much  attention  to  it.  But  when 
Brown  asked  them  if  they  knew  who  I  was,  the  old  man  gazed  at 
me  again,  and  a  gleam,  as  it  were,  of  a  possible  recognition  crept 
over  his  face.  But  when  the  name  Nansen  dropped  from  the  lips 
of  the  warm-hearted  Brown,  as  he  took  the  old  man  by  the  shoul- 
ders and  shook  him  in  his  delight  at  being  able  to  give  him  such 
news,  an  expression  came  into  the  old  pilot's  weather-beaten  face, 
a  mixture  of  joy  and  petrified  astonishment,  which  was  indescrib- 
able. He  seized  my  hand,  and  wished  me  welcome  back  to  life  ; 
the  people  here  at  home  had  long  ago  laid  me  in  my  grave.  And 
then  came  questions  as  to  news  from  the  expedition,  and  news 
from  home.  Nothing  had  yet  been  heard  of  the  Fram^  and  a 
load  was  lifted  from  my  breast  when  I  knew  that  those  at  home 
had  been  spared  that  anxiety. 

Then,  silently  and  unobserved,  the  Windward  glided  with 
colors  flying  into  Vardo  Haven.  Before  the  anchor  was  dropped 
I  was  in  a  boat  with  Johansen  on  our  way  to  the  telegraph-sta- 
tion. We  put  in  at  the  quay,  but  there  was  still  so  much  of  our 
former  piratical  appearance  left  that  no  one  recognized  us ;  they 
scarcely  looked  at  us,  and  the  only  being  that  took  any  notice 
of  the  returned  wanderers  was  an  intelligent  cow,  which  stopped 
in  the  middle  of  a  narrow  street  and  stared  at  us  in  astonishment 
as  we  tried  to  pass.     That  cow  was  so  delightfully  summery  to 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  595 

look  at  that  I  felt  inclined  to  go  up  and  pat  her  ;  I  felt  now  that 
I  really  was  in  Norway.  When  I  got  to  the  telegraph-station  I 
laid  a  huge  bundle  down  on  the  counter,  and  said  that  it  con- 
sisted of  telegrams  that  I  should  like  to  have  sent  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. There  were  nearly  a  hundred  of  them,  one  or  two  rather 
long,  of  about  a  thousand  words  each. 

The  head  of  the  telegraph-office  looked  hard  at  me,  and  quiet- 
ly took  up  the  bundle  ;  but  as  his  eye  fell  upon  the  signature  of 
the  telegram  that  lay  on  the  top,  his  face  suddenly  changed,  he 
wheeled  sharp  round,  and  went  over  to  the  lady  clerk  who  was 
sitting  at  the  table.  When  he  again  turned  and  came  towards 
me  his  face  was  radiant  and  he  bade  me  a  hearty  welcome.  The 
telegrams  should  be  despatched  as  quickly  as  possible,  he  said  ; 
but  it  would  take  several  days  and  nights  to  get  them  all  through. 
And  then  the  instrument  began  to  tick  and  tick  and  to  send 
through  the  country  and  the  world  the  news  that  two  members 
of  the  Norwegian  Polar  Expedition  had  returned  safe  and  sound, 
and  that  I  expected  the  Fram  home  in  the  course  of  the  autumn. 
I  pitied  the  four  young  ladies  in  the  telegraph-office  at  Vardo  ; 
they  had  hard  work  of  it  during  the  following  days.  Not  only 
had  all  my  telegrams  to  be  despatched,  but  hundreds  streamed  in 
from  the  south — both  to  us  and  to  the  people  in  the  town,  beg- 
ging them  to  obtain  information  about  us.  Among  the  first  were 
telegrams  to  my  wife,  to  the  King  of  Norway,  and  to  the  Nor- 
wegian Government.     The  last  ran  as  follows  : 

**  To  his  Excellency  Secretary  Hagerup  : 

"  I  have  the  pleasure  of  announcing  to  you  and  to  the  Nor- 
wegian Government  that  the  expedition  has  carried  out  its  plan, 
has  traversed  the  unknown  Polar  Sea  from  north  of  the  New 
Siberian  Islands,  and  has  explored  the  region  north  of  Franz 
Josef  Land  as  far  as  86°  14'  north  latitude.  No  land  was  seen 
north  of  82°. 

"  Lieutenant  Johansen  and  I  left  the  Fram  and  the  other 
members  of  the  expedition  on  March  14,  1896,  in  84°  north  lati- 
tude and  102°  27'  east  longitude.  We  went  northward  to  explore 
the  sea  north  of  the  Frames  course,  and  then  came  south  to 
Pranz  Josef  Land,  whence  the  Windward  has  now  brought  us. 

"  I  expect  the  Fram  to  return  this  year. 

"Fridtjop  Nansen." 


50  FARTHEST  NORTH 

As  I  was  leaving  the  telegraph  -  office  the  manager  told  me 
that  my  friend  Professor  Mohn  was  in  the  town,  staying,  he 
understood,  at  the  hotel.  Strange  that  Mohn,  a  man  so  inti- 
mately connected  with  the  expedition,  should  be  the  first  friend 
I  was  to  meet !  Even  while  we  were  handing  in  our  telegrams 
the  news  of  our  arrival  had  begun  to  filter  through  the  town,  and 
people  were  gradually  flocking  together  to  see  the  two  polar  bears 
who  strode  through  the  streets  to  the  hotel.  I  rushed  in  and 
inquired  for  Mohn.  He  was  in  his  room,  number  so-and-so, 
they  told  me,  but  he  was  taking  his  siesta.  I  had  no  respect 
for  siestas  at  that  moment ;  I  thundered  at  the  door  and  tore  it 
open.  There  lay  Mohn  on  the  sofa,  reading,  with  a  long  pipe  in 
his  mouth.  He  started  up  and  stared  fixedly,  like  a  madman,  at 
the  long  figure  standing  on  the  threshold  ;  his  pipe  fell  to  the 
ground,  his  face  twitched,  and  then  he  burst  out,  "Can  it  be 
true  ?  Is  it  Fridtjof  Nansen  ?"  I  believe  he  was  alarmed  about 
himself,  thinking  he  had  seen  an  apparition ;  but  when  he  heard 
my  well-known  voice  the  tears  came  to  his  eyes,  and,  crying 
"  Thank  God,  you're  still  alive  !"  he  rushed  into  my  arms.  Then 
came  Johansen's  turn.  It  was  a  moment  of  wild  rejoicing,  and 
numberless  were  the  questions  asked  and  answered  on  both 
sides.  As  one  thing  after  another  came  into  our  heads,  the 
questions  rained  around  without  coherence  and  almost  without 
meaning.  The  whole  thing  seemed  so  incredible  that  a  long 
time  passed  before  we  even  collected  ourselves  sufficiently  to  sit 
down,  and  I  could  tell  him  in  a  somewhat  more  connected  fash- 
ion what  experiences  we  had  gone  through  during  these  three 
years.  But  where  was  the  Frain  ?  Had  we  left  her  ?  Where 
were  the  others?  Was  anything  amiss ?  These  questions  poured 
forth  with  breathless  anxiety,  and  it  was  no  doubt  the  hardest 
thing  of  all  to  understand  that  there  was  nothing  amiss,  and  yet 
that  we  had  left  our  splendid  ship.  But  little  by  little  even  that  be- 
came comprehensible ;  and  then  all  was  rejoicing,  and  champagne 
and  cigars  presently  appeared  on  the  scene.  Another  acquaint- 
ance from  the  south  was  also  in  the  hotel ;  he  came  in  to  speak 
to  Mohn ;  but,  seeing  that  he  had  visitors,  was  on  the  point  of 
going  again.  Then  he  stopped,  stared  at  us,  discovered  who  the 
visitors  were,  and  stood  as  though  nailed  to  the  spot  ;  and  then 
we  all  drank  to  the  expedition  and  to  Norway.  It  was  clear  that 
we  must  stop  there  that  evening,  and  we  sat  the  whole  after- 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  597 

noon  talking  and  talking  without  a  pause.  But  meanwhile  the 
whole  town  had  learned  the  names  of  its  newly  arrived  guests, 
and  when  we  looked  out  of  the  window  the  street  was  full  of 
people,  and  from  all  the  flagstajffs  over  the  town,  and  from  all 
the  masts  in  the  harbor,  the  Norwegian  flag  waved  in  the  even- 
ing sunshine.  And  then  came  telegrams  in  torrents,  all  of  them 
bringing  good  news.  Now  all  our  troubles  were  over.  Only  the 
arrival  of  the  Pram  was  wanting  to  complete  things ;  but  we 
were  quite  at  ease  about  her ;  she  would  soon  turn  up.  The 
first  thing  we  had  to  do,  now  that  we  were  on  Norwegian  soil 
and  could  look  about  us  a  little,  was  to  replenish  our  wardrobe. 
But  it  was  now  no  joke  to  make  our  way  through  the  streets, 
and  if  we  went  into  a  shop  it  was  soon  overflowing  with  people. 

Thus  we  spent  some  never-to-be-forgotten  days  in  Vardo,  and 
the  hospitality  which  we  met  was  lavish  and  cordial.  After  we 
had  said  good  -  bye  to  our  hosts  on  board  the  Windward  and 
thanked  them  for  all  the  kindness  they  had  shown  us.  Captain 
Brown  weighed  anchor  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  the  i6th,  to 
go  on  to  Hammerfest.  He  wanted  to  pay  his  respects  to  my 
wife,  who  was  to  meet  us  there.  On  August  21st  Johansen  and 
I  arrived  at  Hammerfest.  Everywhere  on  the  way  people  had 
greeted  us  with  flowers  and  flags,  and  now,  as  we  sailed  into  its 
harbor,  the  northernmost  town  in  Norway  was  in  festal  array 
from  the  sea  to  the  highest  hill-top,  and  thousands  of  people 
were  afoot.  To  my  surprise,  I  also  met  here  my  old  friend  Sir 
George  Baden-Powell,  whose  fine  yacht,  the  Otaria,  was  in  the 
harbor.  He  had  just  returned  from  a  very  successful  scientific 
expedition  to  Novaya  Zemlya,  where  he  had  been  with  several 
English  astronomers  to  observe  the  solar  eclipse  of  August  9th. 
With  true  English  hospitality,  he  placed  his  yacht  entirely  at 
my  disposal,  and  I  willingly  accepted  his  generous  invitation.  Sir 
George  Baden-Powell  was  one  of  the  last  people  I  had  seen  in 
England.  When  we  parted— it  was  in  the  autumn  of  1892 — he 
asked  me  where  we  ought  to  be  looked  for  if  we  were  too  long 
away.  I  answered  that  it  would  be  of  little  use  to  look  for  us — it 
would  be  like  searching  for  a  needle  in  a  hay-stack.  He  told  me 
I  must  not  think  that  people  would  be  content  to  sit  still  and. do 
nothing.  In  England,  at  any  rate,  he  was  sure  that  something 
would  be  done — and  where  ought  they  to  go  ?  "  Well,"  I  replied, 
"I  can  scarcely  think  of  any  other  place  than  Franz  Josef  Land; 


598  FARTHEST  NORTH 

for  if  the  Fram  goes  to  the  bottom,  or  we  are  obliged  to  abandon 
her,  we  must  come  out  that  way.  If  the  Fram  does  not  go  to 
the  bottom,  and  the  drift  is  as  I  believe  it  to  be,  we  shall  reach 
the  open  sea  between  Spitzbergen  and  Greenland."  Sir  George 
now  thought  that  the  time  had  come  to  look  for  us,  and  since  he 
could  not  do  more  for  the  present,  it  was  his  intention,  after 
having  carried  out  his  expedition  to  Novaya  ZemJya,  to  skirt 
along  the  edge  of  the  ice,  and  see  if  he  could  not  pick  up  any 
news  of  us.  Then,  just  at  the  right  moment,  we  made  our  ap- 
pearance at  Hammerfest.  In  the  evening,  my  wife  arrived,  and 
my  secretary,  Christofersen  ;  and  after  having  attended  a  brill- 
iant fete  given  that  night  by  the  town  of  Hammerfest  in  our 
honor,  we  took  up  our  quarters  on  board  the  Otaria,  where  the 
days  now  glided  past  so  smoothly  that  we  scarcely  noticed  the 
lapse  of  time.  Telegrams  of  congratulation  and  testimonies  of 
good-will  and  hearty  rejoicing  arrived  in  an  unbroken  stream 
from  all  quarters  of  the  world. 

But  the  Fram?  I  had  telegraphed  confidently  that  I  ex- 
pected her  home  this  year ;  but  why  had  she  not  already  ar- 
rived ?  I  began  more  and  more  to  think  over  this,  and  the  more 
I  calculated  all  chances  and  possibilities,  the  more  firmly  was  I 
convinced  that  she  ought  to  be  out  of  the  ice  by  this  time  if 
nothing  had  gone  amiss.  It  was  strange  that  she  was  not  al- 
ready here,  and  I  thought  with  horror  that  if  the  autumn  should 
pass  without  news  of  her,  the  coming  winter  and  summer  would 
be  anything  but  pleasant. 

Just  as  I  had  turned  out  on  the  morning  of  August  20th,  Sir 
George  knocked  at  my  door  and  said  there  was  a  man  there  who 
insisted  on  speaking  to  me.  I  answered  that  I  wasn't  dressed 
yet,  but  that  I  would  come  immediately.  *'0h,  that  doesn't 
matter,"  said  he  ;  "  come  as  you  are."  I  was  a  little  surprised  at 
all  this  urgency,  and  asked  what  it  was  all  about.  He  said  he 
did  not  know,  but  it  was  evidently  something  pressing.  I  never- 
theless put  on  my  clothes,  and  then  went  out  into  the  saloon. 
There  stood  a  gentleman  with  a  telegram  in  his  hand,  who  intro- 
duced himself  as  the  head  of  the  telegraph-office,  and  said  that  he 
had  a  telegram  to  deliver  to  me  which  he  thought  would  interest 
me,  so  he  had  come  with  it  himself.  Something  that  would  interest 
me  ?  There  was  only  one  thing  left  in  the  world  that  could  really 
interest  me.     With  trembling  hands  I  tore  open  the  telegram : 


THE  JO  URNE  Y  SO  UTHWARD  599 

"  Fridtjof  Nansen  : 

'''Pram  arrived  in  good  condition.  All  well  on  board.  Shall 
start  at  once  for  Tromso.     Welcome  home  ! 

"Otto  Sverdrup." 

I  felt  as  if  I  should  have  choked,  and  all  I  could  say  was, 
"  The  Fram  has  arrived  !"  Sir  George,  who  was  standing  by, 
gave  a  great  leap  of  joy ;  Johansen's  face  was  radiant ;  Christo- 
fersen  was  quite  overcome  with  gladness  ;  and  there  in  the  midst 
of  us  stood  the  head  of  the  telegraph-office  enjoying  the  effect 
he  had  produced.  In  an  instant  I  dashed  into  my  cabin  to  shout 
to  my  wife  that  the  Fram  had  arrived.  She  was  dressed  and  out 
in  double-quick  time.  But  I  could  scarcely  believe  it — it  seemed 
like  a  fairy  tale.  I  read  the  telegram  again  and  again  before  I 
could  assure  myself  that  it  was  not  all  a  dream ;  and  then  there 
came  a  strange,  serene  happiness  over  my  mind  such  as  I  had 
never  known  before. 

There  was  jubilation  on  board  and  over  all  the  harbor  and 
town.  From  the  Windward^  which  was  just  weighing  anchor  to 
precede  us  to  Tromso,  we  heard  ringing  cheers  for  the  Fram  and 
the  Norwegian  flag.  We  had  intended  to  start  for  Tromso  that 
afternoon,  but  now  we  agreed  to  get  under  way  as  quickly  as 
possible,  so  as  to  try  to  overtake  the  Fram  at  Skjaervo,  which 
lay  just  on  our  route.  I  attempted  to  stop  her  by  a  telegram  to 
Sverdrup,  but  it  arrived  too  late. 

It  was  a  lively  breakfast  we  had  that  morning.  Johansen 
and  I  spoke  of  how  incredible  it  seemed  that  we  should  soon 
press  our  comrades'  hands  again.  Sir  George  was  almost  beside 
himself  with  joy.  Every  now  and  then  he  would  spring  up  from 
his  chair,  thump  the  table,  and  cry,  "  The  Fram  has  arrived  ! 
The  Fram  has  really  arrived  !"  Lady  Baden-Powell  was  quietly 
happy  ;  she  enjoyed  our  joy. 

The  next  day  we  entered  Tromso  harbor,  and  there  lay  the 
Fram,  strong  and  broad  and  weather-beaten.  It  was  strange  to 
see  again  that  high  rigging  and  the  hull  we  knew  so  well.  When 
last  we  saw  her  she  was  half  buried  in  the  ice ;  now  she  floated 
freely  and  proudly  on  the  blue  sea,  in  Norwegian  waters.  We 
glided  alongside  of  her.  The  crew  of  the  Otaria  greeted  the 
gallant  ship  with  three  times  three  English  cheers,  and  the  Fram 
replied  with  a  ninefold  Norwegian  hurrah.     We   dropped   our 


6oo  FARTHEST  NORTH 

anchor,  and  the  next  moment  the  Otaria  was  boarded  by  the 
Fram's  sturdy  crew. 

The  meeting  which  followed  I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe. 
I  don't  think  any  of  us  knew  anything  clearly,  except  that  we 
were  all  together  again — we  were  in  Norway — and  the  expedi- 
tion had  fulfilled  its  task. 

Then  we  set  off  together  southward  along  the  Norwegian 
coast.  First  came  the  tug  Haalogaland,  chartered  by  the  govern- 
ment ;  then  the  Fram,  heavy  and  slow,  but  so  much  the  surer ; 
and  last  the  elegant  Otaria^  with  my  wife  and  me  on  board — 
which  was  to  take  us  to  Trondhjem.  What  a  blessed  sensation 
it  was  to  sit  in  peace  at  last,  and  see  others  take  the  lead  and 
pick  out  the  way  ! 

Wherever  we  passed,  the  heart  of  the  Norwegian  people  went 
out  to  us,  from  the  steamers  crowded  with  holiday  -  making 
townsfolk,  and  from  the  poorest  fishing  -  boat  that  lay  alone 
among  the  skerries.  It  seemed  as  if  old  Mother  Norway  were 
proud  of  us,  as  if  she  pressed  us  in  a  close  and  warm  embrace, 
and  thanked  us  for  what  we  had  done.  And  what  was  it,  after 
all?  We  had  only  done  our  duty;  we  had  simply  accomplished 
the  task  we  had  undertaken  ;  and  it  was  we  who  owed  her  thanks 
for  the  right  to  sail  under  her  flag.  I  remember  one  morning 
in  particular.  It  was  in  Bronosund — the  morning  was  still  gray 
and  chill  when  I  was  called  up — there  were  so  many  people  who 
wanted  to  greet  us.  I  was  half  asleep  when  I  came  on  deck. 
The  whole  sound  was  crowded  with  boats.  We  had  been  going 
slowly  through  them,  but  now  the  Haalogalayid  in  front  put  on 
more  speed,  and  we  too  went  a  little  quicker.  A  fisherman  in 
his  boat  toiled  at  the  oars  to  keep  up  with  us ;  it  was  no  easy 
work.     Then  he  shouted  up  to  me  : 

"  You  don't  want  to  buy  any  fish,  do  you  ?" 

"No,  I  don't  think  we  do." 

"  I  suppose  you  can'*t  tell  me  where  Nansen  is  ?  Is  he  on 
board  the  Fram  ?" 

"  No,  I  believe  he's  on  this  ship,"  was  the  reply. 

"  Oh,  I  wonder  if  I  couldn't  get  on  board  ?  I'm  so  desperately 
anxious  to  see  him." 

"  It  can  hardly  be  done,  I'm  afraid  ;  they  haven't  time  to  stop 
now." 

"  That's  a  pity.     I  want  to  see  the  man  himself." 


THE  JOURNEY  SOUTHWARD  6oi 

He  went  on  rowing.  It  became  harder  and  harder  to  keep 
up,  but  he  stared  fixedly  at  me  as  I  leaned  on  the  rail  smiling, 
while  Christofersen  stood  laughing  at  my  side. 

"Since  you're  so  anxious  to  see  the  man  himself,  I  may  tell 
you  that  you  see  him  now,"  said  I. 

"  Is  it  you  ?  Is  it  you  ?  Didn't  I  guess  as  much  !  Welcome 
home  again  !" 

And  thereupon  the  fisherman  dropped  his  oars,  stood  up  in  his 
boat,  and  took  off  his  cap.  As  we  went  on  through  the  splendor 
of  the  morning,  and  I  sat  on  the  deck  of  the  luxurious  English 
yacht  and  saw  the  beautiful  barren  coast  stretching  ahead  in  the 
sunshine,  I  realized  to  the  full  for  the  first  time  how  near  this  land 
and  this  people  lay  to  my  heart.  If  we  had  sent  a  single  gleam 
of  sunlight  over  their  lives,  these  three  years  had  not  been  wasted. 

"  This  Norway,  this  Norway  .  .  . 

It  is  dear  to  us,  so  dear, 
And  no  people  has  a  fairer  land  than  this  our  homeland  here. 

Oh,  the  shepherding  in  spring, 

When  the  birds  begin  to  sing, 
When  the  mountain-peak  glitters  and  green  grows  the  lea, 
And  the  turbulent  river  sweeps  brown  to  the  sea!  .  .  . 

Whoso  knows  Norway  must  well  understand 

How  her  sons  can  suffer  for  such  a  land." 

One  felt  all  the  vitality  and  vigor  throbbing  in  this  people, 
and  saw  as  in  a  vision  its  great  and  rich  future,  when  all  its 
prisoned  forces  shall  be  unfettered  and  set  free. 

Now  one  had  returned  to  life,  and  it  stretched  before  one  full 
of  light  and  hope.  Then  came  the  evenings  when  the  sun  sank 
far  out  behind  the  blue  sea,  and  the  clear  melancholy  of  autumn 
lay  over  the  face  of  the  waters.  It  was  too  beautiful  to  believe 
in.  A  feeling  of  dread  came  over  one  ;  but  the  silhouette  of  a 
woman's  form,  standing  out  against  the  glow  of  the  evening  sky, 
gave  peace  and  security. 

So  we  passed  from  town  to  town,  from  fete  to  fete,  along 
the  coast  of  Norway.  It  was  on  September  9th  that  the  Fram 
steamed  up  Christiania  Fjord  and  met  with  such  a  reception  as 
a  prince  might  have  envied.  The  stout  old  men-of-war  Nordst- 
jernen  and  Elida,  the  new  and  elegant  Valkyrie,  and  the  nimble 
little  torpedo-boats  led  the  way  for  us.  Steamboats  swarmed 
around,  all  black  with  people.     There  were  flags  high  and  low. 


602 


FARTHEST  NORTH 


salutes,  hurrahs,  waving  of  handkerchiefs  and  hats,  radiant  faces 
everywhere,  the  whole  fjord  one  multitudinous  welcome.  There 
lay  home,  and  the  well-known  strand  before  it,  glittering  and  smil- 
ing in  the  sunshine.  Then  steamers  on  steamers  again,  shouts  af- 
ter shouts  ;  and  we  all  stood,  hat  in  hand,  bowing  as  they  cheered. 

The  whole  of  Peppervik  was  one  mass  of  boats  and  people  and 
flags  and  waving  pennants.  Then  the  men-of-war  saluted  with 
thirteen  guns  apiece,  and  the  old  fort  of  Akershus  followed  with 
its  thirteen  peals  of  thunder,  that  echoed  from  the  hills  around. 

In  the  evening  I  stood  on  the  strand  out  by  the  fjord.  The 
echoes  had  died  away,  and  the  pine  woods  stood  silent  and  dark 
around.  On  the  headland  the  last  embers  of  a  bonfire  of  welcome 
still  smouldered  and  smoked,  and  the  sea  rippling  at  my  feet 
seemed  to  whisper,  "  Now  you  are  at  home."  The  deep  peace  of 
the  autumn  evening  sank  beneficently  over  the  weary  spirit. 

I  could  not  but  recall  that  rainy  morning  in  June  when  I  last 
set  foot  on  this  strand.  More  than  three  years  had  passed ;  we 
had  toiled  and  we  had  sown,  and  now  the  harvest  had  come.  In 
my  heart  I  sobbed  and  wept  for  joy  and  thankfulness. 

The  ice  and  the  long  moonlit  polar  nights,  with  all  their  yearn- 
ing, seemed  like  a  far-off  dream  from  another  world — a  dream  that 
had  come  and  passed  away.  But  what  would  life  be  worth  without 
its  dreams  ? 


The  Mean  Temperature  of  Every 

Month  during  Nansen 

AND  JOHANSEN'S   SlEDGE  JOURNEY 

Date 

Mean  Temper- 
ature {Fahr.) 

Maximum  Tem- 

Minimum Tem- 

perature (Fahr.) 

perature  {Fahr.) 

March  (16-31),  1895  .     .     . 

0 
-37 

0 
-9 

0 
-51 

April,  1895  .     .     . 

—  20 

—  2 

-35 

May,  1895    .     . 

—  2\ 

28 

—  II 

une,  1895    .     .     , 
■  uly,  1895     .     . 

30 

38 

9 

32 

37 

28 

August,  1895    . 

29 

36 

19 

September,  1895 

-f20 

41 

—  4 

October,  1895  . 

—     I 

16 

—  13 

November,  1895 

-13 

10 

-35 

December,  1895 

—  13 

12 

-37 

January,  1896  . 
February,  1896 

—  14 

19 

-46 

—  10 

30 

-40 

March,  1896     . 

10 

30 

-29 

April,  1896  .     . 

8 

27 

-16 

May,  1896    .     . 

18 

43 

—  II 

June  (1-16),  1896  .... 

29 

39 

23 

1 4? To 5 

52 53 54 55 56 57-^^ 59           60           Tl 6 

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APPENDIX 


REPORT  OF   CAPTAIN  OTTO  SVERDRUP 


THE  DRIFTING  OF  THE  "FRAM"  FROM  MARCH    14.  1895 


CHAPTER   I 
March  15  to  June  22,  1895 


As  far  back  as  February  26th  Dr.  Nansen  had  officially  informed  the 
crew  that  after  he  left  the  ship  I  was  to  be  chief  officer  of  the  expedition, 
and  Lieutenant  Scott-Hansen  second  in  command.  Before  starting,  he 
handed  me  a  letter,  or  set  of  instructions,  which  have  been  mentioned  ear- 
lier in  the  volume.* 

The  day  after  that  on  which  the  postscript  to  my  instructions  is  dated — 
/.  <?.,  on  Thursday,  March  14th,  at  11.30  a.m.— Dr.  Nansen  and  Johansen 
left  the  Fram  and  set  forth  on  their  sledge  expedition.  We  gave  them  a 
parting  salute  with  flag,  pennant,  and  guns.  Scott-Hansen,  Henriksen,  and 
Pettersen  accompanied  them  as  far  as  the  first  camping-place,  7  or  8  miles 
from  the  vessel,  and  returned  the  next  day  at  2.30  p.m. 

In  the  morning  they  had  helped  to  harness  the  dogs  and  put  thejn  to 
the  three  sledges.  In  the  team  of  the  last  sledge  there  were  "  Barnet "  and 
"  Pan,"  that  all  the  time  had  been  mortal  enemies.f  They  began  to  fight, 
and  Henriksen  had  to  give  "  Barnet "  a  good  thrashing  in  order  to  part 
him  from  the  other.  In  consequence  of  this  fight  the  last  team  was  some- 
what behind  in  starting.    The  other  dogs  were  all  the  while  hauling  with 

*  Vide  pp.  346-348. 

f  Little  "  Barnet,"  who  weighed  only  38  pounds,  and  was  one  of  the  smallest  of 
the  dogs,  was  a  regular  fighter,  and,  as  a  rule,  the  aggressor. 


6o4  APPENDIX 

all  their  might,  and  when  the  thrashing  scene  was  over,  and  the  disturbers 
of  the  peace  suddenly  commenced  to  pull,  the  sledge  started  off  faster 
than  Johansen  had  calculated,  and  he  was  left  behind  and  had  to  strike 
out  well  on  his  snow-shoes.  Scott-Hansen  and  the  others  followed  the 
sledging  party  with  their  eyes  until  they  looked  little  black  dots  far,  far 
away  on  the  boundless  plain  of  ice.  With  a  last  sad  lingering  look  after 
the  two  whom,  perhaps,  they  might  never  see  again,  they  put  on  their 
snow-shoes  and  started  on  their  journey  back. 

At  the  time  when  the  sledge  expedition  started  the  Fram  lay  in  84°  4' 
north  latitude  and  102°  east  longitude.  The  situation  was  briefly  as  fol- 
lows :  The  vessel  was  ice-bound  in  about  25  feet  of  ice,  with  a  slight  list 
to  starboard.  She  had  thus  a  layer  of  ice,  several  feet  in  thickness,  un- 
derneath her  keel.  Piled  high  against  the  vessel's  side,  to  port,  along 
her  entire  length,  there  extended  from  S.S.E.  to  N.N.W.  a  pressure-ridge 
reaching  up  to  about  the  height  of  the  rail  on  the  half-deck  aft  and  slant- 
ing slightly  eastward  from  the  ship.  At  a  distance  of  about  160  yards  to 
the  northwest  there  extended  in  the  direction  from  south  to  north  a  long 
and  fairly  broad  ice-mound,  the  so-called  "  great  hummock,"  as  much  as 
22  feet  high  in  places.  Midway  between  the  Fram  and  the  great  hum- 
mock there  was  a  newly  formed  open  lane  about  50  yards  wide,  while 
across  her  bow,  at  a  distance  of  50  yards,  there  was  an  old  channel  that 
had  been  closed  up  by  the  ice-pressure,  but  which  opened  later  on  in  the 
spring. 

Upon  the  "  great  hummock,"  which  had  been  formed  by  the  violent 
ice-pressure  on  January  27,  1894,  we  had  established  our  depot  on  the  slope 
looking  towards  the  ship.  The  depot  consisted  of  piled-up  tin  boxes,  con- 
taining provisions  and  other  necessaries,  and  formed  six  or  seven  small 
mounds  covered  with  sail-cloth.  Moreover,  our  snow-shoes  and  sledges 
were  stored  there.  Half-way  between  the  vessel  and  the  great  hummock 
lay  the  petroleum  launch,  which,  when  the  new  channel  or  rift  had  opened 
right  under  her,  had  to  be  drawn  a  little  way  farther  out  on  to  the  ice. 
Finally,  there  was  our  forge.  This  was  situated  about  30  yards  off,  a  little 
abaft  the  port  quarter,  and  was  hewn  out  in  the  slope  of  the  above-men- 
tioned pressure-ridge,  the  roof  being  made  of  a  quantity  of  spars,  over  which 
blocks  of  ice  were  piled,  with  a  layer  of  snow  on  the  top,  all  frozen  to- 
gether so  as  to  form  a  compact  mass.  A  tarpaulin  served  in  place  of  a 
door. 

The  first  and  most  pressing  work  which  we  had  to  take  in  hand  was  to 
remove  part  of  the  high-pressure  ridge  on  the  port  side.  I  was  afraid  that 
if  the  ice-pressure  continued  the  vessel  might  be  forced  down  instead  of 
upward  while  she  had  so  high  a  ridge  of  ice  resting  against  the  whole  of 
her  port  side.  The  work  was  commenced  by  all  hands  on  March  19th. 
We  had  five  sledges,  and  a  box  on  each,  and  each  worked  by  two  men. 
There  were  two  parties  at  work  simultaneously  with  one  sledge  each — for- 


MARCH  15    TO  JUNE  22,  iSgs  605 

ward,  and  two  parties  aft— working  towards  each  other,  while  the  fifth 
party,  of  two  men  with  one  sledge,  were  cutting  a  passage  13  feet  wide 
right  up  to  the  middle  of  the  vessel.  The  layer  of  ice  which  was  in  this 
way  removed  from  all  along  the  vessel's  side  reached  to  double  the  height 
of  a  man,  except  in  the  central  passage,  where  it  had  previously  been  re- 
moved to  a  depth  of  about  three  yards,  partly  in  view  of  possible  ice-press- 
ure against  this,  the  lowest  part  of  the  hull,  and  partly  in  order  to  clear 
the  gangway,  by  which  the  dogs  passed  to  and  from  the  vessel. 

The  carting  away  of  ice  commenced  on  the  19th  and  concluded  on 
the  27th  of  March.  The  whole  of  the  pressure-ridge  on  the  port  side  was 
removed  down  to  such  a  depth  that  two  and  a  half  planks  of  the  ship's  ice- 
skin  were  free.  All  the  time  while  this  work  was  going  on  the  weather 
was  fairly  cold,  the  temperature  down  to  —38°  and  —40°  C.  (—36.4°  and 
—40°  Fahr.).  However,  all  passed  oflf  well  and  successfully,  except  that 
Scott-Hansen  was  unfortunate  enough  to  have  one  of  his  big  toes  frozen. 

The  doctor  and  I  were  together  at  the  same  sledge.  My  diary  says: 
*'  He  always  suspected  me  of  being  out  of  temper,  and  I  him."  As  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  it  is  my  habit  to  dislike  talking  when  I  am  busy  with  any  work, 
while  the  reverse  is  the  case  with  the  doctor.  As,  according  to  my  custom, 
I  kept  silence,  the  doctor  believed  that  I  was  in  a  bad  humor,  and  in  the 
same  way  I  fancied  that  he  was  in  the  sulks,  because  he  abstained  from 
chatting.  But  the  misunderstanding  was  soon  cleared  up,  and  we  laughed 
heartily  at  it. 

As  Dr.  Nansen's  and  Johansen's  departure  afforded  an  opportunity 
for  a  more  comfortable  redistribution  of  quarters,  I  moved  into  Nansen's 
cabin,  after  having  packed  in  cases  the  effects  he  left  behind,  and  stowed 
them  away  in  the  fore-hold.  Jacobsen,  the  mate,  who  was  formerly  quar- 
tered with  four  of  the  crew  in  the  large  cabin  on  the  port  side,  had  my 
cabin  allotted  to  him ;  and  in  the  starboard  cabin,  where  four  men  had  been 
quartered,  there  were  now  only  three.  The  workroom,  too,  was  restored 
to  its  former  honor  and  dignity.  The  lamp-glasses  of  the  oil-stove  there 
had  got  broken  in  the  course  of  the  year.  Amunsden  now  replaced  these 
with  chimneys  of  tin,  and  fitted  thin  sheets  of  mica  over  the  peep-holes. 
The  stove  having  thus  been  repaired,  the  workroom  became  the  busiest 
and  most  comfortable  compartment  in  the  whole  vessel. 

After  the  various  operations  of  shifting  and  putting  in  order  the  things 
on  board  and  in  the  depot,  our  next  care  was  to  insure  easy  and  convenient 
access  to  the  vessel  by  constructing  a  proper  gangway  aft,  consisting  of 
two  spars  with  packing-case  planks  nailed  between  them  and  a  rope  hand- 
rail attached. 

When  all  this  was  done  we  set  to  work  at  the  long  and  manifold  prep- 
arations of  every  kind  for  a  sledge  journey  southward,  in  the  event  (which, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  none  of  us  considered  likely)  of  our  being  obliged  to 
abandon  the  Fram.     We  constructed  sledges  and  kayaks,  sewed  bags  for 


6o6  APPENDIX 

our  stores,  selected  and  weighed  out  provisions  and  other  necessaries,  etc., 
etc.     This  work  kept  us  busy  for  a  long  time. 

In  addition  to  all  the  other  things,  we  had  to  provide  ourselves  with 
more  snow-shoes,  as  we  were  scantily  supplied  with  them.  Snow-shoes 
we  must  have,  good  strong  ones,  at  least  one  pair  to  every  man.  But 
where  were  the  materials  to  come  from  }  There  was  no  more  wood  fit  for 
making  snow-shoes  to  be  found  on  board.  It  is  true  that  we  had  a  large 
piece  of  oak  timber  left  available,  but  we  were  in  need  of  a  suitable  instru- 
ment to  split  it  with,  as  it  could  not  be  cut  up  with  the  small  saws  we  had 
on  board.  In  our  dilemma  we  had  recourse  to  the  ice-saw.  Amundsen 
converted  it  (by  filing  it  in  a  different  way)  into  a  rip-saw;  Bentzen  made 
handles  for  it ;  and  as  soon  as  it  was  ready,  Mogstad  and  Henriksen  com- 
menced to  saw  the  beam  of  oak  to  pieces.  At  first  the  work  went  slowly, 
most  of  the  time  being  taken  up  with  filing  and  setting  the  saw;  but  grad- 
ually it  went  better,  and  on  April  6th  the  timber  was  cut  up  into  six  pairs 
of  good  boards  for  making  snow-shoes,  which  we  temporarily  deposited  in 
the  saloon  for  drying.  As  I  consider  Canadian  snow-shoes  superior  to  Nor- 
wegian snow-shoes,  when  it  is  a  question  of  hauling  heavily  loaded  sledges 
over  such  a  rough  and  uneven  surface  as  is  presented  by  polar  ice,  I  direct- 
ed Mogstad  to  make  ten  Canadian  pairs  from  maple-wood,  of  which  we  had 
a  quantity  on  board.  Instead  of  the  netting  of  reindeer-skin,  we  stretched 
sail-cloth  over  the  frames.  This  did  the  same  service  as  net-work,  while 
it  had  the  advantage  of  being  easier  to  repair.  With  the  snow-shoes  which 
we  had  we  undertook  frequent  excursions,  more  particularly  Scott-Hansen 
and  myself.  While  out  on  one  of  these  trips,  on  which  Amundsen,  Nor- 
dahl,  and  Pettersen  also  accompanied  us,  3  miles  west  of  the  vessel  we 
came  across  a  large  hummock,  which  we  named  "  Lovunden,"  on  account 
of  its  resemblance  to  the  island  Lovunden,  off  the  coast  of  Heligoland. 
This  hummock  presented  very  good  snow-shoeing  slopes,  and  we  practised 
there  to  our  hearts'  content. 

On  May  ist  we  had  finished  the  snow-shoes  intended  for  daily  use,  and 
I  gave  orders  that  henceforth  daily  snow-shoe  trips  should  be  made  by 
all  hands  from  1 1  a.m.  till  i  P.M.,  if  the  weather  was  good.  These  snow- 
shoe  runs  were  to  everybody's  taste,  and  were  necessary,  not  only  in  order 
to  afford  brisk  exercise  in  the  open  air,  but  also  in  order  to  impart  to 
those  who  were  less  accustomed  to  snow-shoes  a  sufficient  degree  of  skill 
in  the  event  of  our  having  to  abandon  the  Fram. 

While  the  removal  of  the  ridge  was  proceeding  there  continued  to  be  a 
good  deal  of  disturbance  in  the  ice.  Twenty  yards  from  the  vessel  a  new 
lane  was  formed  running  parallel  to  the  old  one  between  us  from  the 
depot ;  and  in  addition  to  this  a  number  of  larger  or  smaller  cracks  had 
opened  in  all  directions.  A  little  later  on,  during  the  time  from  April  i  ith 
to  May  9th,  there  was  on  the  whole  considerable  disturbance  in  the  ice, 
with  several  violent  pressures  in  the  lanes  around  the  vessel.    On  the  first- 


MARCH  15    rO  JUNE  22,  1895  607 

mentioned  day,  in  the  evening,  Scott-Hansen  and  I  took  a  snow-shoe  trip 
towards  the  northeast,  along  the  new  channel  between  the  vessel  and  the 
depot.  On  our  way  back  pressure  set  in  in  the  channel,  and  we  had  an 
opportunity  of  witnessing  a  "  screwing  "  such  as  I  had  never  seen  equalled. 
First  there  was  quite  a  narrow  channel,  running  parallel  to  the  principal 
channel,  which  was  covered  over  with  young  ice  about  2  feet  thick.  There- 
upon a  larger  channel  opened  just  beyond  the  first  and  running  alongside 
it.  During  the  pressure  which  then  followed,  the  edges  crashed  against 
each  other  with  such  violence  as  to  force  the  ice  down,  so  that  we  fre- 
quently saw  it  from  3  to  4  fathoms  deep  under  water. 

Newly  frozen  sea-ice  is  marvellously  elastic,  and  will  bend  to  an  aston- 
ishing degree  without  breaking.  In  another  place  we  saw  how  the  new 
ice  had  bulged  up  in  large  wave-like  eminences,  without  breaking. 

On  May  5th  the  wide  lane  aft  was  jammed  up  by  ice-pressure,  and  in 
its  stead  a  rift  was  formed  in  the  ice  on  the  port  side  about  100  yards 
from  us,  and  approximately  parallel  to  the  ship.  Thus  we  now  lay  in  an 
altered  position,  inasmuch  as  the  Fram  was  no  longer  connected  with  and 
dependent  on  one  solid  and  continuous  ice-field,  but  separated  from  it  by 
more  or  less  open  channels,  and  attached  to  a  large  fioe  which  was  daily 
decreasing  in  size  as  new  cracks  were  formed. 

The  principal  channel  aft  of  the  vessel  continued  to  open  out  during 
the  latter  part  of  April,  and  on  the  29th  had  become  very  wide.  It  ex- 
tended north  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  and  was  conspicuous,  more- 
over, by  reason  of  the  dark  reflection  which  seemed  to  hover  above  it  in 
the  sky.  It  probably  attained  its  maximum  width  on  May  ist,  when 
Scott-Hansen  and  I  measured  it  and  found  that  just  astern  of  the  vessel 
it  was  975  yards,  and  farther  north  over  1500  yards  (1432  metres)  in  width. 
Had  the  Fram  been  loose  at  the  time  I  should  have  gone  north  in  the 
channel  as  far  as  possible :  but  this  was  not  to  be  thought  of,  seeing  how 
the  ship  had  been  raised  up  on  and  walled  in  by  the  ice. 

No  later  than  May  2d  the  principal  channel  closed  up  again.  The 
mate,  Nordahl,  and  Amundsen,  who  just  then  happened  to  be  out  on  a 
snow-shoe  trip  south  along  the  channel,  were  eye-witnesses  of  the  jamming 
of  the  ice,  which  they  described  as  having  been  a  grand  sight.  The  fresh 
southeasterly  wind  had  imparted  a  considerable  impetus  to  the  ice,  and 
when  the  edges  of  the  ice  approached  each  other  with  considerable  veloc- 
ity and  force,  two  large  projecting  tongues  first  came  into  collision  with 
a  crash  like  thunder,  and  in  a  moment  were  forced  up  in  a  hummock  about 
20  feet  high,  only  to  collapse  soon  after,  and  disappear  with  equal  sudden- 
ness under  the  edge  of  the  ice.  Wherever  the  ice  was  not  forced  up  into 
the  air,  the  one  ice-edge  would  slide  over  or  under  the  other,  while  all  the 
projecting  tongues  and  blocks  of  ice  were  crushed  to  thousands  of  frag- 
ments, which  filled  up  pretty  evenly  any  small  crevices  still  remaining  of 
what  had  before  been  such  a  mighty  opening. 


6o8  APPENDIX 

Our  drift  towards  the  north  during  the  first  month  was  almost  ml. 
For  instance,  on  April  19th  we  had  not  advanced  more  than  4  minutes  of 
latitude  (about  4  miles)  to  the  north.  Nor  did  we  drift  much  to  the  west 
in  the  same  period.  Later  on  we  made  better  headway,  but  not,  by  a  long 
way,  as  much  as  in  1894.  On  May  23d  I  wrote  in  the  Journal  as  follows  : 
**  We  are  all  very  anxious  to  see  what  will  be  the  net  result  of  our  spring 
drift.  If  we  could  reach  60°  east  longitude  by  the  summer  or  autumn,  I 
believe  we  could  be  certain  to  get  back  home  about  the  autumn  of  1896. 
The  spring  drift  this  year  is  considerably  less  strong  than  last  year,  but 
perhaps  it  may  continue  longer  into  the  summer.  If  we  were  to  drift  this 
year  as  far  as  last,  during  the  time  from  May  i6th  to  June  i6th,  we  should 
reach  68°  east  longitude ;  but  it  will  not  be  possible  now  to  reach  that  lon- 
gitude so  early.  Possibly  we  may  manage  this  year  to  escape  the  strong 
back-drift  during  the  summer,  make  a  little  headway  instead,  and  if  so  it 
will  be  all  the  better  for  us.  The  ice  is  not  so  much  cut  up  by  channels 
this  year  as  it  was  this  time  last  year.  It  is  true  there  are  a  good  many ; 
but  last  year  we  could  scarcely  get  about  at  all,  simply  on  account  of  the 
lanes.  This  year  we  have  large  sheets  of  ice  ahead  of  us  in  which  scarcely 
any  openings  are  to  be  found." 

In  order  to  observe  the  drift  of  the  ice,  we  prepared  a  kind  of  log-line, 
from  100  to  150  fathoms  in  length,  to  the  end  of  which  there  was  attached 
a  conical  open  bag  of  loosely  woven  material,  in  which  small  animals  could 
be  caught  up.  Immediately  above  the  bag  a  lead  was  fitted  to  the  line,  so 
that  the  bag  itself  might  drag  freely  in  the  water.  The  log  was  lowered 
through  a  fairly  wide  hole  in  the  ice,  which  it  was  a  most  difficult  task  to 
keep  open  during  the  cold  season.  Several  times  a  day  the  line  was  ex- 
amined and  the  "  angle  and  drift "  was  measured.  For  this  measurement 
we  had  constructed  a  quadrant  fitted  with  a  plumb-line.  Now  and  then 
we  would  haul  in  the  log-line  to  see  whether  it  was  still  in  order  and  to 
collect  whatever  the  bag  might  contain  in  the  way  of  little  animals  or 
other  objects.  As  a  rule  the  contents  were  insignificant,  consisting  only 
of  a  few  specimens  of  low  organisms. 

At  the  end  of  May  the  "spring  drift"  was  over.  The  wind  veered 
round  to  the  S.W.,  W.,  and  N.W.  The  bag-drift  or  "  summer  drift "  then 
set  in.  However,  it  was  not  of  a  long  duration,  as  by  June  8th  we  again 
had  an  easterly  wind  with  Ji  good  drift  to  the  west,  so  that  on  the  22d  we 
were  at  84°  31.7'  north  latitude  and  80°  58'  east  longitude ;  and  during  the 
last  days  of  June  and  the  greater  part  of  July  the  drift  went  still  better. 

A  circumstance  which  helped  to  increase  the  monotony  of  our  drift  in 
the  ice  during  the  winter  and  spring  of  1895  was  the  great  scarcity  of  animal 
life  in  that  part  of  the  Polar  Sea.  For  long  periods  at  a  stretch  we  did 
not  see  a  single  living  thing  ;  even  the  polar  bears,  who  roam  so  far,  were 
not  to  be  seen.  Hence  the  appearance  in  the  afternoon  of  May  7th  of 
a  small  seal  in  a  newly  opened  lane,  close  by  the  vessel,  was  hailed  with 


MARCH  15   TO  JUNE  22,  i8gs  609 

universal  delight.  It  was  the  first  seal  that  we  had  set  eyes  upon  since 
March.  Subsequently  we  often  saw  seals  of  the  same  kind  in  the  open 
channels,  but  they  were  very  shy,  so  that  it  was  not  until  well  on  in  the 
summer  that  we  succeeded  killing  one,  and  this  was  so  small  that  we  ate 
the  whole  of  it  at  one  meal. 

On  May  14th  Pettersen  told  us  that  he  had  seen  a  white  bird,  as  he 
thought  an  ice-gull,  flying  westward.  On  the  226.  Mogstad  saw  a  snow- 
bunting,  which  circled  round  the  vessel,  and  after  this  the  harbingers  of 
spring  became  daily  more  numerous. 

Our  hunting-bags,  however,  were  very  scanty.  It  was  not  until  June 
loth  that  we  secured  the  first  game,  when  the  doctor  succeeded  in  shoot- 
ing a  fulmar  and  a  kittiwake  i^Lariis  tridactylus).  True,  he  prefaced  these 
exploits  by  sundry  misses,  but  in  the  end  he  managed  to  hit  the  birds,  and 
"all's  well  that  ends  well."  As  regards  the  fulmar,  it  was  an  exciting 
chase,  as  it  had  only  been  winged,  and  took  refuge  in  the  open  channel. 
Pettersen  was  the  first  to  go  after  it,  followed  by  Amundsen,  the  doctor, 
Scott-Hansen,  and  the  whole  pack  of  dogs,  and  at  last  they  managed  to 
secure  it. 

After  this  it  was  a  matter  of  daily  occurrence  to  see  birds  quite  near, 
and  in  order  to  be  better  able  to  secure  them,  and  seals  to  boot,  we  moored 
our  sealing-boat  in  the  open  channel.  This  was  equipped  with  a  seal,  and 
with  ballast  composed  of  some  of  the  castings  from  the  windmill,  which 
we  had  been  obliged  to  take  down ;  and  the  very  first  evening  after  the 
boat  had  been  put  on  the  water,  Scott-Hansen,  Henriksen,  and  Bentzen 
went  for  a  sail  in  the  channel.  The  dogs  seized  this  occasion  to  take  some 
capital  exercise.  They  took  it  into  their  heads  to  follow  the  boat  along 
the  edge  of  the  channel  backward  and  forward  as  the  boat  tacked  ;  it  was 
stiff  for  them  to  keep  always  abreast  of  it,  as  they  had  to  make  many  de- 
tours round  small  channels  and  bays  in  the  ice,  and  when  at  last  they  had 
got  near  it,  panting  and  with  their  tongues  protruding  far  from  their 
mouths,  the  boat  would  go  about,  and  they  had  to  cover  the  same  ground 
over  again. 

On  June  20th  the  doctor  and  I  shot  one  black  guillemot  each.  We 
also  saw  some  little  auks,  but  the  dogs,  entering  too  eagerly  into  the 
sport,  as  a  welcome  break  in  the  prolonged  oppressive  solitude  and  mo- 
notony, rushed  ahead  of  us  and  scared  the  birds  away  before  we  could  get 
a  shot  at  them. 

As  I  have  already  mentioned,  the  mill  had  to  be  taken  down.  The 
shaft  broke  one  fine  day  below  the  upper  driving-wheel,  and  had  to  be  re- 
moved and  taken  to  the  forge  for  repair.  Pettersen  welded  it  together 
again,  and  on  May  9th  the  mill  was  again  in  sufficiently  good  order  for  use. 
But  it  wore  out  very  speedily,  more  especially  in  the  gearings,  so  that, 
after  the  first  week  or  two  in  June,  it  was  almost  useless.  We,  therefore, 
pulled  it  down,  and  stowed  away  all  wooden  parts  and  castings  on  the 
39 


6io  APPENDIX 

ridge  on  the  port  side,  except  portions  of  hard  wood,  which  we  kept  on 
board,  and  found  very  useful  for  making  up  into  sledge-shafts  and  other 
things. 

The  weather  was  good  all  through  March,  April,  and  May,  with  mild 
easterly  breezes  or  calms,  and,  as  a  rule,  a  clear  atmosphere.  Once  or 
twice  the  wind  veered  round  to  the  south  or  west,  but  these  changes  were 
invariably  of  short  duration.  This  .settled,  calm  weather  at  last  became 
quite  a  trial  to  us,  as  it  contributed  in  a  great  measure  to  increase  the 
dreariness  and  monotony  of  the  scene  around  us,  and  had  a  depressing  ef- 
fect on  our  spirits.  Matters  improved  a  little  towards  the  end  of  May, 
when  for  a  time  we  had  a  fresh  westerly  breeze.  To  be  sure  this  was  a 
contrary  wind,  but  it  was,  at  any  rate,  a  little  change.  On  June  8th  the 
wind  veered  round  to  the  east  again,  and  now  increased  in  strength,  so 
that  on  Sunday,  the  9th,  we  had  half  a  gale  from  the  E.S.E.,  with  a  veloci- 
ty of  33  feet  per  second,  being  the  strongest  fair  wind  we  had  had  for  a 
long  time. 

It  was  astonishing  what  a  change  a  single  day  of  fair  wind  would  work 
in  the  spirits  of  all  on  board.  Those  who  previously  moved  about  dream- 
ily and  listlessly  now  awakened  to  fresh  courage  and  enterprise.  Every  face 
beamed  with  satisfaction.  Previously  our  daily  intercourse  consisted  of 
the  monosyllables  "  Yes  "  and  "  No  ";  now  we  were  brimming  over  with 
jokes  and  fun  from  morning  to  night:  laughter  and  song  and  lively  chat 
were  heard  all  around.  And  with  our  spirits  rose  our  hope  for  a  favorable 
drift.  The  chart  was  brought  out  again  and  again,  and  the  forecasts  made 
were  apt  to  be  sanguine  enough.  "  If  the  wind  keeps  long  in  this  quarter 
we  shall  be  at  such  and  such  a  spot  on  such  and  such  a  day.  It  is  as  clear 
as  daylight  we  shall  be  home  sometime  in  the  autumn  of  1896.  Just  see 
how  we  have  drifted  up  to  now,  and  the  farther  we  get  west  the  faster  we 
shall  go,"  and  so  forth. 

The  cold  which  in  the  middle  of  March  did  not  exceed  —40°  C,  kept 
steadily  at  from  — 30°  to  — 25°  during  April,  but  it  decreased  at  a  compara- 
tively rapid  rate  in  May,  so  that  by  about  the  middle  of  the  month  the 
thermometer  registered  —14°,  and  in  the  latter  part  only  —6°.  On  June 
3d — so  far  the  warmest  day — a  large  pond  of  water  had  formed  close  to 
the  vessel,  although  the  highest  temperature  attained  that  day  was  — 2**, 
and  the  weather  was  overcast.* 

On  June  5th  the  thermometer  for  the  first  time  stood  above  freezing- 

*  On  April  i8th,  when  the  doctor  and  I  were  out  looking  for  a  suitable  piece  of 
ice  for  the  purpose  of  determining  its  specific  gravity,  we  observed  a  remarkable  drop 
of  water  hanging  under  a  projecting  comer  of  a  large  block  of  ice,  reared  up  high  by 
pressure.  There  it  hung,  in  the  shade,  quivering  in  the  fresh  breeze,  although  the 
thermometer  registered  about  —23°  of  frost.  *'  That  must  be  very  salt,"  I  said,  and 
tasted  it — "  Phew  !"  it  was  salt  in  very  truth — rank  salt,  like  the  strongest  brine. 


MARCH  15    TO  JUNE  22,  1893  611 

point— viz.,  at  +0.2°.  It  then  fell  again  for  a  few  days,  going  down  to 
—6°;  but  on  the  nth  it  rose  again  to  about  2°  above  freezing-point,  and 
so  on. 

The  amount  of  atmospheric  moisture  deposited  during  the  above-men- 
tioned period  was  most  insignificant;  only  a  very  slight  snowfall  now  and 
then.  However,  Thursday,  June  6th,  was  an  exception.  The  wind,  which 
for  several  days  had  been  blowing  from  the  south  and  west,  veered  round 
to  the  northwest  during  the  night,  and  at  8  o'clock  next  morning  it  changed 
to  the  north,  blowing  a  fresh  breeze,  with  an  exceptionally  heavy  snowfall. 

We.  saw  the  midnight  sun  for  the  first  time  during  the  night  of 
April  2d. 

One  of  the  scientific  tasks  of  the  expedition  was  to  investigate  the 
depth  of  the  Polar  Sea.  Our  lines,  which  were  weak  and  not  very  suitable 
for  this  purpose,  were  soon  so  worn  by  friction,  corrosion,  oxidation,  etc., 
that  we  were  compelled  not  only  to  use  them  most  cautiously,  but  also  to 
limit  the  number  of  soundings  far  more  than  was  desirable.  It  sometimes 
happened  that  the  line  would  break  while  being  hauled  in,  so  that  a  good 
deal  of  it  was  lost. 

The  first  sounding  after  the  departure  of  Dr.  Nansen  and  Johansen  was 
taken  on  April  23d.  We  thought  we  should  be  able  to  lower  away  down 
to  3000  metres  (1625  fathoms)  in  one  run,  but  as  the  line  commenced  to 
slacken  at  1900  metres  (1029  fathoms)  we  thought  we  had  touched  bottom, 
and  hauled  the  line  up  again.  As  it  appeared  that  the  line  had  not  reached 
the  bottom,  we  now  let  down  3000  metres  of  line  (1625  fathoms),  but  in 
doing  so  we  lost  about  900  metres  of  line  (487  fathoms).  Accordingly  I 
assumed  that  we  had  touched  ground  at  2100  metres  (1138  fathoms),  and 
I  therefore  lowered  the  line  to  that  depth  without  touching  bottom.  The 
next  day  we  took  new  soundings  at  depths  of  2100,  2300,  2500,  and  3000 
metres  respectively  (1137,  1245,  1353,  and  1625  fathoms),  but  all  without 
touching  bottom.  On  the  third  day,  April  25th,  we  sounded  first  at  3000 
metres,  and  then  at  3200  metres  (1625  and  1733  fathoms)  without  touching 
bottom.  The  steel-line  being  too  short,  we  had  to  lengthen  it  with  a  hemp- 
line,  and  now  went  down  to  3400  metres  (1841  fathoms).  While  hauling 
up  we  perceived  that  the  line  broke,  and  found  that,  in  addition  to  the  no 
fathoms'  length  of  hemp-line,  we  had  lost  about  275  fathoms  of  steel-line. 
We  then  stopped  taking  soundings  till  July  22d,  as  the  hemp-lines  were 
so  badly  worn  that  we  dared  not  venture  to  use  them  again  until  milder 
weather  set  in. 

Wind  and  weather  were,  of  course,  a  favorite  topic  on  board  the  Fram, 
especially  in  connection  with  our  drift.  As  is  but  right  and  proper,  we  had 
a  weather-prophet  on  board — to  wit,  Pettersen.  His  specialty  was  to  pre- 
dict fair  wind,  and  in  this  respect  he  was  untiring,  although  his  predictions 
were  by  no  means  invariably  fulfilled.  But  he  also  posed  as  a  prophet  in 
other  departments,  and  nothing  seemed  to  delight  him  more  than  the  offer 


6i2  APPENDIX 

of  a  bet  with  him  on  his  predictions.  If  he  won  he  was  beaming  with  good 
humor  for  days  at  a  stretch,  and  if  he  lost  he  often  knew  how  to  shroud 
both  his  forecast  and  the  result  in  oracular  mystery  and  darkness  so  that 
both  parties  appeared  to  be  right.  At  times,  as  already  hinted,  he  was  un- 
lucky, and  then  he  was  mercilessly  chaffed;  but  at  other  times  he  would 
have  a  run  of  astounding  luck,  and  then  his  courage  would  rise  to  such  an 
extent  that  he  was  ready  to  prophesy  and  bet  about  anything. 

Among  his  great  misfortunes  was  a  bet  made  with  the  mate  on  May 
4th  that  we  should  have  land  in  sight  by  the  end  of  October.  And  on 
May  24th  he  made  a  bet  with  Nordahl  that  by  Monday  night  (the  27th) 
we  should  be  at  80°  east  longitude.  Needless  to  say  we  all  wished  that 
his  incredible  predictions  might  come  true ;  but  alas !  the  miracle  did  not 
happen,  for  it  was  not  until  June  27th  that  the  Fram  passed  the  8oth  de- 
gree of  longitude. 

During  the  latter  part  of  May  the  sun  and  the  spring  weather  com- 
menced to  disperse  the  layer  of  snow  around  the  vessel  to  such  an  extent 
as  to  make  quite  a  little  pond  of  snow-water  on  the  ice  forward.  As  at 
that  part  especially,  but  also  all  along  the  side  of  the  vessel,  the  snow  was 
full  of  soot,  refuse,  and  the  clearings  from  the  kennels,  it  was  greatly  to  be 
feared  that  an  injurious,  or  at  any  rate  obnoxious,  smell  might  arise ;  and 
if,  besides  this,  as  was  the  case  last  year,  a  pond  should  form  round  the 
vessel,  the  water  in  it  would  be  too  impure  to  be  used  in  flushing  the  deck. 
I  therefore  set  all  hands  to  work  to  cart  away  the  snow  from  the  star- 
board side — a  job  which  took  about  two  days. 

The  setting  in  of  spring  now  kept  us  busy  with  various  things  for  some 
time,  both  on  board  and  on  the  ice.  One  of  the  first  things  to  be  done 
was  to  bring  our  depot  safely  on  board,  as  lanes  and  rifts  were  now  form- 
ing more  frequently  in  the  ice,  and  some  of  the  goods  in  the  depot  would 
not  bear  exposure  to  damp. 

The  action  of  the  sun's  rays  on  the  awning  or  tent  soon  became  so 
strong  that  the  snow  underneath  the  boats  and  on  the  davits  began  to 
melt.  All  snow  and  ice  had  therefore  to  be  removed  or  scraped  away,  not 
only  under  the  awning,  but  also  under  the  boats,  on  the  deck-house,  in  the 
passage  on  the  starboard  side,  in  the  holds,  and  wherever  else  it  was  nec- 
essary. In  the  after-hold  there  was  much  more  ice  now  than  last  winter, 
probably  owing  to  the  fact  that  we  had  kept  the  saloon  much  warmer  this 
winter  than  before. 

In  the  saloon,  the  library,  and  the  cabins  we  had  a  thorough  "  spring 
cleaning."  This  was  very  badly  needed,  as  the  ceilings,  walls,  and  all  the 
furniture  and  fittings,  in  the  course  of  the  long  polar  night,  had  got  cov- 
ered with  a  thick,  grimy-looking  coating  composed  of  soot,  grease,  smoke, 
dust,  and  other  ingredients. 

I  myself  took  in  hand  the  painting  of  the  saloon  and  of  my  own  cabin, 
which  little  by  little  had  assumed  the  same  dusky  ground -tint  as  their 


MARCH  15   rO  JUNE  22,  iSgs  613 

surroundings,  and  on  the  whole  looked  rather  enigmatic.  By  dint  of 
much  labor,  and  the  application  of  a  liberal  supply  of  soap  and  water,  I 
succeeded  in  restoring  them  to  something  like  their  pristine  beauty. 

We  finished  our  general  clean-up  on  Whitsun-eve,  June  ist,  and  thus 
spent  a  really  comfortable  Whitsuntide,  with  butter- porridge  for  supper 
and  a  few  exra  delicacies  afterwards. 

After  Whitsuntide  we  again  took  in  hand  various  things  required  in 
view  of  the  season,  and  of  the  possibility  that  the  Fram  might  get  afloat 
in  the  course  of  the  summer.  On  the  great  hummock  were  many  things  I 
thought  might  be  left  there  for  the  present— for  instance,  the  greater  part 
of  our  dogs'  food.  The  cases  containing  this  were  piled  up  to  four  differ- 
ent heights  so  as  to  form  a  sloping  roof  off  which  the  water  could  easily 
run,  and  I  had  the  whole  covered  over  with  tarpaulin.  The  long-boat  on 
the  port  side,  which  I  proposed  to  leave  on  the  ice  till  the  winter,  was 
deposited  in  a  safe  place  about  50  yards  from  the  ship,  and  provided  with 
sails,  rigging,  oars,  and  a  full  equipment,  ready  for  any  emergency. 

The  scraping  away  of  the  ice  in  the  holds  and  on  the  half -deck  was 
finished  on  June  12th.  We  tried  to  cut  the  steam -pipe  aft  (the  pipe  for 
rinse-water)  out  of  the  ice,  but  had  to  abandon  the  attempt.  One  end  of 
this  pipe  had  been  resting  ever  since  last  year  on  the  ice,  and  it  was  now 
so  deeply  frozen  in  that  we  could  not  release  it.  We  cut  a  hole  all  round 
it  4  feet  deep,  but  the  hole  quickly  filled  with  water,  so  we  left  it  to  the 
summer  heat  to  thaw  the  pipe  loose. 

So  much  water  commenced  to  accumulate  in  the  engine-room  about 
this  time  that  we  had  to  bail  out  considerable  quantities — certainly  130 
gallons  per  day.  We  at  first  thought  that  the  water  was  produced  by  the 
thawing  of  the  ice  on  board,  but  it  subsequently  appeared  that  it  was 
mainly  due  to  leakages,  which  probably  arose  from  the  fact  that  ice  form- 
ing in  the  different  layers  of  the  ship's  skin  forced  the  planking  somewhat 
apart. 

The  state  of  health  continued  excellent,  and  the  doctor  had  virtually 
nothing  to  do  in  his  professional  capacity.  In  the  way  of  "  casualties  " 
there  were  only  a  few,  of  the  most  trifling  nature,  such  as  a  frozen  big  toe, 
a  little  skin-chafing  here  and  there,  a  sore  eye  or  two — that  was  all.  How- 
ever, we  led  a  very  regular  life,  with  the  twenty-four  hours  suitably  dis- 
tributed between  work,  exercise,  and  rest.  We  slept  well  and  fed  well, 
and  so  we  were  very  little  concerned  at  the  fact  that  when  being  weighed 
on  May  7th  we  were  found  to  have  lost  flesh.  However,  the  falling  off 
was  not  great;  the  aggregate  weight  of  the  whole  party  was  barely  8 
pounds  less  than  the  month  before. 

There  was,  however,  one  complaint  that  we  suffered  from — a  contagious 
one,  though  not  of  a  dangerous  nature.  It  became  a  fashion,  or,  if  you 
like,  a  fashionable  complaint,  on  board  the  Fram,  to  shave  one's  head.  It 
was  said  that  an  infallible  method  of  producing  a  more  luxuriant  growth 


6 14  APPENDIX 

of  hair  was  to  shave  away  the  little  hair  that  still  adorned  the  head  of  the 
patient.  Juell  first  started  it,  and  then  a  regular  mania  set  in,  the  others 
following  his  example  one  by  one,  with  the  exception  of  myself  and  one 
or  two  more.  Like  a  cautious  general,  I  first  waited  a  while  to  see  whether 
the  expected  harvest  sprouted  on  my  comrades'  shaven  polls ;  and  as  the 
hair  did  not  seem  to  grow  any  stronger  than  before,  I  preferred  a  recipe 
ordered  by  the  doctor  —  viz.,  to  wash  the  head  daily  with  soft  soap  and 
subsequently  rub  in  an  ointment.  To  make  this  treatment  more  effectual, 
however,  and  let  the  ointment  get  at  the  scalp,  I  followed  the  example  of 
the  others  and  shaved  my  head  several  times.  Personally  I  do  not  believe 
that  the  process  did  any  good,  but  Pettersen  was  of  a  different  opinion. 
"  The  deuce  take  me,"  said  he,  one  day  afterwards  when  cutting  my  hair, 
"  if  the  captain  hasn't  got  some  jolly  strong  bristles  on  his  crown  after 
that  treatment." 

The  Seventeenth  of  May  brought  the  finest  weather  that  could  be 
imagined.  A  clear,  bright  sky,  dazzling  sunshine,  lo''  to  12°  of  cold,  and 
an  almost  perfect  calm.  The  sun,  which  at  this  time  of  the  year  never 
sets  throughout  the  twenty-four  hours,  was  already  high  in  the  heavens, 
when  at  8  a.m.  we  were  awakened  by  the  firing  of  a  gun,  and  by  joyous 
strains  of  the  organ.  We  jumped  into  our  clothes  more  speedily  than 
usual,  swallowed  our  breakfast,  and  with  the  liveliest  expectation  prepared 
for  what  was  in  store ;  for  the  "  Festival  Committee  "  had  been  very  busy 
the  previous  day.  Punctually  at  1 1  o'clock  the  various  corporations  as- 
sembled under  their  flags  and  insignia,  and  were  assigned  their  positions 
in  the  grand  procession.  I  marched  at  the  head  with  the  Norwegian  flag. 
Next  came  Scott- Hansen  with  the  Franis  pennant,  and  then  followed 
Mogstad  with  the  banner  of  the  Meteorological  Department,  richly  be- 
decked with  "  cyclonic  centres  "  and  "  prospects  of  fair  weather."  He  was 
seated  on  a  box  covered  with  bearskin  placed  on  a  sledge  drawn  by  seven 
dogs,  the  banner  waving  behind  him  on  a  pole  rigged  as  a  mast.  Amund- 
sen was  No.  4,  bearing  a  demonstration  banner  in  favor  of  "  the  Pure 
Flag,"  and  he  was  followed  by  his  esquire,  Nordahl,  on  snow-shoes  with 
a  spear  in  his  hand  and  a  rifle  slung  on  his  back.  The  flag  showed  on  the 
red  ground  a  picture  of  an  old  Norwegian  warrior  breaking  his  spear  over 
his  knee,  with  the  inscription  "Onward!  Onward!  [Fram  !  Fram  !],  ye 
Norsemen !  Your  own  flag  in  your  own  land.  What  we  do  we  do  for 
Norway."  Fifth  in  the  procession  came  the  mate,  with  the  Norwegian 
arms  on  a  red  background,  and  sixth  was  Pettersen  with  the  flag  of  the 
Mechanical  Department.  Last  came  the  "  Band,"  represented  by  Bentzen 
with  an  accordion.  The  procession  was  followed  by  the  public  dressed  in 
their  best  —  viz.,  the  doctor,  Juell,  and  Henriksen  in  picturesque  con- 
fusion. 

To  the  waving  of  banners  and  strains  of  music  the  procession  wended 
its  way  past  the   corner  of  the  University  (viz.,  the  Fram),  down  "  Karl 


MARCH  15   TO  JUNE  22,  i8gs  ^^5 

Johan's  Street"  and  "Church  Street  "(a  road  laid  out  by  Scott-Hansen 
for  the  occasion  across  the  rift  in  front  and  the  pressure-ridge),  past  Enge- 
bret's  (the  depot  on  the  ice),  and  then  wheeled  round  to  the  "  Fortification 
Parade  "*  (viz.,  the  top  of  the  great  hummock),  where  it  stopped  and  faced 
round  with  flags  erect. 

There  I  called  for  cheers  in  honor  of  the  festive  occasion,  in  response  to 
which  there  rose  a  ninefold  hurrah  from  the  densely  packed  multitude. 

At  exactly  1 2  o'clock  the  official  salute  of  the  Seventeenth  of  May  was 
fired  from  our  big  bow  guns.  Then  came  a  splendid  banquet;  the  doctor 
had  contributed  a  bottle  of  aqua  vitse,  and  every  man  had  a  bottle  of  genu- 
ine Crown  Malt  Extract,  from  the  "  Royal  Brewery  "  in  Copenhagen. 

When  the  roast  was  served  Scott-Hansen  proposed  the  health  of  our 
dear  ones  at  home  and  of  our  two  absent  comrades,  who  he  hoped  might 
achieve  the  task  they  had  set  themselves  and  return  home  safely.  This 
toast  was  accompanied  by  a  salute  of  two  guns. 

At  4  P.M.  a  great  popular  festival  was  held  on  the  ice.  The  place  was 
prettily  decorated  with  flags  and  other  emblems,  and  the  programme  offer- 
ed a  rich  variety  of  entertainments.  There  were  rope-dancing,  gymnastics, 
shooting  at  running  hares,  and  many  other  items.  The  public  were  in  a 
highly  festive  mood  throughout,  and  vigorously  applauded  the  artists  in  all 
their  performances.  After  a  supper  which  was  not  far  behind  the  dinner 
in  excellence,  we  gathered  at  night  in  the  saloon  around  a  steaming  bowl  of 
punch.  The  doctor,  amid  loud  applause,  proposed  the  health  of  the  or- 
ganizing committee,  and  I  proposed  the  Fram.  After  this  we  kept  it  up 
in  the  merriest  and  most  cordial  spirit  until  far  into  the  night. 

*  These  are  well-known  localities  in  Christiania,  Engebret's  being  a  restaurant. 


CHAPTER  II 
June  22  to  August  15,  1895 

As  spring  advanced  the  disturbance  in  the  ice  increased,  and  new  lanes 
and  pools  were  formed  in  every  direction.  At  the  same  time  there  was  a 
daily  increase  in  the  number  of  aquatic  animals  and  birds  around  us. 

On  the  night  of  June  22d  I  was  awakened  by  the  watch,  who  told  me 
that  there  were  whales  in  the  lane  on  the  starboard  side.  Every  one  hur- 
ried on  deck,  and  we  now  saw  that  some  seven  or  eight  female  narwhals 
were  gambolling  in  the  channel  close  upon  us.  We  fired  some  shots  at 
them,  but  these  did  not  seem  to  affect  them.  Later  in  the  day  I  went  after 
them  in  the  sealing-boat,  but  without  getting  within  range.  In  order  to  be 
able  to  give  effectual  chase,  should  they,  as  we  hoped,  pay  us  a  visit  in 
the  future,  we  made  ready  two  harpoon-bladders  and  an  oak  anchor,  which 
we  attached  to  the  end  of  the  harpoon-line.  Should  the  whale,  when 
harpooned,  prove  too  strong  for  us,  we  would  let  go  the  anchor  and  the 
bladders,  and  if  the  fates  were  not  against  us,  we  might  be  successful. 

We  were  quite  anxious  to  try  the  new  apparatus,  and  therefore  kept  a 
sharp  lookout  for  the  whales.  One  or  two  were  seen  occasionally  in  the 
channel,  but  they  disappeared  again  so  quickly  that  we  had  no  time  to 
pursue  them.  On  the  evening  of  July  2d  we  had  the  prospect  of  a  good 
hunt.  The  lane  swarmed  with  whales,  and  we  quickly  started  out  with 
the  boat  in  pursuit.  But  this  time,  too,  they  were  so  shy  that  we  could  not 
get  at  them.  One  of  them  remained  some  time  in  a  small  channel,  which 
was  so  narrow  that  we  could  throw  across  it.  We  attempted  to  steal  on 
him  along  the  edge,  but  as  soon  as  we  had  got  within  a  short  distance  of 
him  he  took  alarm,  and  swam  out  into  the  large  channel,  where  he  remain- 
ed rolling  about,  turning  over  on  his  back  for  some  four  or  five  minutes 
at  a  time  with  his  head  above  water,  puffing  away,  and  positively  jeering 
at  us.  When  at  length  we  had  wearily  worked  our  way  back  again  to  the 
large  channel,  intending  to  assist  him  a  little  in  his  performances — pop, 
away  he  went. 

Some  days  later  we  again  received  a  visit  from  a  troupe  of  these  co- 
medians in  another  channel  newly  formed  in  close  proximity  to  the  vessel. 
Three  of  them  had  long,  heavy  tusks,  which  they  showed  high  above  the 
water,  and  then  used  to  scratch  their  female  friends  on  the  back  with.  We 


JUNE  22   TO  AUGUST  15,  1895  617 

immediately  prepared  ourselves  with  rifles  and  harpoons,  and  ran  towards 
the  channel  as  fast  as  our  legs  would  carry  us.  But  before  we  got  there 
the  beasts  had  fled.  It  was  of  no  use  trying  to  get  within  range  of  these 
shy  creatures,  so,  after  that,  as  a  rule,  we  allowed  them  to  remain  un- 
molested. 

Once,  however,  during  the  spring  of  1896,  we  were  near  catching  a  iiar- 
whal.  I  had  been  out  fowling,  and  was  just  busily  taking  out  of  the  boat 
the  birds  I  had  shot,  when  suddenly  a  narwhal  appeared  in  the  channel 
close  to  our  usual  landing-place,  where  the  harpoon  with  the  line  attached 
lay  ready  for  immediate  use.  I  quickly  seized  the  harpoon,  but  the  coil  of 
line  was  too  short,  and  when  I  had  got  this  right  the  whale  dived  below 
the  water,  just  as  I  was  ready  to  harpoon  him. 

An  occasional  large  seal  {Phoca  bar  bat  a)  also  appeared  at  this  time ;  we 
chased  them  sometimes,  but  without  success ;  they  were  too  shy. 

With  the  fowling  our  luck  was  better,  and  as  early  as  June  7th  we  shot 
so  many  black  guillemots,  gulls,  fulmars,  and  little  auks  that  we  partook  on 
that  day  of  our  first  meal  of  fresh  meat  during  the  year.  The  flesh  of  these 
birds  is  not,  as  a  rule,  valued  very  much,  but  we  ate  it  with  ravenous  ap- 
petites, and  found  that  it  had  an  excellent  flavor — better  than  the  tenderest 
young  ptarmigan. 

One  day  three  gulls  appeared,  and  settled  down  at  some  distance  from 
the  vessel.  Pettersen  fired  twice  at  them  and  missed,  they  meanwhile 
resting  calmly  on  the  snow,  and  regarding  him  with  intense  admiration. 
Finally  they  flew  away,  accompanied  by  sundry  blessings  from  the  hunter, 
who  was  exasperated  at  his  "  mishap,"  as  he  called  it.  The  eye-witnesses 
of  the  bombardment  had  another  idea  of  the  "  mishap,"  and  many  were  the 
jokes  that  rained  down  upon  the  fellow  when  he  returned  empty-handed. 

However,  Pettersen  soon  became  an  ardent  sportsman,  and  declared 
that  one  of  the  first  things  he  would  do  when  he  returned  home  would  be 
to  buy  a  fowling-piece.  He  appeared  to  have  some  talent  as  a  marksman, 
though  he  had  hardly  ever  fired  a  shot  before  he  came  on  board  the  Frain. 
Like  all  beginners,  he  had  to  put  up  with  a  good  many  misses  before  he 
got  so  far  as  to  hit  his  mark.  But  practice  makes  perfect;  and  one  fine 
day  he  began  to  win  our  respect  as  a  marksman,  for  he  actually  hit  a  bird 
on  the  wing.  But  then  came  a  succession  of  "  mishaps  "  for  some  time, 
and  he  lost  faith  in  his  power  of  killing  his  game  on  the  wing,  and  sought 
less  ambitious  outlets  for  his  skill.  Long  afterwards  the  real  cause  of  his 
many  bad  shots  came  to  light.  A  wag,  who  thought  that  Pettersen  was 
doing  too  much  execution  among  the  game,  had  quietly  reloaded  his  cart- 
ridges, so  that  Pettersen  had  all  the  time  been  shooting  with  salt  instead 
of  lead,  and  that,  of  course,  would  make  a  little  difference. 

Besides  the  animals  named,  it  appears  that  Greenland  sharks  are  also 
found  in  these  latitudes.  One  day  Henriksen  went  to  remove  the  blubber 
from  some  bearskins  which  he  had  had  hanging  out  in  the  channel  for  a 


6i8  APPENDIX 

week  or  so;  he  found  that  the  two  smallest  skins  had  been  nearly  devour- 
ed, so  that  only  a  few  shreds  were  left.  It  could  hardly  have  been  any 
other  animal  than  the  Greenland  shark  which  had  played  us  this  trick. 
We  put  out  a  big  hook  with  a  piece  of  blubber  on  it,  to  try  if  we  could 
catch  one  of  the  thieves,  but  it  was  of  no  use. 

One  day  in  the  beginning  of  August  the  mate  and  Mogstad  were  out 
upon  the  ice  trying  to  find  the  keel  of  the  petroleum  launch,  which  had 
been  forgotten.  They  said  that  they  had  seen  fresh  tracks  of  a  bear,  which 
had  been  trotting  about  the  great  hummock.  It  was  now  almost  a  year 
since  we  last  had  a  bear  in  our  neighborhood,  and  we  felt,  therefore,  much 
elated  at  the  prospect  of  a  welcome  change  in  our  bill  of  fare.  For  a  long 
time,  however,  we  had  nothing  but  the  prospect.  True,  Mogstad  saw  a 
bear  at  the  great  hummock,  but,  as  it  was  far  off  to  begin  with,  and  going 
rapidly  farther,  it  was  not  pursued.  Almost  half  a  year  elapsed  before  an- 
other bear  paid  us  a  visit — it  was  not  till  February  28,  1896. 

As  I  said  before,  the  Fram  had,  ever  since  the  first  week  in  May,  been 
fast  embedded  in  a  large  floe  of  ice,  which  daily  diminished  in  extent. 
Cracks  were  constantly  formed  in  all  directions,  and  new  lanes  were  opened, 
often  only  to  close  up  again  in  a  few  hours.  When  the  edges  of  the  ice 
crashed  against  each  other  with  their  tremendous  force,  all  the  projecting 
points  were  broken  off,  forming  smaller  floes,  and  pushed  over  and  under 
each  other,  or  piled  up  into  large  or  small  hummocks,  which  would  collapse 
again  when  the  pressure  ceased,  and  break  off  large  floes  in  their  fall.  In 
consequence  of  these  repeated  disturbances  the  cracks  in  our  floe  constant- 
ly increased,  particularly  after  a  very  violent  pressure  on  July  14th,  when 
rifts  and  channels  were  formed  right  through  the  old  pressure-ridge  to 
port,  and  close  up  to  the  side  of  the  vessel,  so  that  it  appeared  for  a  time 
as  if  the  Fram  would  soon  slip  down  into  the  water.  For  the  time  being, 
however,  she  remained  in  her  old  berth,  but  frequently  veered  round  to 
different  points  of  the  compass  during  all  these  disturbances  in  the  ice. 
The  great  hummock,  which  constantly  increased  its  distance  from  the 
vessel,  also  drifted  very  irregularly,  so  that  it  was  at  one  time  abeam,  at 
another  right  ahead. 

On  July  27th  there  was  a  disturbance  in  the  ice  such  as  we  had  not  ex- 
perienced since  we  got  fast.  Wide  lanes  were  formed  in  every  direction, 
and  the  floe  upon  which  the  smith's  forge  was  placed  danced  round  in  an 
incessant  whirl,  making  us  fear  we  might  lose  the  whole  apparatus  at  any 
moment.  Scott-Hansen  and  Bentzen,  who  were  just  about  to  have  a  sail 
in  the  fresh  breeze,  undertook  to  transport  the  forge  and  all  its  belongings 
to  the  floe  on  which  we  were  lying.  They  took  two  men  to  help  them,  and 
succeeded,  with  great  difficulty,  in  saving  the  things.  At  the  same  time 
there  was  a  violent  disturbance  in  the  water  around  the  vessel.  She  turn- 
ed round  with  the  floe,  so  that  she  rapidly  came  to  head  W.  ^  S.,  instead  of 
N.E.    All  hands  were  busy  getting  back  into  Ihe  ship  all  the  things  which 


JUNE  22    TO  AUGUST  15,  i8gs  ^^9 

had  been  placed  upon  the  floes,  and  this  was  successfully  accomplished,  al- 
though it  was  no  trifling  labor,  and  not  without  danger  to  the  boats,  owing 
to  the  strong  breeze  and  the  violent  working  of  the  floes  and  blocks  of  ice. 
The  floe  with  the  ruins  of  the  forge  was  slowly  bearing  away  in  the  same 
direction  as  the  great  hummock,  and  served  for  some  time  as  a  kind  of 
beacon  for  us.  Indeed,  in  the  distance  it  looked  like  one,  crowned  as  it  was 
on  its  summit  with  a  dark  skull-cap,  a  huge  iron  kettle,  which  lay  there  bot- 
tom upward.  The  kettle  was  originally  bought  by  Trontheim,  and  came  on 
board  at  Khabarova,  together  with  the  dogs.  He  had  used  it  on  the  trip 
through  Siberia  for  cooking  the  food  for  the  dogs.  We  used  to  keep  blub- 
ber and  other  dogs'  food  in  it.  In  the  course  of  its  long  service  the  rust 
had  eaten  holes  in  the  bottom,  and  it  was  therefore  cashiered,  and  thrown 
away  upon  the  pressure-ridge  close  to  the  smithy.  It  now  served,  as  I 
have  said,  as  a  beacon,  and  is  perhaps  to-day  drifting  about  in  the  Polar 
Sea  in  that  capacity — unless  it  has  been  found  and  taken  possession  of  by 
some  Eskimo  housewife  on  the  east  coast  of  Greenland. 

As  the  sun  and  mild  weather  brought  their  influence  to  bear  upon  the 
surface  of  the  ice  and  the  snow,  the  vessel  rose  daily  higher  and  higher 
above  the  ice,  so  that  by  July  23d  we  had  three  and  a  half  planks  of  the 
green-heart  ice-hide  clear  on  the  port  side  and  ten  planks  to  starboard.  In 
the  evening  of  August  8th  our  floe  cracked  on  the  port,  and  the  Fram 
altered  her  list  from  7°  to  port  to  1.5°  starboard  side,  with  respectively  four 
and  two  planks  of  the  ice-hide  clear,  and  eleven  bow-irons  clear  forward. 

I  feared  that  the  small  floe  in  which  we  were  now  embedded  might  drift 
off  down  the  channel  if  the  ice  slackened  any  more,  and  I  therefore  ordered 
the  mate  to  moor  the  vessel  to  the  main  floe,  where  many  of  our  things 
were  stored.  The  order,  however,  was  not  quickly  enough  executed,  and 
when  I  came  on  deck  half  an  hour  later  the  Fram  was  already  drifting 
down  through  the  channel.  All  hands  were  called  up  immediately,  and 
with  our  united  strength  we  succeeded  in  hauling  the  vessel  up  to  the  floe 
again  and  mooring  her  securely. 

As  we  were  desirous  of  getting  the  Fram  quite  clear  of  the  ice-bed  in 
which  she  had  been  lying  so  long,  I  determined  to  try  blasting  her  loose. 
The  next  day,  therefore,  August  9th,  at  7.30  p.m.,  we  fired  a  mine  of  about 
7  pounds  of  gunpowder,  placed  under  the  floe  6  feet  from  the  stern  of  the 
vessel.  There  was  a  violent  shock  in  the  vessel  when  the  mine  exploded, 
but  the  ice  was  apparently  unbroken.  A  lively  discussion  arose  touching 
the  question  of  blasting.  The  majority  believed  that  the  mine  was  not 
powerful  enough;  one  even  maintained  that  the  quantity  of  gunpowder 
used  should  have  been  40  or  50  pounds.  But  just  as  we  were  in  the  heat 
of  the  debate  the  floe  suddenly  burst.  Big  lumps  of  ice  from  below  the 
ship  came  driving  up  through  the  openings:  the  Fram  gave  a  great  heave 
with  her  stern,  started  forward  and  began  to  roll  heavily,  as  if  to  shake  off 
the  fetters  of  ice,  and  then  plunged  with  a  great  splash  out  into  the  water. 


620  APPENDIX 

The  way  on  her  was  so  strong  that  one  of  the  bow  hawsers  parted,  but 
otherwise  the  launch  went  so  smoothly  that  no  ship-builder  could  have 
wished  it  better.  We  moored  the  stern  to  the  solid  edge  of  ice  by  means 
of  ice-anchors,  which  we  had  recently  forged  for  this  purpose. 

Scott- Hansen  and  Pettersen,  however,  were  very  near  getting  a  cold 
bath.  Having  laid  the  mine  under  the  fioe,  they  placed  themselves  abaft 
with  the  "  pram,"  *  in  order  to  haul  in  the  string  of  the  fuse.  When  the 
floe  burst,  and  the  Fram  plunged,  and  the  remainder  of  the  floe  capsized 
as  soon  as  it  became  free  of  its  600  tons  burden,  the  two  men  in  the  boat 
were  in  no  pleasant  predicament  right  in  the  midst  of  the  dangerous  mael- 
strom of  waves  and  pieces  of  ice ;  their  faces,  especially  Pettersen's,  were 
worth  seeing  while  the  boat  was  dancing  about  with  them  in  the  cal- 
dron. 

The  vessel  now  had  a  slight  list  to  starboard  (0.75°),  and  floated  con- 
siderably lighter  upon  the  water  than  before,  as  three  oak  planks  were 
clear  to  starboard,  and  somewhat  more  to  port,  with  nine  bow-irons  clear 
forward.  So  far  as  we  could  see,  her  hull  had  suffered  no  damage  what- 
ever, either  from  the  many  and  occasionally  violent  pressures  to  which 
she  had  been  subjected,  or  from  the  recent  launching. 

The  only  fault  about  the  vessel  was  that  she  still  leaked  a  little,  ren- 
dering it  necessary  to  use  the  pumps  frequently.  For  a  short  time,  in- 
deed, she  was  nearly  tight,  which  made  us  inclined  to  believe  that  the 
leakage  must  be  above  the  water-line,  but  we  soon  found  we  were  in  error 
about  this,  when  she  began  to  make  more  water  than  ever. 

For  the  rest,  she  was  lying  very  well  now,  with  the  port  side  along  an 
even  and  rather  low  edge  of  ice,  and  with  an  open  channel  to  starboard ; 
the  channel  soon  closed  up,  but  still  left  a  small  opening,  about  200  yards 
long  and  120  yards  wide.  I  only  wished  that  winter  would  soon  come,  so 
that  we  might  freeze  securely  into  this  favorable  position.  But  it  was  too 
early  in  the  year,  and  there  was  too  much  disturbance  in  the  ice  to  allow 
of  that.  We  had  still  many  a  tussle  to  get  through  before  the  Fram 
settled  in  her  last  winter  haven. 

Our  drift  westward  in  the  latter  half  of  June  and  the  greater  part  of 
July  was,  on  the  whole,  satisfactory.  I  give  the  observations  on  the  oppo- 
site page. 

As  will  be  seen,  there  were  comparatively  small  deviations  towards  the 
south  and  the  north  in  the  line  of  the  drift,  whereas  the  deviations  to  east 
and  west  were  mnch  greater. 

P'rom  June  22d  to  the  29th  it  bore  rapidly  westward,  then  back  some 
distance  in  the  beginning  of  July;  again  for  a  couple  of  days  quickly 
towards  the  west,  and  then  a  rapid  return  till  July  12th.  From  this  day 
until  the  22d  we  again  drifted  well  to  the  west,  to  72°  56',  but  from  that 

*  A  small  keelless  boat. 


JUNE  22    TO  AUGUST  15,  1893 


621 


time  the  backward  drift  predominated,  placing  us  at  79°  52'  on  September 
6th,  or  about  the  same  longitude  as  we  started  from  on  June  29th. 

During  this  period  the  weather  was,  on  the  whole,  fair  and  mild.  Oc- 
casionally we  had  some  bad  weather,  with  drift-snow  and  sleet,  compelling 
us  to  stay  indoors.  However,  the  bad  weather  did  not  worry  us  much ; 
on  the  contrary,  we  looked  rather  eagerly  for  changes  in  the  weather, 
especially  if  they  revived  our  hopes  of  a  good  drift  westward,  with  a  pros- 
pect of  soon  getting  out  of  our  prison.  It  must  not  be  understood  that 
we  dreaded  another  winter  in  the  ice  before  getting  home.     We  had  pro- 


Date 

Latitude 

Longitude 

Direction  of  Wind 

une  22d    

]  une  27th 

June  29th 

"uly  5th 

.  uly  7th 

July  I2th 

July  22d 

July  27th 

July  31st 

August  8th 

August  22d 

August  25th 

September  2d 

September  6th      .... 

O               / 

84  32 

84     44 
84     33 
84    48 
84    48 
84    41 
84     36 
84     29 
84     27 
84     38 
84      9 
84     17 
84    47 
84    43 

0 

80     58 
79     35 
79     50 

75  3 
74       7 

76  20 

72  56 

73  49 

76  10 

77  36 

78  47 

79  2 
77     17 
79    52 

N. 

N.  by  E. 

E.N.E. 

S.E. 

W.S.W. 

W.S.W. 

N.N.W. 

S.W.  by  S. 

S.W. 

N.W. 

S.W. 

E.  by  N. 

S.E. 

S.W. 

visions  enough,  and  everything  else  needful  to  get  over  some  two  or  three 
polar  winters,  if  necessary,  and  we  had  a  ship  in  which  we  all  placed  the 
fullest  confidence,  in  view  of  the  many  tests  she  had  been  put  to.  We 
were  all  sound  and  healthy,  and  had  learned  to  stick  ever  closer  to  one 
another  for  better  or  for  worse. 

With  regard  to  Nansen  and  Johansen,  hardly  any  of  us  entertained 
serious  fears ;  however  dangerous  their  trip  was,  we  were  not  afraid  that 
they  would  succumb  to  their  hardships  on  the  way,  and  be  prevented  from 
reaching  Franz  Josef  Land,  and  thence  getting  back  to  Norway  before  the 
year  was  out.  On  the  contrary,  we  rejoiced  at  the  thought  that  they  would 
soon  be  home,  telling  our  friends  that  we  were  getting  on  all  right,  and 
that  there  was  every  prospect  of  our  return  in  the  autumn  of  1896.  It  is 
no  wonder,  however,  that  we  were  impatient,  and  that  both  body  and  soul 
suffered  when  the  drift  was  slow,  or  when  a  protracted  contrary  wind  and 
back  drift  seemed  to  make  it  highly  improbable  that  we  should  be  able  to 
reach  home  by  the  time  we  were  expected. 

Furthermore,  the  most  important  part  of  our  mission  was  in  a  way  ac- 
complished. There  was  hardly  any  prospect  that  the  drift  would  carry  us 
much  farther  northward  than  we  were  now,  and  whatever  could  be  done  to 


622  APPENDIX 

explore  the  regions  to  the  north  would  be  done  by  Nansen  and  Johansen. 
It  was  our  object,  therefore,  in  compliance  with  the  instructions  from  Dr. 
Nansen,  to  make  for  open  water  and  home  by  the  shortest  way  and  in  the 
safest  manner,  doing,  however,  everything  within  our  power  to  carry  home 
with  us  the  best  possible  scientific  results.  These  results,  to  judge  from 
our  experience  up  to  this  point,  were  almost  a  foregone  conclusion — to  wit, 
that  the  Polar  Sea  retained  its  character  almost  unchanged  as  we  drifted 
westward,  showing  the  same  depths,  the  same  conditions  of  ice  and  cur- 
rents, and  the  same  temperatures.  No  islands,  rocks,  shoals,  and,  still 
less,  no  mainland,  appeared  in  the  neighborhood  of  our  frequently  irregular 
course ;  wherever  we  looked  there  was  the  same  monotonous  and  desolate 
plain  of  more  or  less  rugged  ice,  holding  us  firmly,  and  carrying  us,  willy- 
nilly,  along  with  it.  Our  scientific  observations  were  continued  uninter- 
ruptedly, as  regularly  and  accurately  as  possible,  and  comprised,  besides  the 
usual  meteorological  observations,  soundings,  measurement  of  the  thick- 
ness of  the  ice,  longitude  and  latitude,  taking  the  temperature  of  the  sea  at 
various  depths,  determining  its  salinity,  collecting  specimens  of  the  fauna 
of  the  sea,  magnetic  and  electrical  observations,  and  so  forth. 


CHAPTER  III 
August  15  to  January  i,  1896 

With  the  rise  in  the  temperature  the  snow  surface  became  daily  worse, 
so  that  it  was  seldom  fit  for  snow-shoeing;  even  with  "truger"*  on  it  was 
most  laborious  to  get  along,  for  the  snow  was  so  soft  that  we  sank  in  up  to 
our  knees.  Now  and  then  for  an  odd  day  or  so  the  surface  would  be  fit,  even 
in  the  month  of  July,  and  we  took  these  opportunities  of  making  short 
excursions  for  shooting  and  the  like.  Then  the  surface  would  be  as  bad 
as  ever  again,  and  one  day  when  I  had  to  go  out  on  the  ice  to  fetch  a  ful- 
mar which  had  been  wounded,  the  snow  was  so  soft  that  I  constantly  sank 
in  up  to  my  waist.  Before  I  could  reach  the  bird  the  whole  pack  of  dogs 
came  tearing  by,  got  hold  of  it,  and  killed  it.  One  of  the  dogs  seized  the 
bird  in  his  mouth,  and  then  there  was  a  wild  race  between  it  and  the 
others.  At  last  the  whole  pack  turned  back  towards  the  lane  in  the  ice 
again,  and  1  watched  my  opportunity  and  snatched  the  bird  from  them. 
I  had  paid  pretty  dearly  for  my  booty,  all  spent  and  dripping  with  perspi- 
ration as  I  was  from  plodding  through  that  bottomless  morass  of  snow. 

Our  chief  occupation  was  still  the  work  at  our  sledges  and  kayaks. 
The  sledges,  which  were  all  brought  on  board  from  the  great  hummock 
where  they  had  lain  all  the  winter,  were  repaired  and  fitted  with  runners. 
By  July  i6th  they  were  all  in  good  order  — eight  hand-sledges  and  two 
dog-sledges. 

The  kayaks,  upon  which  we  had  long  been  engaged,  were  finished  about 
the  same  time.  We  had  now  in  all  five  double  and  one  single  kayak.  Of 
these  I  myself  made  one,  the  single  kayak,  which  weighed  32  pounds.  All 
of  them  were  tested  in  the  channel,  and  proved  sound  and  watertight. 
Both  the  kayaks  and  the  sledges  were  hoisted  on  the  davits,  so  that  they 
could  be  let  down  at  a  moment's  notice  in  case  of  need. 

The  petroleum  launch,  which  was  of  no  use  to  us  as  it  was,  but  would 
afford  good  materials  for  runners  and  other  things,  was  brought  from  the 
great  hummock  and  taken  to  pieces.  It  was  built  of  choice  elm,  and  a 
couple  of  planks  were  immediately  used  for  runners  to  those  of  the  sledges, 
which,  for  lack  of  material,  were  as  yet  unprovided  with  these  appliances. 

*  A  round  wicker  snow-shoe  like  a  basket-lid. 


624  APPENDIX 

The  medicine-chest,  which  had  also  lain  in  depot  at  the  great  hum 
mock,  was  fetched  and  stowed  away  in  one  of  the  long-boats,  which  had 
been  placed  on  the  pressure-ridge  hard  by  the  ship.  The  contents  had 
taken  no  harm,  and  nothing  had  burst  with  the  frost,  although  there  were 
several  medicines  in  the  chest  which  contained  no  more  than  lo  per  cent, 
of  alcohol. 

At  that  time  we  were  also  busy  selecting  and  weighing  provisions  and 
stores  for  eleven  men  for  a  seventy  days'  sledging  expedition  and  a  six 
months'  sojourn  on  the  ice.  The  kinds  of  provisions  and  their  weight 
will  be  seen  from  the  accompanying  table : 

Seventy  Days'  Sledge  Provisions  for  Eleven  Men 

Pounds 

Cadbury's  chocolate,  5  boxes  of  48  pounds        ....  240 

Meat  chocolate 25 

Wheaten  bread,  16  boxes  of  44  pounds 704 

Danish  butter,  12  tins  of  28  pounds 336 

Lime-juce  tablets 2 

Fish  flour  (Professor  Vage's) 50 

Viking  potatoes,  3  tins  of  26  pounds 78 

Knorr's  pea-soup 5 

**       lentil-soup 5 

*•       bean-soup   .........  5 

Bovril,  2  boxes 104 

Vril-food,  I  box 48 

Oatmeal,  i  box        .........  80 

Serin  powder,  i  box 50 

Aleuronate  bread,  5  boxes  of  50  pounds 250 

Pemmican,  6  boxes 340 

'•           7  sacks 592 

Liver,  i  sack 102 

Total 3016 

Besides  these  we  took  salt,  pepper,  and  mustard 

Provisions  for  Eleven    Men   during   a   Six   Months'   Stay   on 

THE  Ice 

Pounds 

Roast  and  boiled  beef,  14  tins  of  72  pounds     ....  1008 

Minced  collops,  3  tins  of  48  pounds 144 

Corned  beef,  3  tins  of  84  pounds 252 

Compressed  ham,  3  tins  of  84  pounds 252 

Corned  mutton,  1 7  tins  of  6  pounds I02 

Bread,  37  tins  of  50  pounds 1850 

Knorr's  soups,  various,  2  tins  of  56^  pounds     .         .         .         .  113 


AUGUST  15   ro  JANUARY  /,  i8g6  625 

Pounds 

Vegetables  :  white  cabbage,  julienne,  pot-herbs         ...  60 

Flour,  sugar,  3  cases  of  40  pounds    ......  120 

Oatmeal,  4  cases  of  80  pounds  .......  320 

Groats,  4  cases  of  80  pounds     .......  320 

Cranberry,  2  cases  of  10  pounds 20 

Margarine,  20  jars  of  28  pounds 560 

Lunch  tongue,  i  case       ........  20 

Danish  butter,  2  cases      ........  336 

Stearine  candles,  5  cases 200 

Preserved  fish,  i  tin          ........  22 

Macaroni,  i  case      .........  50 

Viking  potatoes,  4  cases 208 

Vage's  fish  flour,  2  cases  ........  200 

Frame-food  jelly,  i  jar     ........  190 

Marmalade  jelly,  i  jar 54 

Lime-juice  jelly,  i  jar 54 

Cadbury's  chocolate,  3  cases 144 

Lactoserin  cocoa,  i  case  .         . 18 

Milk,  10  cases  of  48  tins 480 

Tea,  I  case 20 

English  pemmican,  13  cases 756 

Danish  pemmican,  i  case 68 

Dried  liver  patties,  3  cases        .......  204 

Vril-food,  5  cases      .........  208 

Besides  these,  2  tins  of  salt,  i  tin  of  mustard,  and  i  tin  of  pepper. 

When  all  the  stores  were  ready  and  packed,  they  were  provisionally 
stowed  at  certain  fixed  points  on  deck,  under  the  awning  forward.  I  did 
not  want  them  taken  out  on  the  ice  until  later  in  the  year,  or  until  circum- 
stances rendered  it  necessary.  We  had  still  abundance  of  coal — about  100 
tons.  I  considered  that  20  tons  would  be  about  enough  for  six  months' 
consumption  on  the  ice.  With  that  quantity,  therefore,  we  filled  butts, 
casks,  and  sacks,  and  took  it  out  on  the  ice,  together  with  1400  pounds  of 
tinned  potatoes,  about  45  gallons  of  petroleum,  about  80  gallons  of  gas-oil, 
and  about  34  gallons  of  coal-oil. 

As  the  ship  was  still  deeply  laden,  I  wished  to  lighten  her  as  much  as 
possible,  if  only  it  could  be  managed  without  exposing  to  risk  any  of  the 
stores  which  had  to  be  unloaded.  After  the  windmill  was  worn  out  and  taken 
away  we  had,  of  course,  no  use  for  the  battery  and  dynamo,  so  we  took  the 
whole  concern  to  pieces  and  packed  it  up,  with  lamps,  globes,  and  every- 
thing belonging  to  it.  The  same  was  done  with  the  petroleum  motor.  The 
"  horse-mill "  was  also  taken  down  and  put  out  on  the  ice,  with  a  lot  of 
heavy  materials.  One  long-boat  had  been  put  out  earlier,  and  now  we  took 
the  other  down  from  the  davits  and  took  it  up  to  the  great  hummock. 
40 


626  APPENDIX 

But  as  the  hummock  shortly  afterwards  drifted  a  good  way  off  from  us, 
the  boat,  with  everything  else  that  lay  there,  was  brought  back  again  and 
placed  upon  the  great  ice-floe  to  which  we  were  moored — our  "  estate,"  as 
we  used  to  call  it.  On  top  of  the  davits,  and  right  aft  to  the  half-deck,  we 
ran  a  platform  of  planks,  on  which  the  sledges,  kayaks,  and  other  things 
were  to  be  laid  up  in  the  winter. 

On  July  22d  we  continued  our  deep-sea  soundings,  taking  two  on  that 
day,  the  first  to  1354  fathoms  (2500  metres)  and  the  second  to  1625  fathoms 
(3000  metres),  without  touching  bottom  either  time.  In  order  to  make  sure 
that  the  lead  should  sink,  we  lowered  away  the  line  very  slowly,  so  that  it 
took  two  hours  and  a  quarter  to  reach  a  depth  of  3000  metres.  On  the 
23d  we  again  took  two  soundings,  one  of  1840  fathoms  (3400  metres),  with- 
out finding  bottom,  and  then  one  in  which  we  found  bottom  at  2056  fath- 
oms (3800  metres).  It  took  two  hours  and  a  half  to  lower  the  lead  to  the 
latter  depth.  Finally,  on  July  24th  we  again  took  a  sounding  of  3600 
metres  without  finding  bottom,  and  therefore  concluded  the  depth  to  be 
from  3700  to  3800  metres. 

On  July  7th  the  doctor  rowed  out  in  the  "pram"  in  search  of  algae, 
but  came  back  empty-handed.  There  were  remarkably  few  algae  to  be 
found  this  summer,  nor  did  there  seem  to  be  so  much  animal  life  in  the 
water  as  there  had  been  the  year  before. 

For  a  few  days  after  she  got  loose,  the  Fratn  lay  in  a  very  good  posi- 
tion in  the  pool;  but  during  the  night  of  August  14th  a  high  block  of  ice 
came  floating  down  the  lane,  which  had  now  widened  a  little,  and  jammed 
itself  between  the  ship's  side  and  the  farther  edge  of  the  pool,  which  it 
thus  entirely  blocked.  As  we  did  not  like  having  this  uncomfortable  and 
dangerous  colossus  close  at  our  side,  in  case  we  should  remain  at  the  same 
spot  throughout  the  autumn  and  winter,  we  determined  to  blast  it  away. 
Scott-Hansen  and  Nordahl  at  once  took  this  in  hand,  and  accomplished 
the  task  after  several  days'  labor. 

On  Saturday  afternoon,  August  17th,  a  pretty  strong  ice-pressure  sud- 
denly set  in  around  us.  In  the  course  of  a  few  minutes  the  Fram  was 
lifted  22  inches  by  the  stern,  and  14  inches  by  the  bow.  In  stately  fashion, 
with  no  noise,  and  without  heeling  over  in  the  least,  the  heavy  vessel  was 
swiftly  and  lightly  raised,  as  if  she  had  been  a  feather — a  spectacle  at  once 
impressive  and  reassuring. 

The  next  day  the  ice  slackened  a  little  again,  and  the  ship  was  once 
more  afloat.  So  it  lay  quietly  until  the  morning  of  the  21st,  when  another 
strong  pressure  began.  The  ship  now  lay  in  a  very  awkward  position, 
with  a  high  hummock  on  each  side,  which  gripped  her  amidships  for  a 
space  of  about  9  yards,  and  screwed  her  up  6  or  8  inches.  But  the  pressure 
ended  in  half  an  hour  or  so,  and  the  Fram  sank  again  into  her  former 
berth. 

When  there  were  symptoms  of  pressure  we  always  tried  to  warp  the 


AUGUST  15   TO  JANUARY  /,  i8g6  627 

ship  as  far  away  as  possible  from  the  threatening  point,  and  occasionally 
we  succeeded.  But  during  the  stormy  weather,  with  southerly  winds, 
which  prevailed  at  this  time,  it  was  often  quite  impossible  to  get  her  to 
budge ;  for  she  offered  a  great  surface  to  the  wind,  with  her  heavy  rigging 
and  the  high  awning  forward.  Our  united  forces  were  often  unable  to 
move  her  an  inch,  and  ice-anchors,  moorings,  and  warping-cables  were 
perpetually  breaking. 

At  last,  on  August  22d,  we  succeeded  in  warping  the  ship  along  a  bit, 
so  that  we  might  hope  to  escape  pressure  if  the  ice  should  again  begin  to 
pinch.  As  the  ice  soon  after  slackened  a  good  deal,  and  became  more 
broken  than  before,  we  some  days  later  made  another  attempt  to  haul  her 
a  little  farther,  but  had  soon  to  give  it  up ;  there  was  not  enough  space 
between  the  two  great  floes  on  either  hand  of  us.  We  now  lay  at  the  same 
spot  until  September  2d,  with  half  a  gale  blowing  continually  from  the 
southwest,  and  with  heavy  rain  now  and  then.  On  the  evening  of  August 
30th,  for  instance,  we  had  a  violent  rain-storm,  which  loosened  the  ice- 
coating  of  the  rigging  and  made  a  frightful  racket  as  it  brought  the  pieces 
of  ice  clattering  down  upon  the  deck,  the  deck-house,  and  the  awning. 

Our  "  estate  "  was  very  thoroughly  ploughed,  harrowed,  and  drained  at 
this  time  by  wind,  rain,  pressure,  and  other  such  doughty  laborers.  Then 
came  the  tiresome  business  of  moving  the  things  out  from  the  ship,  which 
involved  the  cutting  up  and  parcelling  out  of  almost  the  whole  "estate," 
so  that  what  was  left  open  to  us  was  scanty  and  cramped  enough. 

Thus  reduced,  the  "estate  "  now  formed  an  approximately  oblong  floe, 
with  its  greatest  length  from  east  to  west,  and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by 
more  or  less  open  rifts  and  lanes.  The  Frdm  lay  moored  to  the  north  side 
close  to  the  northeast  point,  with  her  bow  heading  west.  Immediately 
astern  of  her,  and  separated  from  the  point  only  by  a  narrow  lane,  lay  a 
large  floe,  upon  which  was  stowed,  among  other  things,  a  part  of  our 
provision  of  coal.  Far  off  to  the  westward  the  great  hummock  still  lay 
drifting. 

While  the  other  sides  of  the  "  estate  "  were  pretty  nearly  straight,  the 
east  side  formed  a  concave  arc  or  bay,  which  offered  an  excellent  winter 
berth  for  the  Fram.  But  there  was  no  possibility  of  getting  the  ship  into 
it  so  long  as  the  channel  between  the  "  estate  "  and  the  floe  to  eastward 
remained  closed.  Late  in  the  afternoon  of  September  2d  the  ice  at  last 
slackened  so  much  that  we  could  make  an  attempt.  By  the  help  of  our 
tackle  we  managed  to  get  her  warped  a  ship's  length  eastward,  but  it  was 
impossible  for  the  moment  to  get  her  any  farther,  as  the  new  ice  was  al- 
ready pretty  thick  (the  night  temperature  was  —5°  C),  and  also  a  good 
deal  packed.  Nor  was  it  any  use  to  bring  the  ice-saw  into  play  and  cut  a 
channel,  for  the  slush  was  so  deep  that  we  could  not  shove  the  fragments 
aside  or  under  one  another. 

The  next  day  began  with  half  a  gale  from  the  southeast  and  rain ;  but 


628  APPENDIX 

at  6  o'clock  the  wind  moderated  and  veered  to  the  south,  and  at  8  o'clock 
the  ice  around  the  lane  began  to  slacken  a  good  deal.  As  there  was  now 
more  room,  we  made  good  progress  with  cutting  our  way  through  the  new 
ice,  and  before  mid-day  we  had  got  the  Fram  hauled  into  the  bay  and 
moored  in  the  winter  harbor  which  we  all  hoped  might  prove  her  last. 

When  Nansen  and  Johansen  set  out,  they  left  seven  dogs  behind,  the 
bitch  "Sussi"  and  the  six  youngest  puppies:  "  Kobben,"  "Snadden," 
*'  Bella,"  "  Skvint,"  "  Axel,"  and  "  Boris."  On  April  25th  "  Sussi  "  gave 
birth  to  twelve  puppies.  We  had  made  a  cosey  little  kennel  for  her  on 
deck,  lining  it  with  reindeer-skin.  Pettersen  came  down  in  the  morning, 
and  told  us  that  "  Sussi  "  was  running  round  whining  and  howling.  Mog- 
stad  and  I  went  up  and  shut  her  into  the  kennel,  where  she  at  once  gave 
birth  to  a  puppy.  When  the  afternoon  came,  and  we  saw  that  more  and 
more  citizens  were  being  added  to  our  community,  we  feared  that  the 
mother  would  not  be  able  to  warm  all  her  litter,  and  consequently  removed 
the  whole  family  into  the  saloon.  All  the  puppies  were  large  and  handsome, 
most  of  them  quite  white,  and  looking  as  though  they  would  turn  out 
regular  little  "  bjelkier,"  as  the  Samoyedes  call  all  white  dogs.  They  grew 
and  throve  excellently  as  saloon  passengers,  and  were  petted  and  spoiled 
by  every  one.  They  made  their  home  in  the  saloon  for  a  month,  and  then 
we  transferred  them  to  the  above-mentioned  kennel  on  deck.  After  they 
had  been  up  there  for  some  weeks  it  appeared  as  though  they  had  sudden- 
ly stopped  growing,  although  they  were  constantly  well  fed  with  raw 
bear's  flesh,  milk,  and  the  broken  meat  from  our  table.  About  the  second 
week  of  August  two  of  the  puppies  died  of  convulsions.  The  doctor 
managed  to  save  a  third  by  means  of  warm  baths  and  careful  nursing.  At 
the  end  of  the  month  another  of  them  was  seized  with  convulsions  and 
died,  although  it,  too,  was  treated  with  warm  baths  and  comfortably 
housed,  first  in  the  saloon,  and  afterwards  in  the  work-room. 

In  the  beginning  of  September,  when  the  frequent  rain  made  things 
very  moist  and  uncomfortable  in  the  kennel  and  on  deck,  we  built  a  ken- 
nel out  on  the  ice  with  a  tarpaulin  roof  and  a  floor  of  planks,  with  plenty 
of  shavings  spread  over  them.  While  it  was  being  built  we  let  the  whole 
pack  of  dogs  out  upon  the  ice ;  but  after  playing  for  half  an  hour  the  pup- 
pies, one  after  another,  began  to  have  convulsions.  The  attacks  passed 
quickly  over,  however.  We  drenched  them  with  soap  and  water,  and  then 
settled  them  in  their  new  abode. 

As  the  puppies  grew  older  we  had  to  keep  a  sharp  watch  upon  them 
when  we  let  them  out  up)on  the  ice.  They  romped  and  gambolled  with 
such  ungovernable  glee  that  it  often  happened  that  one  or  other  of  them 
plumped  into  the  water,  and  had  to  be  laboriously  fished  out  again  by  the 
Master  of  the  Hounds  for  the  time  being,  or  whoever  else  happened  to  be 
at  hand.  Moreover,  they  soon  acquired  a  taste  for  longer  excursions,  and 
followed  our  tracks  far  over  the  ice. 


AUGUST  15   TO  JANUARY  /,  i8g6  629 

One  day  the  doctor  and  I  were  out  photographing.  At  a  considerable 
distance  from  the  ship  we  came  upon  a  large  pool  of  fresh  water,  and  took 
a  little  rest  upon  its  inviting,  mirror-like  ice.  While  we  lay  there  chat- 
ting at  our  ease,  we  saw  "  Kobben  "  coming  after  us.  As  soon  as  he  caught 
sight  of  us,  he  stopped  and  stood  wondering  what  strange  creatures  we 
could  be.  Then  we  began  to  creep  on  all-fours  towards  him;  and  the 
moment  we  did  so,  "  Kobben  "  found  his  legs  to  some  purpose.  He  set 
oflf  homeward  as  though  he  were  running  for  dear  life ;  and  even  when  we 
got  back  to  the  ship  and  several  other  puppies  met  us  and  knew  us.  the 
poor  creature  was  still  so  panic-stricken  that  it  was  a  good  while  before  he 
ventured  to  come  near  us. 

On  September  28th  we  again  lost  one  of  the  puppies.  It  was  seized 
with  convulsions,  and  lay  whining  and  howling  all  day.  As  the  evening 
advanced,  and  it  became  paralyzed  along  one  side,  there  was  no  hope  of 
saving  it,  so  we  put  an  end  to  its  misery.  It  was  pitiful  to  see  how  these 
pretty  little  creatures  suffered  when  the  convulsions  came  upon  them. 

On  October  9th  "  Skvint  "  gave  birth  to  puppies,  but  as  so  young  an 
animal  could  not  have  brought  them  up,  especially  in  such  a  cold  season, 
we  allowed  her  to  keep  only  one  of  them  as  an  experiment ;  the  others 
were  at  once  killed.  A  week  later  "  Sussi "  produced  a  second  litter,  two 
he-dogs  and  nine  she-dogs.  We  let  her  keep  the  two  males  and  one  of  the 
females. 

It  proved  inadvisable  to  have  both  the  mothers  with  their  families  in 
the  same  kennel.  If  one  of  the  mothers  went  out  for  a  moment,  the  other 
at  once  took  all  the  puppies  into  her  keeping,  and  then  there  was  a  battle 
royal  when  the  first  one  returned  and  wanted  to  reclaim  her  property. 
Something  of  this  sort  had,  no  doubt,  occurred  one  night  in  the  case  of 
"  Skvint,"  whom  Henriksen  found  in  the  morning  lying  at  the  door  of  the 
kennel  frozen  so  fast  to  the  ice  that  it  cost  us  a  good  deal  of  trouble  to 
get  her  loose  again.  She  must  have  had  anything  but  a  pleasant  night — 
the  thermometer  had  been  down  to  —33°  C.  (—27.4°  Fahr.) — and  her  tail 
was  frozen  fast  to  one  of  her  hind-legs,  so  that  we  had  to  take  her  down 
into  the  saloon  to  get  her  thawed.  To  obviate  such  misadventures  for  the 
future,  I  had  a  detached  villa  built  for  her  where  she  could  be  at  peace 
with  her  child. 

One  evening,  when  Mogstad  was  housing  the  puppies  for  the  night,  two 
of  them  were  missing.  Henriksen  and  I  at  once  set  off  with  lanterns  and 
guns  to  hunt  for  them.  We  thought  that  there  had  been  a  bear  in  the 
neighborhood,  as  we  had  heard  a  great  deal  of  barking  earlier  in  the  day 
out  upon  the  ice  to  the  east  of  the  ship;  but  we  could  find  no  tracks.  After 
supper  we  set  out  again,  five  of  us,  all  carrying  lanterns.  After  an  hour's 
search  along  the  lanes  and  up  in  the  pressure-ridges  we  at  last  found  the 
puppies  on  the  other  side  of  a  new  lane.  Although  the  new  ice  on  the 
lane  was  strong  enough  to  bear  them,  they  were  so  terrified  after  having 


630  APPENDIX 

been  in  the  water  that  they  dared  not  come  over  to  us,  and  we  had  to 
make  a  long  detour  to  get  hold  of  them. 

In  the  middle  of  December  we  took  the  youngest  of  the  puppies  on 
board,  as  they  had  now  grown  so  big,  and  ran  away  if  they  were  not  very 
closely  watched.  The  gangway  was  left  open  during  the  night  so  that 
the  mothers  could  come  into  them  from  the  ice  whenever  they  wanted 
to  do  so. 

In  respect  to  temper,  there  was  a  great  difference  between  the  genera- 
tion of  dogs  we  had  originally  taken  on  board  and  those  we  now  had. 
While  the  former  were  great  fighters,  perpetually  at  feud  with  one  another, 
and  often  to  the  death,  the  latter  were  exceedingly  quiet  and  well-behaved, 
although  wild  and  fierce  enough  when  it  came  to  chasing  a  bear.  Now 
and  then  there  would  be  a  little  squabble  among  them,  but  this  was  rare. 
"  Axel  "  was  the  worst  of  them.  Shortly  before  Christmas  he  all  of  a  sud- 
den made  a  fierce  attack  upon  the  unoffending  "  Kobben,"  against  whom 
he  bore  a  grudge.  But  he  got  the  rope's-end  for  supper  several  times,  and 
that  improved  his  manners  amazingly. 

During  the  first  half  of  September  the  weather  was  very  unsettled, 
with  prevailing  westerly  and  southwesterly  winds,  a  good  deal  of  rain  and 
snow,  especially  rain,  and  frequent  disturbance  in  the  ice.  The  frost  at 
night,  which  sometimes  reached  io°  or  ii°.  soon  made  the  new  ice  strong 
enough  to  bear  a  man,  except  just  at  the  stern  of  the  ship,  where  all  the 
slops  were  thrown  out.  Here  the  ice  was  much  broken  up,  and  formed  a 
thick  slush,  the  surface  of  which  was  frozen  over,  but  so  thinly  that  it 
would  not  bear  much  weight.  Thus  it  happened  one  day  that  three  men 
got  a  ducking,  one  after  another,  at  the  same  treacherous  spot.  The  first 
was  Pettersen.  He  had  to  go  round  the  stern  to  look  to  the  log-line 
which  hung  from  the  ship's  side  to  port;  but  before  he  got  so  far,  down  he 
went  through  the  ice.  Shortly  after  the  same  thing  happened  to  Nordahl, 
and  half  an  hour  later  it  was  Bentzen's  turn  to  plump  in.  He  plunged  right 
up  to  his  neck,  but  at  once  bobbed  up  again  like  a  cork,  and  scrambled 
gallantly  up  on  to  the  edge  of  the  ice  without  a  moment's  delay.  The  ob- 
servation of  the  log-line  had  to  be  postponed,  while  a  grand  changing  and 
drying  of  clothes  took  place  on  board. 

On  September  15th  the  ice  slackened  so  much  that  there  was  quite  a 
little  sea  between  us  and  the  great  hummock.  The  following  day  the  ice 
was  still  so  much  disturbed  that  we  had  to  think  seriously  of  fetching  back 
the  things  which  still  lay  there.  About  mid-day  I  took  a  walk  over  tow- 
ards the  hummock  to  find  out  a  suitable  transport  path,  and  discovered 
an  excellent  one.  But  some  hours  later,  when  I  set  off  with  men  and 
sledges  to  fetch  back  the  things,  so  many  lanes  had  opened  around  the 
"  estate  "  that  we  had  to  give  up  the  attempt  for  that  day.  During  the 
whole  of  September,  and  well  on  in  October,  there  was  almost  incessant 
disturbance  in  the  ice.     New  lanes  opened  en  all  sides,  some  close  to  the 


AUGUST  15    TO  JANUARY  i,  1896 


63 


ship,  and  there  were  frequent  pressures.  The  winter  harbor  we  had  found 
proved  an  excellent  one.  There  was  very  little  disturbance  in  the  bay- 
where  the  Frat?i  was  moored,  thanks  to  the  new  ice  we  here  had  around 
us,  of  which  the  pressure  was  quite  inconsiderable.  It  was  quickly  broken 
up,  and  the  fragments  forced  over  or  under  each  other,  while  the  two  solid 
points  of  the  bay  bore  the  brunt  of  the  attacks.  Once  or  twice  it  seemed 
as  though  the  Fram  would  be  afloat  again  before  the  winter  finally  chained 
her  in  its  icy  fetters.  On  October  25th,  for  instance,  it  slackened  so  much 
in  the  lane  nearest  us  that  the  ship  lay  free  from  the  stern  right  to  the 
fore-chains;  but  soon  the  ice  packed  together  again,  so  that  she  was  once 
more  frozen  quite  fast.  The  hardest  pressure  occurred  on  October  26th 
and  27th,  but  the  ship  was  not  very  severely  attacked.  Pressure,  however, 
is  more  unpleasant  in  winter,  on  account  of  the  deafening  noise  it  makes 
when  the  ice  is  hurled  against  the  ship's  side.  It  was  quite  different  in 
summer,  when  the  ice  is  more  tough  and  elastic,  and  the  pressure  goes  on 
calmly  and  quietly. 

After  November  ist  a  more  peaceful  period  set  in;  the  pressures  al- 
most entirely  ceased,  the  cold  increased,  the  wind  remained  easterly,  and 
we  drifted  at  a  steady  rate  northward  and  westward  for  the  rest  of  the 
year. 

During  the  autumn  the  drift  had  put  our  patience  to  a  severe  test. 
Owing  to  the  prevailing  westerly  winds  it  bore  steadily  eastward,  and  day 
after  day  we  looked  in  vain  for  a  change.  The  only  thing  that  kept  our 
spirits  up  was  the  knowledge  that,  if  we  were  going  backward,  it  was 
slowly,  sometimes  very  slowly,  indeed.  Even  several  days  of  westerly 
wind  did  not  take  us  so  far  to  the  east  but  that  a  day  or  two  of  favorable 
wind  would  enable  us  to  make  up  what  we  had  lost,  with  something  to 
boot. 


Date 

Latitude 

Longitude 

Direction  of  Wind 

September  6th,  1895      .     . 

0 
84 

43 

0 
79 

52 

S.W. 

September  nth,  1895 

84 

59 

78 

15 

E. 

September  22d,  1895 

85 

2 

82 

5 

Calm. 

October  9th,  1895     . 

85 

4 

79 

30 

E. 

October  19th,  1895  . 

85 

45 

78 

21 

E.  to  N. 

October  25th,  1895  . 

85 

46 

73 

25 

N.E. 

October  30th,  1895  . 

85 

46 

70 

50 

N.N.W. 

November  8th,  1895 

85 

41 

65 

2 

E. 

November  15th,  1895 

85 

55-5 

66 

31 

E.N.E. 

November  25th,  1895 

85 

47-5 

62 

56 

N.E.  to  N. 

December  ist,  1895  . 

85 

28 

58 

45 

E. 

December  7th,  1895 

85 

26 

54 

40 

N.E. 

December  14th,  1895 

85 

24 

50 

2 

Calm. 

December  21st,  1895 

85 

15 

47 

56 

N.E. 

December  28th,  1895 

85 

24 

48 

22 

N.W. 

January  9th,  1896     . 

84 

57 

41 

41 

N. 

632 


APPENDIX 


September  22d  was  the  second  anniversary  of  our  being  frozen  in,  and 
the  event  was  celebrated  with  a  little  festivity  in  the  evening.  We  had 
reason  to  be  satisfied  with  the  second  year's  drift,  since  we  had  advanced 
nearly  double  as  far  as  during  the  first  year,  and,  if  this  continued,  there 
could  scarcely  be  any  doubt  that  we  should  get  clear  of  the  ice  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1896. 

As  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  table,  September  22d  also  brought 
us  a  marked  change  for  the  better.  On  that  day  the  winter  drift  set  in  for 
good,  and  lasted  without  intermission  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  year, 
so  that  between  that  day  and  the  second  week  in  January  we  drifted  from 
82°  5'  to  41°  41'  east  longitude. 

On  October  i  ith  we  hauled  up  the  log-line  and  cut  a  new  hole  for  it  in 
the  ice  right  astern.  Hitherto  the  log  had  had  only  100  metres  (54  fath- 
oms) of  line ;  now  we  gave  it  300  metres  (162  fathoms). 

After  the  middle  of  September  the  cold  steadily  increased,  as  the  fol- 
lowing observations  will  show : 


Date 


Minimum  Thmpbraturb 


September  i8th 
September  26th 
October  19th  . 
November  5th 
November  9th 
November  22d 
December  31st 


Centigrade 

Fahrenheit 

0 

0 

-12.5 

+    9.6 

—  24.0 

-II. 2 

—  30.0 

-22.0 

-32.2 

-25.8 

-38.3 

-36.8 

-43.6 

-46.4 

-44.6 

-48.2 

The  weather  was.  as  a  rule,  fine  during  the  last  three  months  of  1895, 
with  clear  air  and  light  breezes ;  only  now  and  then  (for  example,  on  Octo- 
ber 29th,  and  November  nth,  26th,  and  27th)  the  wind  freshened  to  half  a 
gale,  with  a  velocity  of  as  much  as  48  feet  per  second. 

In  the  beginning  of  September  we  found  that  the  Fram  was  drawing 
more  and  more  water,  so  that  we  had  a  stiff  job  every  day  to  pump  and 
bail  her  empty.  But  from  the  23d  onward  the  leakage  steadily  declined, 
and  about  the  second  week  of  October  the  engine-room  was  quite  water- 
tight. It  still  leaked  a  little,  however,  in  the  main  hold ;  but  soon  the  leak 
ceased  here  also,  the  water  having  frozen  in  the  ship's  side.  For  the  rest, 
we  employed  our  time  in  all  sorts  of  work  about  the  ship,  cutting  up  and 
removing  ice  in  the  hold,  cleaning,  putting  things  in  order,  etc. 

Not  until  September  23d  did  the  state  of  the  ice  permit  us  to  carry  out 
our  intention  of  fetching  back  the  things  from  the  great  hummock.  The  sur- 
face was  that  day  excellent  for  sledges  with  German-silver  runners ;  wood- 
en runners,  on  the  other  hand,  went  rather  heavily.  We  had  also  done 
some  road-making  here  and  there,  so  that  the  conveyance  of  the  goods 
went  on  easily  and  rapidly.    We  brought  back  to  the  ship,  in  all,  thirty- 


AUGUST  15    TO  JANUARY  /,  i8g6  633 

six  boxes  of  dog  biscuits  and  four  barrels  of  petroleum.  Next  day  we 
brought  all  that  was  left,  and  stacked  it  on  the  ice  close  to  the  ship. 

On  September  i8th  Scott- Hansen  and  Nordahl  set  about  preparations 
for  building  a  proper  house  for  their  magnetic  observations.  Their  build- 
ing material  consisted  of  great  blocks  of  new  ice,  which  they  piled  upon 
sledges  and  drove  with  the  aid  of  the  dogs  to  the  site  they  had  chosen. 
Except  for  one  or  two  trial  trips  which  Scott-Hansen  had  previously  made 
with  the  dogs,  this  was  the  first  time  they  had  been  employed  as  draught- 
animals.  They  drew  well,  and  the  carting  went  excellently.  The  house 
was  built  entirely  of  hewn  blocks  of  ice,  which  were  ranged  above  one 
another  with  an  inward  slant,  so  that  when  finished  it  formed  a  com- 
pact circular  dome  of  ice,  in  form  and  appearance  not  unlike  a  Finn  tent. 
A  covered  passage  of  ice  led  into  the  house,  with  a  wooden  flap  for  a 
door. 

When  this  observatory  was  finished,  Scott-Hansen  gave  a  house-warm- 
ing, the  hut  being  magnificently  decorated  for  the  occasion.  It  was  fur- 
nished with  a  sofa,  and  with  arm-chairs  covered  with  bear  and  reindeer 
skins.  The  pedestal  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  on  which  the  magnetic  in- 
struments were  to  be  established,  was  covered  with  a  flag,  and  an  ice-floe 
served  as  a  table.  On  the  table  stood  a  lamp  with  a  red  shade,  and  along 
the  walls  were  fixed  a  number  of  red  paper  lanterns.  The  effect  was  quite 
festal,  and  we  all  sat  round  the  room  in  the  highest  of  spirits.  Our  amia- 
ble host  addressed  little  humorous  speeches  to  every  one.  Pettersen  ex- 
pressed the  wish  that  this  might  be  the  last  ice-hut  Scott-Hansen  should 
build  on  this  trip,  and  that  we  might  all  be  home  again  this  time  next  au- 
tumn, and  "none  the  worse  for  it  all."  Pettersen's  artless  little  address 
was  received  with  frantic  enthusiasm. 

For  the  rest,  Pettersen  had  just  about  this  time  entered  upon  a  new 
office,  having  from  September  loth  onward  undertaken  the  whole  charge 
of  Juell's  former  domain,  the  galley,  a  department  to  which  he  gave  his 
whole  heart,  and  in  which  his  performances  denoted  entire  satisfaction  to 
every  one.  The  only  branch  of  the  culinary  art  with  which  he  would  have 
nothing  to  do  was  the  baking  of  Christmas  cakes.  This  Juell  himself  had 
to  attend  to  when  the  time  came. 

When  winter  set  in  we  built  ourselves  a  new  smithy  in  the  place  of  the 
one  which  drifted  off  on  July  27th.  It  was  constructed  on  the  pressure- 
ridge  where  the  boats  and  part  of  the  stores  from  the  great  hummock  had 
been  placed.  Its  plan  was  very  much  like  that  of  the  former  smithy.  We 
first  hollowed  out  a  cavity  of  sufficient  size  in  the  pressure-ridge,  and  then 
roofed  it  over  with  blocks  of  ice  and  snow. 

As  the  year  waned,  and  the  winter  night  impended,  all  the  sea  animals 
and  birds  of  passage  which  had  swarmed  around  us  and  awakened  our 
longings  during  the  short  summer  deserted  us  one  by  one.  They  set  off 
for  the  south,  towards  sunshine  and  light  and  hospitable  shores,  while  we 


634  APPENDIX 

lay  there  in  the  ice  and  darkness  for  yet  another  winter.  On  September 
6th  we  saw  the  last  narwhals  gambolling  in  the  lanes  around  the  ship,  and 
a  few  days  later  the  last  flock  of  skuas  {Lestris  parasiticus)  took  their  de- 
parture. The  sun  moves  quickly  in  these  latitudes  from  the  first  day  that 
he  peers  over  the  horizon  in  the  south  till  he  circles  round  the  heavens  all 
day  and  all  night ;  but  still  quicker  do  his  movements  seem  when  he  is  on 
the  downward  path  in  autumn.  Before  you  know  where  you  are  he  has 
disappeared,  and  the  crushing  darkness  of  the  Arctic  night  surrounds  you 
once  more. 

On  September  12th  we  should  have  seen  the  midnight  sun  for  the  last 
time  if  it  had  been  clear ;  and  no  later  than  October  8th  we  caught  the  last 
glimpse  of  the  sun's  rim  at  mid-day.  Thus  we  plunged  into  the  longest 
Arctic  night  any  human  beings  have  yet  lived  through,  in  about  85°  north 
latitude.  Henceforth  there  was  nothing  that  could  for  a  moment  be  called 
daylight,  and  by  October  26th  there  was  scarcely  any  perceptible  differ- 
ence between  day  and  night. 

Whenever  time  permitted  and  the  surface  was  at  all  favorable  we 
wandered  about  on  snow-shoes  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  ship,  either 
singly  or  several  together.  On  October  7th,  when  all  of  us  were  out  snow- 
shoeing  in  the  morning,  the  mate  found  a  log  of  drift-wood  7  feet  long 
and  7  inches  thick.  Part  of  the  root  was  still  attached  to  the  trunk.  The 
mate  and  I  went  out  in  the  afternoon  and  brought  it  in  on  a  hand-sledge. 
No  doubt  it  had  grown  in  one  of  the  Siberian  forests,  had  been  swept  away 
by  a  flood  or  by  the  current  of  a  river,  and  carried  out  to  sea  to  be  con- 
veyed hither  by  the  drift-ice. 

Besides  snow-shoeing,  we  also  took  frequent  walks  on  the  ice,  and  on 
November  20th  I  gave  orders  that  every  man  should  take  two  hours'  exer- 
cise a  day  in  the  fresh  air.  I  myself  was  very  fond  of  these  walks,  which 
freshened  up  both  soul  and  body,  and  I  often  wandered  backward  and  for- 
ward on  the  ice  four  or  five  hours  a  day — as  a  rule,  two  hours  in  the  morn- 
ing and  two  in  the  afternoon. 

On  October  8th  Scott-Hansen  and  Mogstad  made  an  experiment  in 
dragging  sledges  with  230  pounds  of  freight.  They  started  at  half- past 
nine  and  returned  at  five  in  the  afternoon,  after  having  been  about  four 
miles  from  the  ship,  and  traversed  pretty  heavy  country. 

We  did  not  believe,  indeed,  that  the  Fratn  ran  the  slightest  risk  of  be- 
ing crushed  in  any  ice-pressure;  but  it  was  obviously  possible,  or  at  least 
conceivable,  so  that  it  was  our  duty  to  be  prepared  for  all  contingencies. 
Accordingly  we  devoted  much  labor  and  care  to  securing  ourselves  against 
being  taken  by  surprise. 

At  the  end  of  October  we  established  a  new  depot  on  the  ice  consisting 
of  provisions  for  six  months,  with  a  full  equipment  of  sledges,  kayaks, 
snow-shoes,  etc.  The  provisions  were  divided  into  five  different  piles,  and 
stacked  so  that  the  boxes  in  each  pile  formed  an  arch.    Thus  stored,  not 


AUGUST  IS    TO  JANUARY  /,  1896  635 

more  than  two  cases  could  well  be  lost  even  if  the  worst  happened,  and  the 
ice  split  up  right  under  the  heap.  The  provisions  consisted  partly  of  pem- 
mican,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  list  quoted — a  very  nutritious  article  of  diet, 
which  makes  an  excellent  sort  of  Irish  stew  (lobscouse).  With  200  grammes 
of  pemmican,  100  grammes  of  bread,  and  120  grammes  of  potatoes  you 
can  make  a  very  satisfying  and  palatable  dish. 

On  November  28th  we  passed  the  sixtieth  degree  of  longitude,  and 
celebrated  the  occasion  by  a  little  feast.  The  saloon  was  decorated  with 
flags,  and  a  rather  more  sumptuous  dinner  than  usual  was  served,  with 
coffee  after  it,  while  supper  was  followed  by  a  dessert  of  fruits  and  preserves. 
This  meridian  passes  near  Cape  Fligely  in  Franz  Josef  Land,  and  through 
Khabarova,  where  we  two  years  ago  had  bidden  farewell  to  the  last  faint 
traces  of  civilization.  So  it  seemed  as  though  we  really  felt  ourselves  nearer 
the  world  and  life. 


CHAPTER   TV 
jANtJARY  I  TO  May  17,  1896 

New-year's  day  came  with  fine,  clear  weather,  moonlight,  and  about 
43  degrees  of  cold.  The  ice  kept  remarkably  quiet  for  about  a  month,  but 
on  February  4th  the  pressure  commenced  again.  It  was  not  of  long  dura- 
tion, but  made  a  great  noise  while  it  lasted;  the  ice  all  round  us  roared 
and  screamed  as  if  a  tremendous  gale  were  blowing.  I  took  a  walk  on  the 
ice  for  the  purpose,  if  possible,  of  observing  the  pressure  more  closely,  but 
could  see  nothing.  The  following  day  we  again  sallied  forth  on  the  ice, 
and  found  a  comparatively  new  channel  and  a  large  new  pressure-ridge 
about  a  mile  from  the  ship.  It  was  impossible,  however,  to  get  any  com- 
prehensive view  of  the  state  of  the  ice,  as  it  was  still  too  dark,  even  at  mid- 
day. The  surface  of  the  snow  was  hard  and  good,  but  the  hollow  edges  of 
the  snow-drifts  were  so  deceptive  that  we  every  now  and  then  tumbled 
head  over  heels. 

On  February  7th  Scott-Hansen,  Henriksen,  Amundsen,  and  myself  took 
a  run  northward  from  the  ship.  The  farther  north  we  went  the  more  bro- 
ken and  uneven  the  ice  became,  and  at  last  we  had  to  turn,  as  we  came 
to  a  new  and  wide  lane.  During  the  morning  a  dark  bank  of  clouds  had 
been  gathering  in  the  southwest,  and  now  the  fog  got  so  thick  that  it  was 
not  easy  to  find  our  way  back  to  the  ship  again.  At  last  we  heard  the 
bark  of  "  Sussi,"  and  from  the  top  of  a  pressure-ridge  which  we  ascended 
we  got  sight  of  the  crow's-nest  and  the  main-topmast  of  the  Fram,  tower- 
ing above  the  fog,  only  a  little  way  ofT.  Close  as  we  were  to  the  ship,  it 
was  not  so  easy  to  get  on  board  again.  We  were  stopped  by  a  large  lane 
which  had  formed  just  abaft  the  ship  during  our  absence,  and  we  had  to 
skirt  it  a  long  way  westward  before  we  could  cross  it.  Those  on  board 
told  us  that  the  opening  of  the  lane  had  given  the  ship  a  great  shock, 
very  much  like  the  shock  felt  when  we  blasted  the  Fram  loose  in  August. 
At  12.30  at  night  we  felt  another  shock  in  the  ice.  When  we  came  on 
deck  we  found  that  the  ice  had  cracked  about  30  yards  abaft  the  ship, 
parallel  with  the  large  lane.  The  crack  passed  along  the  side  of  the  near- 
est long-boat,  and  right  through  one  of  the  coal-heaps.  On  the  heap  a 
barrel  was  standing,  which  would  have  been  lost  if  the  crack  had  not  di- 
vided itself  in  front  of  it  at  about  right  angles  and  then  joined  again,  after 


JANUARY  I    TO  MAY  17,  i8g6  ^17 

passing  through  the  outer  edges  of  the  heap.  On  the  island  thus  formed 
the  barrel  and  some  coal-bags  floated  about  in  the  channel.  However,  we 
soon  got  the  island  hooked  to  shore,  and  the  coals  were  all  saved,  with 
the  exception  of  a  sack  of  one  hundredweight,  which  went  to  the  bottom. 
By  way  of  making  sure,  I  gave  orders  that  the  depot  should  be  inspected 
once  during  each  watch,  or  oftener  if  the  pressure  began  again. 

On  February  13th  Henriksen,  Amundsen,  and  I  made  an  expedition 
southward  to  examine  into  the  state  of  the  ice  in  that  direction.  We  found 
that  it  was  very  uneven  there,  too,  and  full  of  comparatively  new  lanes. 
The  channel  abaft  the  ship  widened  during  the  forenoon,  and  gave  off  such 
masses  of  fog  that  we  soon  lost  sight  of  the  ship.  The  next  day  it  opened 
still  more,  and  on  the  i6th  there  was  a  very  strong  pressure  in  it.  The 
ice  trembled  and  roared  like  a  great  waterfall,  and  splintered  into  small 
horizontal  flakes  on  the  surface.  The  pressure  was  repeated  almost  every 
day,  and  more  cracks  and  lanes  were  constantly  to  be  seen  for  some  time. 
But  after  that  the  ice  was  comparatively  quiet  until  April  loth,  when  it 
again  began  to  be  very  restless.  On  the  night  of  the  15th  the  pressure 
was  ver)^  strong  in  the  lane  on  the  port  side.  We  were  obliged  to  haul 
up  the  log-line  with  the  bag  and  shift  the  sounding  apparatus.  The  same 
night  the  ice  split  under  two  of  the  provision  depots,  so  that  we  had  to  get 
them  closer  to  the  ship. 

On  the  morning  of  the  21st  we  were  awakened  by  a  violent  pressure 
astern.  Nordahl  came  down  and  woke  me,  saying  that  the  ice  threatened 
to  rush  in  over  the  vessel.  We  found  that  a  tremendous  ice-floe  had  been 
pressed  up  over  the  edge  of  the  ice  astern,  and  came  gliding  along  un- 
checked until  it  ran  right  against  our  stern.  But  the  Fraui  had  borne 
shocks  like  this  before,  and  now  again  she  held  her  own  well.  The  ice 
was  split  against  the  strong  stern,  and  lay  shattered  on  both  sides  of  the 
ship  on  a  level  with  the  edge  of  the  half-deck  all  the  way  forward  to  the 
mizzen-shrouds.  The  ship  now  lay  almost  loose  in  her  berth,  and  the  ice 
round  about  was  broken  up  into  a  mass  of  smaller  floes.  As  these  were 
passed  down  by  the  heavy  drifts,  it  was  hard  work  to  get  round  the  ship, 
as  one  ran  the  risk  of  plumping  down  into  the  slush  at  any  moment. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  of  May  13th  the  lane  between  the  forge  and  the 
ship  began  to  widen  very  much,  so  that  in  a  couple  of  hours'  time  it  was 
about  90  yards  wide.  From  the  crow's-nest  I  saw  on  the  southeast  a  large 
channel  extending  southward  as  far  as  I  could  see,  and  the  channel  abaft 
us  extended  to  the  northeast  as  far  as  my  sight  could  reach.  I  therefore 
went  out  in  the  "  pram  "  to  try  to  find  a  passage  through  to  the  channel  on 
the  southeast,  but  without  result.  After  supper  I  was  oflf  again  southward, 
but  I  could  not  find  any  thoroughfare.  At  10  o'clock  in  the  evening  I 
again  went  up  in  the  crow's-nest,  and  now  saw  that  the  channel  had  wid- 
ened considerably  and  reached  away  southward  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  with  dark  air  over  it. 


638  APPENDIX 

Scott-Hansen  and  I  deliberated  as  to  what  was  to  be  done.  Although 
I  did  not  believe  it  would  do  much  good  under  the  circumstances,  we  de- 
cided upon  an  attempt  to  blast  the  vessel  free.  We  agreed  to  try  some 
mines  right  aft,  and  all  hands  were  at  once  put  to  this  work.  First  we  fired 
six  powder-mines  at  about  the  same  spot,  but  without  much  result.  Then 
we  made  an  unsuccessful  trial  with  gun-cotton.  At  3  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing we  concluded  operations  for  the  time  being,  as  the  ice  was  so  thick 
that  the  drill  did  not  reach  through,  and  the  slush  so  bad  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  get  the  ice-floes  shoved  away.  At  8  o'clock  the  next  morning 
we  laid  two  new  mines,  which  Scott-Hansen  and  Nordahl  had  made  ready 
during  the  night,  but  neither  of  them  would  go  off.  One  or  two  of  the 
mines  which  we  had  fired  during  the  day  had  produced  some  effect,  but  so 
little  that  it  was  not  worth  while  to  continue.  We  were  obliged  to  wait 
for  a  more  favorable  condition  of  the  ice. 

The  weather  during  the  two  first  weeks  of  January  was  settled  and 
good,  with  clear  air  and  40  to  50  degrees  of  cold.  The  coldest  day  was 
January  15th,  when  the  thermometer  showed  from  —50°  C.  (—58°  Fahr.) 
to— 52°C.  (—61.6°  Fahr.).  The  last  two  weeks  of  January  the  temperature 
was  considerably  higher,  but  dropped  again  in  February,  until  on  the  13th 
it  was  about  —48°  C.  (—54.4°  Fahr.),  after  which  it  was  somewhat  higher  : 
about  —35**  C.  (—41°  Fahr.),  during  the  remainder  of  February.  On  March 
5th  the  thermometer  again  showed  40  degrees  of  cold  ;  but  from  that  time 
the  temperature  rose  quickly.  Thus  on  March  12th  it  was  —12°.  on  the 
27th  —6°,  with  a  few  colder  days  of  course  now  and  then.  April  was 
somewhat  cold  throughout,  about  —25°;  the  coldest  day  was  the  13th,  with 
— 34°.  The  first  week  of  May  was  also  somewhat  cold,  about  —20°  to 
— 25°,  the  second  week  somewhat  milder,  about  —14°,  and  on  May  21st  we 
had  the  first  rise  above  freezing-point  of  this  year,  the  maximum  thermom- 
eter showing  at  the  evening  observation  +0.9°. 

Some  days  during  this  winter  were  remarkable  for  very  great  and  sud- 
den changes  in  temperature.  One  instance  was  Friday,  February  21st. 
In  the  morning  it  was  cloudy,  with  a  stiff  breeze  from  the  southeast.  Late 
in  the  afternoon  the  wind  suddenly  changed  to  the  southwest,  and  slack- 
ened off  to  a  velocity  of  14  feet;  and  the  temperature  went  down  from  —7° 
in  the  morning  to  —25°  shortly  before  the  change  in  the  wind,  rapidly 
rising  again  to  —6.2°  at  8  o'clock  p.m. 

In  my  Journal  I  wrote  of  this  day  as  follows:  "  I  was  walking  on  deck 
to-night,  and  before  I  went  down  had  a  lookout  astern.  When  I  put  my 
head  out  of  the  tent  I  felt  so  warm  a  current  of  air  that  my  first  thought 
was  that  there  must  be  fire  somewhere  on  board.  I  soon  made  out,  how- 
ever, that  it  was  the  temperature  which  had  risen  so  greatly  since  I  was 
under  the  open  sky.  Scott-Hansen  and  I  afterwards  went  up  and  placed 
a  thermometer  under  the  ship's  tent,  where  it  showed  —19°,  while  the 
thermometer  outside  showed  only  —6°.    We  walked  for  some  time  back- 


JANUARY  I    TO  MAY  77,  i8g6  639 

ward  and  forward,  and  breathed  the  warm  air  in  deep  draughts.  It  was 
beyond  all  description  pleasant  to  feel  the  mild  wind  caress  one's  cheek. 
Yes,  there  is  a  great  difference  between  living  in  such  a  temperature  and 
daily  breathing  an  air  40°  to  50°  below  freezing-point.  Personally,  I  am 
not  very  much  incommoded  by  it,  but  many  complain  that  they  feel  a  pain 
deep  in  the  chest.  I  only  find  when  I  have  been  taking  a  good  deal  of 
exercise  that  my  mouth  is  parched." 

The  following  day,  February  22d,  it  first  blew  from  the  S.S.E.,  but  later 
the  wind  changed  to  half  a  gale  from  the  west,  with  a  velocity  of  55  feet 
per  second.  The  barometer  showed  the  lowest  reading  during  the  whole 
voyage  up  till  then — namely,  723.6  mm.  The  air  was  so  full  of  drifting 
snow  that  we  could  not  see  6  feet  from  the  ship,  and  the  thermometer- 
house  out  On  the  ice  was  in  a  few  minutes  so  packed  with  drift-snow  that 
it  was  impossible  to  read  off  the  instruments.  It  was  not  very  comforta- 
ble down  in  the  saloon,  as  it  was  impossible  to  create  any  draught.  We 
made  unsuccessful  attempts  to  light  the  stoves,  but  soon  had  to  take  the 
fire  away,  to  prevent  suffocation  by  smoke.  Sunday  night  the  storm 
abated,  but  on  Monday  and  Tuesday  there  was  again  half  a  gale,  with 
snowfall  and  drift,  and  nearly  28  degrees  of  frost.  Not  before  Wednesday 
afternoon  did  the  weather  improve  in  earnest;  it  then  cleared  up,  and  the 
wind  slackened  to  20  feet,  so  both  we  and  the  dogs  could  get  out  on  the 
ice  and  take  a  little  exercise.  The  dogs  wanted  to  get  out  of  their  kennels 
in  the  morning,  but  even  they  found  the  weather  too  bad,  and  slunk  in 
again. 

We  had  a  good  many  rough- weather  days  like  this,  not  only  in  the  winter, 
but  also  in  the  summer;  but  as  a  rule  the  rough  weather  lasted  only  a  day 
at  a  time,  and  did  not  involve  any  great  discomfort.  On  the  contrary,  we 
had  no  objection  to  a  little  rough  weather,  especially  when  it  was  accom- 
panied by  a  fresh  breeze  that  might  drift  the  ice  speedily  westward.  Of 
course,  what  most  interested  us  was  the  drifting  and  everything  connected 
with  it.  Our  spirits  were  often  far  better  in  rough  weather  than  on  glit- 
tering days  of  clear  weather,  with  only  a  slight  breeze  or  a  calm  and  a 
brilliant  aurora  borealis  at  night. 

With  the  drift  we  had  reason  to  be  well  satisfied,  especially  in  January 
and  the  first  week  in  February.  During  that  time  we  drifted  all  the 
way  from  the  48th  to  the  25th  degree  of  longitude,  while  our  latitude 
kept  steady  —  about  84°  50'.  The  best  drift  we  had  was  from  January 
28th  to  February  3d,  when  there  was  a  constant  stiff  breeze  blowing  from 
the  east,  which  on  Sunday,  February  2d,  increased  to  a  speed  of  58  feet 
6  inches  to  69  feet  a  second,  or  even  more  during  squalls.  This  was,  how- 
ever, the  only  real  gale  during  the  whole  of  our  voyage.  On  Saturday,  Feb- 
ruary I  St,  we  passed  the  longitude  of  Vardo,  and  celebrated  the  occasion 
by  some  festivities  in  the  evening.  On  February  15th  we  were  in  84°  20' 
north  latitude  and  23°  28'  east  longitude,  and  we  now  drifted  some  dis- 


640  APPENDIX 

tance  back,  so  that  on  February  29th  we  were  in  27°  east  longitude.  After- 
wards the  drift  westward  was  very  slow,  but  it  was  better  towards  the  south, 
so  that  on  May  i6th  we  were  at  83°  45'  north  latitude  and  12""  50'  east  longi- 
tude. 

The  drift  gave  occasion  to  many  bets,  especially  when  it  was  good,  and 
our  spirits  proportionately  high.  One  day  at  the  end  of  January,  when  the 
line  showed  that  we  were  drifting  briskly  in  the  right  direction,  Henri ksen 
found  his  voice  and  said:  "We  have  never  made  a  bet  before,  captain; 
suppose  we  make  a  bet  now  as  to  how  far  south  we  have  got."  "  All  right," 
I  said ;  and  we  accordingly  made  a  bet  of  a  ration  of  salmon,  I  that  we 
were  not  south  of  84°  40',  or  between  40'  and  41',  and  he  said  we  were 
between  36'  and  37'.  Scott-Hansen  then  took  an  observation,  and  found 
that  Henriksen  had  lost.    The  latitude  was  84°  40.2'. 

Since  the  last  bird  of  passage  left  us  we  had  nowhere  seen  a  single  liv- 
ing creature,  right  up  to  February  28th.  Not  even  a  bear  had  been  seen 
during  our  many  rambles  on  the  ice. 

At  6  A.M.  Pettersen  came  rushing  into  the  cabin,  and  told  me  that  he 
saw  two  bears  near  the  ship.  I  hurried  up  on  deck,  but  it  was  still  so  dark 
that  I  could  not  at  once  get  sight  of  them,  although  Pettersen  was  point- 
ing in  their  direction.  At  last  I  saw  them  trotting  along  slowly  towards 
the  ship.  About  150  yards  away  they  stopped.  I  tried  to  take  aim  at 
them,  but  as  it  was  still  too  dark  to  be  sure  of  my  shot,  I  waited  a  little, 
hoping  that  they  would  come  nearer.  They  stood  for  a  time  staring  at 
the  ship,  but  then  wheeled  round  and  sneaked  ofT  again.  I  asked  Pettersen 
if  he  had  something  to  fry  which  would  smell  really  nice  and  strong  and 
attract  the  bears  back.  He  stood  ruminating  a  little,  then  ran  down-stairs, 
and  came  up  again  with  a  pan  of  fried  butter  and  onions.  "  I  am  blowed 
if  I  haven't  got  something  savory  for  them,"  he  said,  and  tossed  the  pan  up 
on  the  rail.  The  bears  had  long  been  out  of  sight.  It  was  cold,  35  degrees 
I  should  think,  and  I  hurried  down  to  get  my  fur  coat  on,  but  before  I  had 
done  so  Bentzen  came  running  down  and  told  me  to  make  haste,  as  the 
bears  were  coming  back.  We  tore  on  deck  at  full  speed,  and  now  had  the 
animals  well  within  range,  about  100  yards  away.  I  squatted  down  behind 
the  rail,  took  a  good  aim,  and— missed  fire.  The  bears  were  a  little  star- 
tled, and  seemed  to  be  contemplating  a  retreat.  I  quickly  cocked  the  rifle 
again  and  fired  at  the  largest  one.  It  fell  head  over  heels,  with  a  tremen- 
dous roar.  Then  I  fired  at  the  second  one.  It  first  turned  a  fine  somer- 
sault before  it  fell.  After  that  they  both  got  up  and  took  a  few  steps 
forward ;  but  then  they  both  came  down  again.  I  gave  them  each  one 
of  the  two  cartridges  I  had  left,  but  still  this  was  not  enough  for  these 
long-lived  animals.  Pettersen  was  very  much  interested  in  the  sport. 
Without  any  weapon  he  ran  down  the  gangway  and  away  towards  the 
bears,  but  then  he  suddenly  had  misgivings,  and  called  to  Bentzen  to  fol- 
low him.     Bentzen,  who  had  no  weapons  either,  was  naturally  not  very 


JANUARY  I    TO  MAY  ly,  i8g6  641 

keen  about  running  after  two  wounded  bears.  After  getting  some  more 
cartridges  I  met  Pettersen  midway  between  the  bears  and  the  Fram.  The 
animals  were  now  crawling  along  a  pressure-ridge.  I  stopped  at  a  distance 
of  30  yards,  but  first  of  all  I  had  to  shout  to  Pettersen,  who,  in  his  eager- 
ness, hurried  on  before  me,  and  now  stood  just  in  the  line  of  fire.  At  last 
the  great  she-bear  got  her  death-wound,  and  I  ran  along  the  pressure-ridge 
in  order  to  see  where  the  other  one  had  got  to.  Suddenly  it  stuck  its 
head  up  over  the  ridge,  and  I  at  once  sent  a  shot  through  its  neck  close  up 
to  the  head. 

All  hands  were  then  called  out,  and  great  was  the  rejoicing.  Our 
mouths  watered  at  the  thought  of  the  delicious  fresh  meat  we  should  now 
enjoy  for  a  long  time.  It  was  about  16  months  since  we  had  last  shot 
a  bear,  and  for  14  months  we  had  not  had  any  fresh  meat,  except  one  or 
two  dishes  of  seals  and  birds  shot  during  the  summer.  We  blessed  Petter- 
sen's  savory  frying-pan.  The  bears  were  cut  up  and  made  into  steaks, 
rissoles,  roasts,  etc.  Even  the  bones  we  laid  aside  to  make  soup  of.  The 
ribs  were  the  most  succulent.  We  had  them  for  dinner,  and  everybody 
voted  that  a  sirloin  of  bear  was  a  dish  for  a  king.  Accordingly  we  all  ate 
very  large  helpings,  with  heartfelt  wishes  that  it  might  not  be  long  before 
some  bears  again  paid  us  a  visit. 

After  this  Pettersen  became  so  infatuated  with  bear-hunting  that  he 
talked  of  it  early  and  late.  One  day  he  got  it  into  his  head  that  some 
bears  would  come  during  the  night.  He  had  such  a  belief  in  his  forebod- 
ings that  he  made  all  possible  preparations  for  the  night  and  got  Bentzen 
to  join  forces  with  him.  Bentzen  had  the  morning  watch,  and  was  to  call 
him  as  soon  as  the  bears  appeared.  A  merry  fellow,  who  wanted  to  make 
sure  of  seeing  Pettersen  bear-hunting,  had  taken  the  precaution  to  hang  a 
little  bell  on  Bentzen's  rifle,  so  that  he  could  hear  when  they  started.  Un- 
fortunately no  bear  appeared.  Pettersen,  however,  had  so  set  his  heart  on 
shooting  a  bear  that  I  had  to  promise  to  let  him  have  a  shot  some  time 
when  I  myself  was  by  and  had  a  charge  ready,  in  case  the  inconceivable 
should  happen,  and  Pettersen  should  miss — a  mishap  which  he' would  find 
it  very  hard  to  get  over. 

On  Sunday,  March  8th,  we  had  another  instance  of  a  sudden  change  in 
temperature  like  that  of  February  21st.  In  the  morning  it  was  cloudy, 
with  a  fresh  breeze  from  the  E.N.E.,  but  at  3  p.m.  the  wind  fell,  and  at  6 
o'clock  changed  to  a  light  S.S.E.  breeze.  At  the  same  time  the  tempera- 
ture rose  from  —26°  to  —8°,  and  it  was  very  pleasant  to  saunter  round  on 
the  half-deck  in  the  evening  and  breathe  the  mild  air. 

On  March  4th  we  saw  the  sun  for  the  first  time.  It  should  have  been 
visible  the  day  before,  but  then  it  was  too  cloudy.  By  way  of  compensa- 
tion it  was  now  a  double  festival  day,  as  we  could  celebrate  both  the  re- 
turn of  the  sun  and  Nordahl's  birthday  in  one. 

On  March  14th  it  was  one  year  since  Nansen  and  Johapsen  commenced 
41 


642  APPENDIX 

their  long  ice-journey.  The  day  was  celebrated  by  a  better  dinner,  with 
coffee  afterwards  and  a  punch-bowl  in  the  evening. 

Besides  the  usual  scientific  observations,  which  were  continued  without 
any  interruptions  worth  mentioning,  we  also  took  soundings  during  the 
winter,  but  did  not  reach  bottom  with  a  3000-metre  line  (1625  fathoms). 

On  April  13th  Scott-Hansen  and  \  took  an  observation  with  the  theod- 
olite, and  Nordahl  an  observation  with  the  sextant,  on  the  natural  horizon. 
According  to  the  theodolite,  the  latitude  was  84°  11.5',  and  by  the  sextant 
84°  13'.  We  had  previously  ascertained  that  there  was  a  difference  of  about 
two  minutes  between  the  artificial  and  natural  horizons.  In  using  the  nat- 
ural horizon  a  smaller  latitude  is  obtained,  even  though  there  is  no  mirage. 
The  deviation  will,  however,  under  favorable  circumstances,  seldom  exceed 
two  minutes.  But  if  there  is  much  mirage,  it  becomes  almost  impossible 
to  obtain  a  fairly  correct  result.  As  a  rule,  therefore,  in  taking  observa- 
tions in  the  drift-ice,  one  has  to  use  the  artificial  horizon  or  theodolite,  if 
a  very  exact  result  is  desired. 

As  the  time  passed  on  towards  spring  the  days  became  longer,  and  more 
rifts  and  channels  were  formed  round  the  ship.  It  was  time  to  think  of  be- 
ginning preparations  for  forcing  the  Fram  ahead  as  soon  as  sufficiently  large 
openings  should  appear  in  the  ice.  The  things  stored  on  the  ice  had  been 
frequently  shifted  about  in  the  course  of  the  winter,  but  as  the  ice  became 
more  broken  up,  it  was  of  little  use  to  shift  them.  So  in  the  middle  of 
April  we  took  the  winter  depot  on  board  and  stowed  it  away  in  the  main 
hold.  We  also  took  on  board  the  sacks  from  the  coal  depot,  while  the 
barrels  and  hogsheads,  together  with  the  dog-biscuits,  kayaks,  and  sledges, 
were  for  the  present  left  upon  the  ice.  The  sun  at  this  time  became  so 
strong  that  on  April  19th  the  snow  began  to  melt  away  on  the  tent ;  along 
the  ship's  side  it  had  been  melting  for  several  days. 

The  first  harbinger  of  spring  we  saw  this  year  was  a  snow- bunting, 
which  made  its  appearance  on  the  evening  of  April  25th.  It  took  up  per- 
manent quarters  in  one  of  the  sealing -boats,  where  it  was  treated  with 
groats  and  scraps  of  food,  and  soon  got  very  tame.  It  favored  us  with  its 
presence  for  several  days,  and  then  flew  away.  The  Fram  had  evidently 
been  a  welcome  resting-place  for  it;  it  had  eaten  its  fill,  and  gathered 
new  strength  for  the  remainder  of  its  journey.  On  May  3d  we  were  again 
visited  by  a  snow -bunting,  and  a  couple  of  days  later  by  two  more.  I 
fancy  it  was  our  former  guest,  who  in  the  meantime  had  found  its  mate, 
and  now  returned  with, her  to  call  and  thank  us  for  our  hospitality.  They 
remained  with  us  about  an  hour,  and  did  their  best  to  cheer  us  with  their 
chirping  and  twittering;  but  as  the  dogs  would  not  give  them  any  peace, 
but  chased  them  everywhere,  they  finally  took  flight,  and  did  not  return 
again. 

After  the  first  few  days  in  May  we  removed  the  temporary  deck,  which 
had  been  laid  oyer  the  davits,  cleared  the  main-deck,  and  took  both  the 


JANUARY  I   TO  MAY  17,  1896  643 

sealing-boats  and  the  long-boats  on  board.  The  gangway  was  also  re- 
moved, and  a  ladder  put  in  its  place.  Next  we  shipped  the  rest  of  the 
coal  depot,  the  dog  provisions,  and  the  sledges ;  in  fact,  we  took  in  every- 
thing that  was  left  on  the  ice.  All  that  was  now  left  to  be  done  was  to 
get  the  engine  ready  for  getting  up  steam,  and  this  we  set  about  on  May 
1 8th. 

The  dogs  got  on  well  in  their  kennels  on  the  ice,  in  spite  of  the  pro- 
longed and  strong  cold,  and  we  had  very  little  trouble  with  them.  But  af- 
ter the  first  month  in  the  new  year  some  of  the  bigger  dogs  became  so 
fierce  towards  the  smaller  ones  that  we  had  to  take  two  of  the  worst  tyrants 
on  board  and  keep  them  locked  up  for  a  time.  They  also  did  a  good  deal 
of  mischief  whenever  they  had  an  opportunity.  One  day,  for  instance,  they 
began  to  gnaw  at  the  kayaks  that  were  placed  on  the  top  of  the  largest 
dog-kennel.  However,  we  got  hold  of  them  in  time  before  any  serious 
damage  was  done,  and  cleared  away  the  snow  round  the  kennel,  so  that 
they  could  not  climb  up  again  to  go  on  with  this  amusement. 

On  February  loth  one  of  "Sussi's"  puppies  littered.  We  took  her  on 
board,  and  laid  her  in  a  large  box  filled  with  shavings.  We  allowed  her 
to  keep  only  one  of  her  five  pups ;  we  killed  two  at  once,  one  was  born 
dead,  and  she  had  devoured  her  first-born — the  cannibal ! 

Some  days  later  "  Kara  "  had  a  litter.  She  was  the  only  one  of  the 
dogs  that  manifested  any  maternal  instinct.  It  was  quite  touching  to  see 
her,  and  we  felt  sorry  to  have  to  take  the  pups  away  from  her ;  but  we 
were  forced  to  make  away  with  them,  not  only  because  it  was  impossible 
to  bring  them  up  at  that  time  of  the  year,  but  also  because  the  mother 
herself  was  only  a  puppy,  delicate  and  diminutive. 

In  the  beginning  of  March  the  October  whelps  were  let  out  all  day,  and 
on  March  5th  we  put  them,  with  the  older  dogs,  under  the  hood  of  the 
fore-companion.  In  the  evening  the  cover  was  put  on,  and  when  during: 
the  night  the  hole  near  the  edge  of  the  ice  became  filled  up  with  snow,  it 
got  so  warm  in  the  hutch  that  the  hoar-frost  and  ice  melted  and  all  the 
dogs  got  wet.  The  pups  felt  the  cold  terribly  when  they  were  let  out  in 
the  morning,  and  we  therefore  took  them  down  into  the  saloon  until  they 
were  warm  again. 


CHAPTER  V 
THE    THIRD    SUMMER 

On  the  Seventeenth  of  May  the  Fram  was  in  about  83°  45'  north  lati- 
tude and  12°  50'  east  longitude.  We  again  celebrated  the  day  with  a  flag 
procession,  as  on  the  previous  Seventeenth  of  May.  Mogstad  sat  on  the 
bearskins  in  the  sledge,  driving  a  team  of  seven  dogs,  and  with  the  band 
{i.e.,  Bentzen)  at  his  side.  Just  as  we  were  arranging  the  procession  for 
the  march  upon  the  ice,  five  female  narwhals  suddenly  appeared,  and  im- 
mediately afterwards  a  small  seal  was  seen  in  the  lane  abreast  of  the  ship 
—an  enlivening  sight,  which  we  accepted  as  a  good  omen  for  the  coming 
summer. 

The  great  hummock,  which  was  the  scene  of  our  merry-makings  on 
the  Seventeenth  of  May  last  year,  was  now  so  far  away  and  so  difficult  to 
reach  on  account  of  lanes  and  rugged  ice  that  the  festivities  in  the  open 
air  were  limited  to  the  flag  procession.  The  cortege  took  its  way  south- 
ward, past  the  thermometer-hut,  to  the  lane,  thence  northward  along  the 
lane,  and  then  back  to  the  ship,  where  it  dispersed,  but  not  before  it  had 
been  photographed. 

At  12  o'clock  a  salute  was  fired,  after  which  we  sat  down  to  an  excellent 
dinner,  with  genuine  "Chateau  \2i  Fram"  vintage  1896.*  The  table  was 
laid  with  great  taste,  and  there  was  an  elegant  paper  napkin  at  each  cover, 
with  the  word  Fram  in  the  corner  and  the  following  inscription  : 

"The  Seventeenth  May,  our  memorial  day, 

Recalls  what  our  fathers  have  done ; 
It  cheers  us  and  heartens  us  on  to  the  fray. 
And  shows  us  that  where  there's  a  will  there's  a  way, 
And,  with  right  on  our  side,  we  may  hope  to  display 

The  proud  banner  of  victory  won." 

During  the  dinner  speeches  were  made  in  honor  of  the  day,  of  Norway,  of 
Nansen  and  Johansen,  etc. 

*  This  claret  was  made  for  the  occasion,  and  consisted  of  the  juice  of  dried  red 
whortleberries  and  bilberries,  with  the  addition  of  a  little  spirits.  I  was  highly  com- 
plimented on  this  beverage,  and  served  it  again  on  other  occasions. 


THE   THIRD  SUMMER  645 

During  the  days  following  May  17th  we  were  occupied  in  getting  the 
engine  and  its  appurtenances  ready  for  work  and  clearing  the  rudder-well 
and  the  propeller-well.  First  we  attempted  to  pump  water  into  the  boiler 
through  a  hose  let  down  into  a  hole  out  upon  the  ice.  But  the  cold  was 
still  so  intense  that  the  water  froze  in  the  pump.  We  were  obliged  to 
carry  water  in  buckets  and  pour  it  into  the  boiler  by  means  of  a  canvas 
hose,  made  for  the  occasion  and  carried  from  the  boiler  to  the  hatchway 
above  the  engine-room.  Amundsen  thought  at  first  that  he  had  got  the 
bottom  cock  clear  so  that  he  could  let  the  water  run  direct  into  the  boiler, 
but  it  soon  became  evident  that  it  was  too  slow  work  as  long  as  there  was 
still  any  ice  around  the  cock.  Later  on  we  hoisted  the  funnel  and  lighted 
the  furnaces,  and  on  the  afternoon  of  May  19th  the  steam  was  up  for  the 
first  time  since  we  got  into  the  ice  in  the  autumn  of  1893. 

Next  we  cut  away  as  much  of  the  ice  as  possible  in  the  propeller-well, 
and  carried  a  steam  hose  down  into  it.  It  was  very  effectual.  We  also 
attempted  to  use  the  steam  for  melting  away  the  ice  in  the  propeller-sheath 
around  the  shaft,  but  without  apparent  success.  We  easily  procured  water 
for  the  boiler  now  by  filling  the  water-tank  on  the  deck  with  ice  and  melt- 
ing it  with  steam. 

After  supper  we  went  down  into  the  engine-room  to  try  to  turn  the 
shaft,  and  finally  we  succeeded  in  giving  it  a  three-quarters  turn.  This 
was  victory,  and  we  were  all  fully  satisfied  with  the  day's  work. 

The  following  day  we  melted  away  the  ice  in  the  rudder-well  by  steam, 
and  at  1.30  p.m.  Amundsen  began  to  "move"  the  engine.  Some  large 
pieces  of  ice  floated  up  from  the  rudder-stock  or  frame;  we  fished  them  up, 
and  everything  was  in  order.  Amundsen  let  the  engine  work  some  time, 
and  all  were  down  with  him  to  see  the  wonder  with  their  own  eyes,  and  to 
be  convinced  that  he  really  had  got  it  to  turn  round. 

This  was  quite  an  event  for  us.  It  filled  us  with  renewed  courage  and 
hope  of  soon  getting  out  of  our  long  captivity,  though  the  way  might  be 
ever  so  long  and  weary.  The  Fram  was  no  longer  a  helpless  ball,  tossed 
to  and  fro  at  the  caprice  of  the  drift-ice.  Our  gallant  ship  had  awakened 
to  renewed  life  after  her  year-long  winter  sleep,  and  we  rejoiced  to  feel  the 
first  pulsations  of  her  strongly  beating  heart.  It  seemed  as  if  the  Fram 
understood  us,  and  wanted  to  say:  "  Onward  !  southward  !  homeward !" 

The  state  of  the  ice  around  the  ship,  however,  was  still  far  from  being 
so  favorable  as  to  give  us  any  prospect  of  getting  out  just  at  present.  It 
is  true  that  symptoms  of  spring  began  to  show  themselves ;  the  temperature 
rose,  and  the  snow  vanished  rapidly ;  but  we  still  remained  at  about  the 
same  latitude  where  we  had  been  lying  for  months— namely,  at  about  84°. 
From  the  crow's-nest,  indeed,  we  could  see  a  large  channel,  which  extend- 
ed southward  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach ;  but  to  get  through  the  belt 
of  ice,  over  200  yards  wide,  which  separated  us  from  it,  was  impossible  be- 
fore the  thick  pack-ice  slackened  somewhat.    We  therefore  made  no  at- 


646  APPENDIX 

tempt  to  blast  the  ship  free,  but  devoted  our  time  to  various  duties  on 
board,  did  whatever  was  left  undone,  got  the  steam  windlass  in  order,  ex- 
amined all  our  cordage,  and  so  forth. 

In  the  hole  in  the  ice  which  was  always  kept  open  for  the  striking  of 
the  log-line,  we  had  placed  the  heads  of  the  two  bears,  so  that  the  amphi- 
poda  might  pick  off  the  meat  for  us,  a  task  which  they  usually  perform 
quickly  and  effectually.  One  day,  when  a  swarm  of  amphipoda  appeared 
above  the  bears'  heads,  Scott-Hansen  caught  a  lot  of  them  in  a  bag-net, 
and  had  them  cooked  for  supper,  intending  to  give  us  a  regular  treat.  But 
we  were  sadly  disappointed.  There  was  not  a  particle  of  meat  on  the  mis- 
erable creatures — nothing  but  shells  and  emptiness.  If  we  put  a  couple  of 
dozen  into  our  mouths  at  a  time  they  tasted  somewhat  like  shrimps.  But 
I  am  afraid  that  were  we  limited  to  such  fare,  and  nothing  else,  we  should 
soon  diminish  unpleasantly  in  weight. 

In  the  later  days  of  May  the  prospects  became  brighter,  as  the  wind 
changed  to  half  a  gale  from  the  east  and  north.  The  ice  began  to  drift 
slowly  towards  the  southwest,  and  continued  to  slacken  at  the  same  time, 
so  that  on  May  29th  we  could  see  to  the  southward  a  good  deal  of  open 
water,  with  dark  air  above,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach. 

After  several  requests  had  been  made  to  me,  I  decided  to  make  an  at- 
tempt at  blasting  the  vessel  clear.  At  i  p.m.  we  set  off  a  mine  of  1 10  pounds 
of  gunpowder.  It  had  an  astonishingly  good  effect,  wrenching  up  heavy 
masses  of  ice  and  sending  them  rushing  out  into  the  channel.  Our  hopes 
revived,  and  it  really  seemed  that  another  such  blasting  would  entirely  lib- 
erate the  vessel.  Immediately  after  dinner  we  went  to  work  to  lay  another 
large  mine  20  yards  abaft  the  stern.  It  gave  us  an  incredible  amount  of 
work  to  make  a  hole  in  the  ice  to  get  the  charge  down.  We  first  bored 
a  hole;  then  we  tried  to  make  it  larger  by  blowing  it  out  by  means  of 
small  gunpowder  charges,  and  later  with  gun-cotton ;  but  it  was  of  no  avail. 
Then  we  had  to  resort  to  lances,  ice-picks,  steam — in  short,  to  every  pos- 
sible means;  but  all  in  vain.  The  ice  had,  however,  got  so  cracked  in  all 
directions,  owing  to  the  many  charges  which  had  been  exploded  in  the 
same  place,  that  we  presumed  that  a  large  mine  in  the  log-line  hole  would 
blow  up  the  whole  mass.  As  the  ice  was  thinner  at  that  part,  the  mine 
was  lowered  to  a  depth  of  10  yards.  It  exploded  with  terrific  effect.  A 
mighty  column  of  water  was  forced  as  high  as  the  foretop.  It  did  not  con- 
sist of  water  alone,  but  contained  a  good  many  lumps  of  ice.  which  rained 
down  for  some  distance  round.  One  piece  of  over  one  hundredweight 
came  down  right  through  the  tent  and  on  to  the  forecastle ;  other  pieces 
flew  over  the  vessel,  and  fell  on  the  starboard  side.  Scott-Hansen  and 
Henriksen,  who  were  standing  on  the  ice  at  the  electric  battery  used  for 
firing  the  mine,  were  not  pleasantly  situated  when  the  mine  exploded. 
When  the  shock  came  they  of  course  started  to  run  as  fast  as  their  legs 
would  carry  them,  but  they  did  not  get  away  quickly  enough  to  reach  the 


THE   THIRD  SUMMER  647 

deep  snow.  The  pieces  of  ice  rained  unmercifully  down  upon  their  backs. 
After  a  great  deal  of  trouble  we  laid  and  fired  two  other  large  gunpow- 
der mines,  besides  some  smaller  ones,  but  without  much  effect.  We  then 
began  to  bore  holes  for  two  gun-cotton  mines,  which  were  to  be  fired 
simultaneously.  But  when  we  had  got  down  two  and  a  half  drill-lengths 
the  screw  broke,  and  before  we  could  proceed  new  grooves  had  to  be  filed 
on  the  other  drill  before  we  could  use  it  again.  At  12  o'clock  at  night  we 
knocked  off  work,  after  having  been  at  it  unceasingly  since  the  morning. 

Next  day  at  6  o'clock  the  boring  was  continued.  But  the  ice  was  so 
hard  and  difficult  to  work  at  that,  although  four  men  were  handling  the 
drill,  we  had  to  erect  a  small  crane  with  tackle  to  hoist  the  drill  out  every 
time  it  got  clogged  up.  The  ice  was  so  thick  that  it  took  four  drill-lengths 
(about  20  feet)  to  make  a  hole  through  it.  One  of  the  gun-cotton  mines 
was  now  lowered  into  the  hole,  while  the  other  was  put  beneath  the  edge 
of  an  old  channel  by  means  of  a  long  pole.  Both  mines  were  fired  simul- 
taneously, but  only  one  exploded.  We  connected  the  wires,  and  then  the 
other  went  off  too.  But  the  result  was  far  from  answering  our  expectations. 
Although  the  large  mines  were  carried  down  to  a  depth  of  20  yards  where 
the  ice  was  thin,  the  resistance  was  too  great  for  us. 

The  blasting  was  now  discontinued  till  June  2d,  when  during  the  night 
the  ice  opened  up  along  the  old  lane  close  to  the  vessel.  First  we  fired  a 
gun-cotton  mine  right  abaft.  It  took  effect,  and  split  the  ice  close  to  the 
stern.  Next  we  drilled  a  hole  about  16  feet  deep  right  abreast  of  the  ship, 
and  loaded  it  with  10  prismer,  or  330  grammes,  of  gun-cotton  (equivalent 
to  about  30  pounds  of  ordinary  gunpowder) ;  but  as  I  thought  it  would  be 
too  risky  to  explode  a  mine  of  this  strength  so  near  the  vessel,  we  first  fired 
a  small  gunpowder  mine  of  1 1  pounds,  to  see  what  effect  it  would  have. 
The  result  was  insignificant,  so  the  large  mine  was  fired.  It  made  things 
lively  indeed  !  The  ship  received  such  a  shock  that  one  of  the  paintings 
and  a  rifle  fell  down  on  the  floor  in  the  saloon,  and  the  clock  in  my  cabin 
was  hurled  from  the  wall.  It  was  evidently  felt  in  the  engine-room  as  well, 
for  Amundsen  had  a  bottle  and  a  lamp-chimney  smashed.  On  the  ice  the 
explosion  took  such  good  effect  that  the  ship  nearly  broke  loose  at  one 
blow;  she  was  now  merely  hanging  on  a  little  forward  and  aft.  With  a 
little  more  work  we  might  have  got  quite  clear  the  same  evening,  but  I 
left  her  as  she  was  to  avoid  the  trouble  of  mooring  her.  Instead  of  that 
we  had  something  extra  after  supper ;  we  considered  that  we  had  done  such 
a  good  stroke  of  work  that  day  that  we  deserved  a  reward. 

Next  morning  we  blew  away  the  ice  that  held  our  bow.  I  myself  took 
a  pickaxe  and  commenced  to  hack  away  at  the  ice  which  held  the  stern 
fast.  I  had  hardly  been  at  work  at  this  for  more  than  four  or  five  minutes 
before  the  vessel  suddenly  gave  a  lurch,  settled  a  little  deeper  at  the  stern, 
and  moved  away  from  the  edge  of  the  ice,  until  the  hawsers  became  taut. 
She  now  lay  about  six  inches  higher  at  the  bow  than  when  she  froze  fast 


648  APPENDIX 

in  the  autumn.  Thus  the  Fram  was  free,  and  ready  to  force  her  way 
through  the  ice  as  soon  as  the  circumstances  would  permit.  But  we  were 
still  unable  to  move. 

Even  in  the  month  of  May  there  had  been  signs  of  whales  and  seals  in 
the  channels,  and  an  occasional  sea-bird  had  also  put  in  an  appearance. 
During  the  months  of  June  and  July  there  was  still  more  animal  life 
around  us,  so  that  we  could  soon  go  in  for  hunting  to  our  hearts'  content. 
During  the  summer  we  not  only  shot  a  number  of  fulmars,  black  guille- 
mots, skuas,  auks,  and  little  auks,  but  also  a  couple  of  eider-ducks,  and 
even  a  brace  of  broad -beaked  snipe.  We  also  shot  a  number  of  small 
seals,  but  only  got  hold  of  six ;  the  others  sank  so  rapidly  that  we  could 
not  reach  them  in  time.  As  a  matter  of  course,  we  welcomed  every  op- 
portunity of  a  hunting  expedition,  especially  when  there  was  a  bear  in  the 
case.  It  was  not  often  he  did  us  the  honor,  but  the  greater  was  the  ex- 
citement and  interest  when  his  appearance  was  announced.  Then  the  lads 
would  get  lively,  and  hastily  prepare  to  give  the  visitor  a  suitable  recep- 
tion. Altogether  we  killed  sixteen  or  seventeen  full-grown  bears  during 
the  summer,  and  a  young  one,  which  we  captured  alive,  but  had  to  kill 
later  on,  as  it  made  a  fearful  noise  on  board. 

One  night  in  the  beginning  of  June,  when  Henriksen  was  on  his  way  to 
the  observation-house  to  take  the  readings  of  the  instruments,  a  bear  sud- 
denly came  upon  him.  Before  starting  on  his  scientific  quest  he  had  been 
prudent  enough  to  go  up  on  the  bridge  to  have  a  look  around  and  see 
whether  the  coast  was  clear,  but  he  did  not  observe  anything  suspicious. 
When  he  approached  the  observation-house  he  suddenly  heard  a  hissing 
sound  close  by,  and  caught  sight  of  a  grinning  bear,  which  was  standing  at 
a  pressure-ridge  staring  at  him.  Naturally  Henriksen  felt  anything  but 
comfortable  at  this  unexpected  meeting,  unarmed  as  he  was.  He  at  first 
considered  whether  he*should  beat  a  dignified  retreat,  or  whether  he  should 
fly  at  the  top  of  his  speed.  Both  parties  were  equally  far  from  the  vessel, 
and  if  the  bear  had  evil  intentions  it  might  be  advisable  to  retreat  without 
delay  before  he  approached  any  nearer.  He  started  off  as  fast  as  he  could, 
and  was  not  sure  whether  the  beast  was  not  at  his  heels ;  but  he  reached 
the  vessel  safely  and  seized  his  gun,  which  was  standing  ready  on  deck.  Be- 
fore he  came  out  upon  the  ice  again  the  dogs  had  scented  the  bear,  and  at 
once  attacked  him.  The  bear  at  first  jumped  up  on  the  observation-house, 
but  the  dogs  followed,  so  down  he  went  again,  and  with  such  alarcity,  too, 
that  Henriksen  had  no  time  to  fire.  The  bear  started  ofl  to  the  nearest 
channel,  where  he  disappeared  both  from  the  dogs  and  the  hunter.  In  his 
eagerness  "  Gorm  "  jumped  out  upon  some  pieces  of  ice  which  were  float- 
ing in  the  thick  brash  in  the  channel,  and  now  he  was  afraid  to  jump  back 
again.  There  he  sat  howling.  I  heard  the  wailing,  and  soon  caught  sight 
of  him  from  the  crow's-nest,  whereupon  Scott-Hansen  and  I  started  off  and 
rescued  him. 


THE   THIRD  SUMMER  649 

Some  days  later,  at  about  10  o'clock  in  the  morning,  we  heard  Nordahl 
crying  "  Bear ."  and  all  hurried  on  deck  with  our  rifles.  But  the  dogs  had 
had  the  start  of  us,  and  had  already  put  the  bears  to  flight.  Mogstad  per- 
ceived, however,  from  the  crow's-nest,  that  the  dogs  had  come  up  with 
them  at  a  small  lane,  where  they  had  taken  the  water,  and  he  then  came 
down  to  tell  me.  He  and  I  started  ofl  in  pursuit.  The  condition  of  the 
ice  was  good,  and  we  made  rapid  progress ;  but  as  we  had  the  wind  on  our 
side,  it  was  some  time  before  we  could  distinguish  the  barking  of  the  dogs 
so  as  to  be  able  to  guide  ourselves  by  it.  Presently  I  caught  sight  of  one  of 
the  dogs  behind  a  small  ridge ;  soon  I  saw  some  more,  and  at  last  I  sight- 
ed the  bears.  They  were  both  sitting  on  a  floe  in  the  channel,  leaning  with 
their  backs  against  a  big  piece  of  ice.  Two  of  the  dogs  had  jumped  out 
upon  the  floe,  while  the  others  stood  on  guard  round  the  channel  or  pool. 
The  dogs  had  played  their  part  well,  keeping  such  a  close  watch  upon  the 
bears  that  we  had  no  difliiculty  in  giving  them  their  quietus.  They  both 
tumbled  over  on  the  spot ;  but  as  they  moved  slightly,  we  gave  them  a 
final  shot,  just  to  make  siire. 

Well,  there  they  lay.  But  to  get  out  to  them  was  not  so  easy.  Finally, 
having  walked  round  the  pool,  we  succeeded  in  getting  out  upon  the  floe 
from  the  other  side,  where  the  distance  from  the  solid  ice  was  less  and 
where  some  small  floes  formed  a  kind  of  bridge.  We  cleaned  the  game, 
and  then  tried  to  haul  the  bodies  over  upon  the  solid  ice.  This  we  ac- 
complished by  putting  a  running  noose  over  the  muzzles  of  the  bears  and 
pulling  them  through  the  water  to  the  edge  of  the  ice,  where  we  pushed 
some  small  floes  beneath  them ;  and  then,  with  our  united  strength,  we 
hauled  them  up.  When  homeward  bound  we  met  Nordahl,  Pettersen, 
Bentzen,  Henriksen,  and  the  mate,  who  had  guessed  from  the  report  of 
our  guns  that  there  was  business  on  hand,  and  had  started  out  to  meet  us 
with  sledges  and  harness  for  the  dogs.  The  sledges  were  lashed  together, 
one  bear  was  placed  on  each,  and,  with  nine  dogs  harnessed  to  them  and  a 
man  sitting  astride  each  bear,  off  they  went  at  such  a  speed  that  the  rest 
of  us  had  to  run  to  keep  pace  with  them. 

On  the  night  of  June  24th  we  again  received  a  visit  from  two  bears. 
Nordahl  discovered  them  when,  at  12  o'clock,  he  went  out  to  the  observa- 
tion-house ;  he  came  running  back,  and  called  those  who  had  not  yet  gone 
to  bed.  But  when  they  hurried  out  upon  the  ice  the  bears  saw  them  im- 
mediately and  disappeared. 

Three  days  later  a  she  -  bear,  with  a  young  cub,  came  trotting  towards 
the  vessel  at  noon.  We  burned  some  blubber  in  order  to  attract  them, 
but  the  bear  was  very  cautious,  and  it  was  some  time  before  she  approach- 
ed to  within  200  to  300  yards.  Then  the  mate  could  not  restrain  himself 
any  longer  and  fired,  so  the  rest  of  us  sent  her  a  few  shots  at  the  same 
time,  and  she  fell  after  walking  a  few  paces.  Some  of  us  took  the  "  pram  " 
and  pulled  across  to  the  place,  as  there  was  a  wide  channel  between  the 


650  APPENDIX 

bear  and  the  vessel.  The  cub,  poor  thing,  was  a  fine  little  fellow,  with  al- 
most perfectly  white  fur  and  a  dark  muzzle ;  it  was  about  the  size  of  one  of 
our  smallest  dogs.  When  they  came  up,  he  sat  down  on  his  mother's 
body,  remained  there  quite  still,  and  seeming  for  the  present  to  take  mat- 
ters calmly.  Henriksen  put  a  strap  around  his  neck,  and  when  the  mother 
was  conveyed  to  the  channel  he  followed  quite  willingly,  and  sat  down  on 
her  back  again  when  she  was  towed  across.  But  when,  on  arriving  at  the 
ship,  he  found  he  was  to  be  separated  from  his  mother  and  brought  on 
board,  it  was  quite  another  story.  He  resisted  with  all  his  strength,  and 
was  in  a  perfect  rage.  He  got  worse  when  he  was  let  loose  under  the  com- 
panion-hood on  board.  He  carried  on  like  a  frenzied  being,  biting,  tearing, 
growling,  and  howling  with  wild  rage,  like  a  veritable  fiend,  ceasing  only  as 
long  as  he  was  occupied  in  devouring  the  pieces  of  meat  thrown  to  him. 
Never  have  I  seen  in  any  one  creature  such  a  combination  of  all  the  most 
savage  qualities  of  wild  beasts  as  I  found  in  this  little  monster.  And  he  was 
still  quite  a  cub  !  In  the  evening  I  gave  orders  to  rid  us  of  this  unpleasant 
passenger,  and  Mogstad  ended  his  days  with  a  well-aimed  blow  of  the  hatchet. 

For  about  a  fortnight  we  saw  no  bears,  but  during  the  night  of  July 
1 2th  we  had  a  visit  from  three,  one  of  which,  after  a  hot  pursuit,  was  killed 
by  Scott-Hansen,  the  mate,  Nordahl,  and  Bentzen.  The  dogs,  too,  did  good 
service  this  time.  The  other  two  bears  sneaked  oflf  at  the  first  shot,  and 
were  lost  to  sight  in  the  fog. 

On  the  evening  of  July  i8th  Mogstad  and  I  shot  a  bear,  which  we 
should  hardly  have  got  hold  of  but  for  the  sagacity  and  alacrity  of"  Bella." 
The  dogs  at  first  attacked  him  once  or  twice,  but  after  a  short  resistance 
he  jumped  into  the  water,  and  crossed  over  two  broad  lanes,  which  it  took 
the  dogs  a  long  time  to  get  round.  He  was  just  about  to  plunge  into  a 
third  channel  when  "  Bella,"  who  in  the  meantime  had  come  round,  inter- 
cepted him  not  20  feet  from  the  edge.  At  a  distance  of  200  or  300  yards 
Mogstad  fired,  and  was  lucky  enough  to  hit  him  in  the  head,  bringing  him 
down,  and  he  now  made  only  some  feeble  attempts  to  keep  the  dogs  oflf. 
I  then  sent  him  a  shot  behind  the  shoulder;  but,  as  he  was  not  quite  dead, 
Mogstad  gave  him  the  final  one. 

On  July  2oth  the  mate  shot  a  large  bear,  which  came  swimming  across 
a  channel;  and  we  killed  our  last  bear  on  the  evening  of  August  6th,  but 
in  such  an  awkward  position  that  we  had  to  leave  the  meat,  and  it  was  as 
much  as  we  could  do  to  get  the  hide  on  board. 

In  the  matter  of  birds,  we  were  also  pretty  fortunate.  For  instance, 
Scott-Hansen  and  I  one  night  shot  9  little  auks,  i  kittiwake,  and  i  skua, 
and  the  following  day  21  more  little  auks  and  2  black  guillemots.  Henrik- 
sen in  one  day's  shooting  bagged  18  little  auks  and  i  black  guillemot,  and 
Nordahl,  26  little  auks  and  i  black  guillemot:  and,  later  on,  when  there 
had  been  an  abundance  of  game  for  some  days,  we  killed  as  many  as  30  to 
40  birds  in  the  course  of  a  few  hours. 


THE   THIRD  SUMMER  651 

This  hunting  life  had  not  only  a  beneficial  effect  upon  our  spirits,  which 
occasionally  were  rather  low,  but  it  also  gave  us  an  appetite,  which  some- 
times was  quite  ravenous.  When  we  were  weighed  at  the  end  of  the  month 
we  found  that,  whereas  some  of  us  had  previously  been  losing  weight,  we 
had  now  steaclily  and  uniformly  increased  from  the  time  when  auk's  breast, 
roast  guillemot,  stewed  kittiwake,  skua  soup,  and  last,  but  not  least,  ribs  of 
bear,  became  the  daily  fare  on  board. 

Indeed,  we  stood  in  need  of  all  the  encouragement  and  good  living 
which  our  hunting  procured  us.  The  state  of  the  ice  was  anything  but 
cheering,  and  the  prospect  of  getting  out  of  it  during  the  present  year  be- 
came less  every  day. 

During  the  first  days  following  the  release  of  the  Fram  the  ice  was  com- 
paratively quiet;  but  on  June  8th  and  9th  we  had  some  bad  pressures,  es- 
pecially on  the  latter  day,  when  the  stern  of  the  vessel  was  pressed  about 
6  feet  upward,  so  that  the  rudder-well  was  quite  out  of  the  water,  while  the 
bow  was  raised  about  2  feet,  with  4**  list  to  port.  On  the  loth  and  nth  the 
pressure  was  also  strong,  especially  during  the  night,  from  11.30  p.m.  till 
3  or  4  A.M. 

Finally  the  ice  slackened  so  much  on  the  morning  of  June  12th  that 
there  was  a  prospect. of  warping  the  vessel  some  distance  ahead.  As  the 
brash  was  still  very  thick  we  did  not  think  it  possible  to  haul  ourselves 
along  without  using  the  steam  windlass,  so  I  gave  orders  to  start  a  fire 
under  the  boiler.  But  before  steam  was  up  the  channel  opened  so  much 
that  we  succeeded  in  warping  the  ship  through  the  narrowest  passage. 
When  steam  was  up  we  steamed  through  the  pool,  where  I  had  found  a 
good  berth  for  the  ship.  As  the  rudder  was  not  yet  shipped  I  had  some- 
times to  go  astern,  so  as  to  be  able  to  turn  the  vessel.  We  remained  there 
till  June  14th,  when  the  ice  slackened  a  little,  and  we  saw  a  channel  in  a 
S.S.W.  direction,  and  determined  to  make  for  it.  So  we  lighted  the  fur- 
nace, shipped  the  rudder,  and  made  at  full  speed  for  a  narrow  rift,  which 
led  into  the  channel.  Time  after  time  we  forced  the  vessel  into  the  rift, 
but  all  in  vain :  the  edges  would  not  budge  a  hair's-breadth.  I  let  the  ves- 
sel remain  for  some  time,  working  at  full  speed  endeavoring  to  force  the 
rift,  altering  the  position  of  the  rudder  occasionally.  This  manoeuvre  was 
partially  successful,  as  we  got  the  vessel  into  the  rift  as  far  as  the  fore-rig- 
ging. But  that  was  all  we  could  do.  The  opening  began  to  close  up,  and  we 
had  to  return  and  moor  in  the  same  place  as  before.  This  was  all  the  more 
provoking  as  the  whole  opening  was  not  longer  than  about  three-fourths 
the  ship's  length. 

We  remained  there  till  the  evening  of  the  27th,  when  the  ice  slackened 
so  much  that  I  decided  to  make  a  new  attempt.  We  got  up  steam  and 
commenced  to  force  the  ice  at  1 1 ,30.  It  was  slow  work  in  the  heavy  ice, 
and  at  2  o'clock  we  had  to  moor  the  ship,  having  advanced  about  2  miles 
S.E.  by  S.     We  tried  the  engine  this  time  as  a  compound  engine,  with  a 


^52  APPENDIX 

favorable  result.  It  made  i6o  revolutions  per  minute;  but  the  consumption 
of  coal  was  of  course  correspondingly  greater,  almost  twice  as  much  as 
usual.  We  remained  there  about  a  week,  until  on  July  3d  the  ice  opened 
sufficiently  to  allow  us  to  advance  3  miles  through  a  channel,  which  ran 
S.S.W.  During  the  night  between  the  6th  and  the  7th  we  made  another 
attempt  to  force  the  ice,  but  had  only  made  about  i  mile  when  we  had  to 
moor  again. 

The  southerly  wind  which  predominated  at  that  time  held  the  ice  thickly 
packed  together,  and  there  was  no  drift  to  speak  of.  On  the  other  hand, 
there  had  been  since  the  middle  of  June  a  good  deal  of  current,  owing 
to  the  set  of  the  tide.  We  could  not,  however,  observe  that  the  current 
really  flowed  in  any  definite  direction;  sometimes  the  line  would  show 
every  point  in  the  compass  during  the  twenty-four  hours.  The  current 
was,  however,  often  very  strong,  and  would  occasionally  spin  the  ice-floes 
around  in  the  channels  in  a  way  that  made  you  uncomfortable  to  look  at 
it.  The  ship,  too,  would  often  receive  such  violent  shocks  from  these 
dancing  floes  and  blocks  of  ice  that  loose  objects  tumbled  down,  and  the 
whole  rigging  shook.  The  sea  continued  very  deep.  For  instance,  on 
July  6th  we  could  not  get  bottom  at  3000  metres  (1625  fathoms);  but  two 
days  later— we  were  then  about  83°  2'  north  latitude — we  took  soundings 
and  reached  bottom  at  3400  metres  (1841  fathoms). 

On  July  6th  we  succeeded  in  warping  the  ship  some  two  or  three  short 
stretches  at  a  time,  but  it  was  slow  and  hard  work .  the  ice  was  bad,  and 
the  contrary  wind  impeded  us  very  much.  But  though  progress  was  slow, 
yet  progress  it  was,  and  I  gave  orders  that  the  ship  should  be  hauled  along 
as  often  as  there  was  any  opportunity  to  advance  a  little  southward. 

But  although  we  struggled  along  in  this  manner  by  short  distances  at 
a  time,  the  observation  on  the  13th  revealed  to  us  the  fact  that  we  had 
actually  been  drifting  a  considerable  way  backward,  having  returned  to  83° 
12'  north  latitude.  It  might  seem  ridiculous,  under  such  circumstances,  to 
continue  pushing  forward;  but,  gloomy  as  the  prospects  were,  we  tried  to 
keep  up  our  hopes,  and  were  ready  to  utilize  the  very  first  chance  which 
should  present  itself. 

Late  in  the  evening  of  July  17th  the  ice  began  to  slacken  so  much  that 
we  decided  to  get  up  steam.  True,  it  closed  up  again  at  once,  but  never- 
theless we  kept  up  steam.  Nor  were  we  disappointed,  for  at  i  o'clock  in 
the  morning  the  water  opened  so  much  that  we  were  able  to  steam  ahead, 
and  we  made  3  miles  in  a  southerly  direction.  Later  in  the  morning  we 
were  stopped  by  an  immense  floe  of  ice,  extending  many  miles,  and  we 
had  to  make  fast.  The  whole  day  following  we  remained  there.  About 
midnight  the  ice  slackened  a  good  deal,  but  the  fog  was  so  dense  that  we 
could  see  nothing.  At  last,  on  the  19th,  we  made  what  we  considered  ex- 
cellent headway.  Starting  when  the  fog  lifted  a  little  in  the  forenoon,  we 
made  about  10  miles  from  12.30  p.m.  till  8  p.m.    This  stroke  of  good  luck 


THE   THIRD  SUMMER  653 

made  our  spirits  revive  wonderfully,  and  they  rose  still  more  the  following 
day  when,  notwithstanding  the  fog  and  though  we  had  to  stop  three  times, 
we  advanced  from  83°  14'  in  the  morning  to  82°  52'  at  noon  and  82°  39' 
midnight.  From  the  20th  to  the  27th  we  continued  to  make  good  prog- 
ress. By  midnight  on  the  last-named  day  we  had  reached  81°  32'  north 
latitude. 

From  July  27th  till  August  2d  it  was  slow  and  tiresome  work.  By  Au- 
gust 2d  we  had  not  got  beyond  81°  26'  north  latitude.  At  the  same  time 
we  had  been  carried  some  distance  eastward — namely,  to  13°  41'  east  lon- 
gitude. 

On  Monday,  August  3d,  we  made  about  2  miles  to  the  southwest,  but 
had  to  remain  moored  in  impossible  waters  till  the  8th,  when  it  slackened 
so  much  around  the  vessel  that  we  were  able  to  proceed  again  at  9  a.m. 
However,  we  had  only  made  about  6  miles  when  we  were  stopped  by  a 
long,  narrow  strait.  We  tried  blasting  with  ordinary  gunpowder,  and  later 
with  gun-cotton,  and  time  after  time  we  steamed  full  speed  against  the 
smaller  floes  that  blocked  the  strait,  but  without  effect.  These  floes,  as  a 
rule,  are  not  as  small  and  innocent  as  they  appear.  They  consist  generally 
of  the  fragments  of  old,  thick,  and  very  tough  pressure-ridges  which  have 
been  broken  up.  When  these  pieces  get  free,  they  sink  deep  below  the 
surface  of  the  water,  leaving  only  a  comparatively  insignificant  part  of 
them  discernible,  while  the  lower  parts  may  be  very  large.  It  was  precise- 
ly this  description  of  floe  that  blocked  the  channel  against  us.  They  were 
so  tough  that  it  was  useless  to  try  to  break  them  with  the  stem  of  the  ves- 
sel, although  we  repeatedly  made  at  them  with  full  speed.  We  could 
plainly  see  how  the  tough  old  ice  bent  and  rose  up  at  the  shock  without 
breaking.  The  blasting  of  such  floes  was  frequently  impracticable,  as  they 
were  of  such  a  thickness  that  we  were  unable  to  lay  the  mine  under  them. 
And  even  if  we  succeeded  in  blowing  up  one  of  these  floes  we  gained  little 
or  nothing,  as  the  channel  was  too  narrow  to  allow  the  pieces  to  float 
astern,  and  they  were  too  heavy  and  thick  to  be  forced  beneath  the  solid 
edge  of  ice. 

Occasionally  it  happened  that  old,  thick  ice  suddenly  emerged  from 
beneath  the  water  in  a  channel  or  opening  which  we  were  just  about  to 
pass  into,  thus  blocking  up  the  passage  before  us.  On  one  of  these  occa- 
sions the  Fram  received  a  blow  in  the  ribs  that  hardly  any  other  vessel 
would  have  withstood.  As  we  were  passing  through  an  open  channel  I 
saw  from  the  crow's  -  nest  one  end  of  a  large  submerged  floe  appearing 
above  the  edge  of  the  solid  ice,  and  I  immediately  gave  orders  to  steer 
clear  so  as  to  pass  round  it.  But  at  the  very  moment  when  we  reckon- 
ed to  clear  it  the  floe  was  released,  and  came  to  the  surface  with  such  a 
rush  that  the  spray  rose  high  into  the  air  and  struck  the  Fram  at  the 
fore-rigging  on  the  starboard  side  with  such  tremendous  force  that  the 
ship  lurched  violently  and  fell  about  10  points  out  of  her  course,  until  she 


654  APPENDIX 

ran  up  against  some  small  floes.  When  the  monster  floe  emerged  it  lifted 
a  huge  mass  of  water  and  sent  it  like  a  roaring  cataract  out  into  the  channel. 

Something  similar  happened  when  we  occasionally  touched  a  drifting 
hummock  that  was  just  on  the  point  of  rolling  over,  owing  to  the  quicker 
melting  of  the  ice  below  the  water-line.  The  slightest  push  would  be 
enough  to  capsize  the  hummock  and  turn  it  over  in  such  a  violent  way 
that  the  sea  around  us  would  become  as  agitated  as  during  a  storm. 

On  August  9th  we  worked  the  whole  day  clearing  the  channel,  but  only 
made  slight  headway.  On  the  loth  the  work  was  continued,  and  in  the 
course  of  the  forenoon  we  finally  succeeded  in  getting  through.  During 
the  rest  of  the  day  we  also  made  some  headway  to  the  south  until  the  ice 
became  impassable,  and  we  were  compelled  to  make  fast  at  10  p.m.,  having 
made  about  2  miles. 

On  account  of  the  fog  we  were  unable  to  take  any  observation  until  the 
9th,  when  we  found  ourselves  in  81°  48' north  latitude,  the  last  latitude  ob- 
servation we  made  in  the  drift-ice. 

On  Tuesday,  the  nth,  we  again  proceeded  southward  by  dint  of  ardu- 
ous labor  in  clearing  floes  and  brash,  which  often  blocked  our  way.  At 
7.30  P.M.  we  had  to  make  fast  in  a  narrow  strait,  until,  in  the  course  of  the 
night,  we  cleared  the  obstacles  away  and  were  able  to  proceed  to  the  south- 
west. Progress  was,  however,  slow,  and  on  the  morning  of  August  12th  we 
were  stopped  by  a  very  awkward  floe.  We  tried  to  blast  it  away,  but  while 
we  were  at  work  on  this  the  ice  tightened  up  quickly,  and  left  the  vessel 
imprisoned  between  two  big  floes.  In  the  course  of  a  couple  of  hours  it 
slackened  again  in  a  S.W.  direction,  and  we  steamed  off  in  comparatively 
fair  channels  until  12.30  p.m.,  when  a  floe  stopped  our  farther  progress.  We 
had  made  9i  miles  in  about  five  hours  this  forenoon.  Some  thin  ice  now 
appeared,  and  from  the  crow's-nest  we  could  see,  when  the  fog  cleared  off 
a  little  for  a  few  moments,  several  large  channels  running  in  a  southerly  di- 
rection both  east  and  west  of  our  position.  Besides,  we  noticed  an  increase 
in  the  number  of  birds  and  small  seals,  and  we  also  saw  an  occasional  beard- 
ed seal — all  evidences  that  we  could  not  be  very  far  from  the  open  water. 

Between  3  and  4  p.m.  we  were  released  from  the  floes  which  had  held  us 
enclosed,  and  at  5.30  p.m.  we  steamed  off  in  a  S.E.  direction  through  stead- 
ily improving  ice.  The  ice  now  became  noticeably  thin  and  brittle,  so  that 
we  were  able  to  force  the  smaller  floes.  From  5.30  p.m.  till  midnight  we 
advanced  about  16  miles;  the  engine  was  used  as  compound  during  the 
last  watch. 

After  midnight  on  August  13th  we  steered  S.W.,  then  S.  and  S.E.,  the 
ice  continuing  to  grow  slacker.  At  3  o'clock  we  sighted  a  dark  expanse  of 
water  to  the  S.S.E.,  and  at  3.45  we  steered  through  the  last  ice-floes  out 
into  open  water.* 

*  Twenty  -  eight  days'  work  of  forcing  this  more  or  less  closely  packed  ice  had 
brought  us  a  distance  of  i8o  miles. 


THE   THIRD  SUMMER  655 

WE  WERE  FREE  !  Behind  us  lay  three  years  of  work  and  hardships, 
with  their  burden  of  sad  thought  during  the  long  nights  ;  before  us  life  and 
reunion  with  all  those  who  were  dear  to  us.  Just  a  few  more  days!  A 
chaos  of  contending  feelings  came  over  each  and  every  one.  For  some 
time  it  seemed  as  if  we  could  hardly  realize  what  we  saw,  as  if  the  deep 
blue,  lapping  water  at  the  bow  were  an  illusion,  a  dream.  We  were  still  a 
good  way  above  the  eightieth  degree  of  latitude,  and  it  is  only  in  very 
favorable  summers  that  ice-free  water  stretches  so  far  north.  Were  we, 
perhaps,  in  a  large,  open  pool  ?     Had  we  still  a  great  belt  of  ice  to  clear  .^ 

No,  it  was  real !  The  free,  unbounded  sea  was  around  us  on  every  side ; 
and  we  felt,  with  a  sense  of  rapture,  how  the  Frain  gently  pitched  with  the 
first  feeble  swells. 

We  paid  the  final  honors  to  our  vanquished  antagonist  by  firing  a  thun- 
dering salute  as  a  farewell.  One  more  gaze  at  the  last  faint  outlines  of 
hummocks  and  floes,  and  the  mist  concealed  them  from  our  view. 

We  now  shaped  our  course  by  the  compass  S.S.E. ;  as  the  fog  was  still  so 
dense  that  no  observation  could  be  taken.  Our  plan  was  at  first  to  steer 
towards  Red  Bay,  get  our  landfall,  and  thence  to  follow  the  west  coast  of 
Spitzbergen  southward  till  we  found  a  suitable  anchoring-place,  where  we 
could  take  in  water,  shift  the  coal  from  the  hold  into  the  bunkers,  and,  in 
fact,  make  the  Fravi  quite  ship-shape  for  our  homeward  trip. 

At  7  A.M.,  when  the  fog  lifted  slightly,  we  sighted  a  sail  on  to  port,  and 
shaped  our  course  for  her,  in  order  to  speak  to  her  and  try  to  get  some 
news  of  Dr.  Nansen  and  Johansen.  In  an  hour  or  so  we  were  quite  near 
her.  She  was  lying  to,  and  did  not  seem  to  have  sighted  us  until  we  were 
close  on  her.  The  mate  then  ran  down  to  announce  that  a  monster  ship 
was  bearing  down  upon  them  in  the  fog.  Soon  the  deck  was  crowded  with 
people,  and  just  as  the  captain  put  his  head  out  the  Fram  passed  close  up 
on  the  weather-side  of  the  vessel,  and  we  greeted  her  in  passing  with  a 
thundering  broadside  from  our  starboard  cannon.  We  then  turned  round 
astern  of  her,  and  fired  another  salute  to  leeward,  after  which  "  hostilities  " 
were  discontinued.  No  doubt  it  was  a  rather  demonstrative  way  of  mak- 
ing ourselves  known  to  our  countrymen,  who  were  lying  there  so  peace- 
fully, drifting  in  the  morning  rfiist,  and  probably  thinking  more  of  seals 
and  whales  than  of  the  Fram.  But  we  trust  that  Captain  Botolfsen  and 
his  crew  will  forgive  us  our  overflowing  joy  at  this  our  first  meeting  with 
human  beings  after  three  long  years. 

The  vessel  was  the  galliot  Sostrene  (The  Sisters),  of  Tromso.  The  first 
question  which  was  shouted  to  him  as  we  passed  alongside  was  this  :  "  Have 
Nansen  and  Johansen  arrived  ?"  We  had  hoped  to  receive  a  roaring  "  Yes," 
and  were  ready  to  greet  the  answer  with  a  thundering  "  Hurrah  "  and  sa- 
lute ;  but  the  answer  we  got  was  short  and  sad  "  No." 

Captain  Botolfsen  and  some  of  his  crew  came  on  board  to  us,  and  had 
to  go  through  a  regular  cross-fire  of  questions  of  every  conceivable  kind. 


656  APPENDIX 

Such  an  examination  they  had  certainly  never  before  been  subjected  to,  and 
probably  never  will  be  again. 

Among  the  many  items  of  news  which  we  received  was  one  to  the  ef- 
fect that  the  Swedish  aeronaut,  Engineer  Andree,  had  arrived  at  Danes 
Island,  intending  to  proceed  thence  by  balloon  to  discover  the  North 
Pole. 

Botolfsen  came  with  us  as  a  passenger,  leaving  his  vessel  in  charge  of 
the  mate,  and  accompanied  us  as  far  as  Tromso.  We  reshaped  our  course 
about  noon  for  Red  Bay,  intending  to  steam  from  there  to  Danes  Island 
and  see  Mr.  Andree.  About  midnight  we  sighted  land  ahead,  and  sup- 
posed it  to  be  the  cape  immediately  to  the  west  of  Red  Bay.  It  was  1041 
days  since  we  last  saw  land. 

We  lay  to  for  some  time  at  this  point,  waiting  for  the  fog  to  clear  away 
sufficiently  to  allow  us  to  find  the  landmarks.  As  it  did  not  clear,  we 
steamed  slowly  westward,  taking  frequent  soundings,  and  soon  found  our- 
selves, as  we  anticipated,  right  in  "Norsksundet  "  (Norwegian  Sound),  and 
proceeding  up,  we  anchored,  at  9.30  a.m.,  off  "  Hollaendernaeset "  (Dutch 
Cape).  The  fog  was  now  cleared,  and  we  soon  saw  the  steamship  Virgo, 
of  the  Andree  Expedition,  and  the  balloon-house  ashore. 

Through  the  telescope  we  could  see  that  our  arrival  had  been  observed, 
and  a  steam-launch  soon  came  alongside  with  Mr.  Andree,  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  expedition,  and  Captain  Zachau,  of  the  Virgo. 

Neither  could  these  gentlemen  give  us  any  news  of  the  fate  of  our 
comrades.  Our  spirits  became  still  more  depressed  than  before.  We  had 
confidently  expected  that  Nansen  and  Johansen  would  reach  home  before 
us.     Now  it  seemed  as  if  we  were  to  be  the  first  to  arrive. 

We  did  not,  however,  entertain  any  serious  fears  for  their  safety,  es- 
pecially when  we  learned  that  the  Jackson  expedition  had  spent  two 
winters  in  Franz  Josef  Land.  It  was  highly  probable  that  Dr.  Nansen  and 
Johansen  would  sooner  or  later  meet  with  this  expedition,  and  were,  per- 
haps, only  waiting  for  a  chance  of  getting  home.  But  if  they  had  not  met 
with  Jackson,  something  had  evidently  gone  amiss  with  them,  in  which 
case  they  needed  assistance,  and  that  as  soon  as  possible. 

Our  plans  were  soon  laid.  We  would  hurry  home  to  Tromso  to  get 
reliable  information,  and,  in  case  nothing  had  been  learned  there  either, 
we  would  complete  our  coal  supply — we  were  not  in  want  of  anything  else 
— and  immediately  proceed  to  Franz  Josef  Land,  to  make  a  search  for  them, 
and,  as  we  hoped,  have  the  unspeakable  pleasure  of  bringing  them  home 
to  our  expectant  fatherland  in  our  own  faithful  Fram. 

Our  stay  at  Danes  Island  was  consequently  cut  as  short  as  possible.  We 
paid  visits  to  the  Virgo,  saw  the  balloon,  which  was  now  ready  to  start  as 
soon  as  a  favorable  wind  would  permit  of  it,  and  received  return  visits  from 
our  amiable  Swedish  friends.  During  the  night  we  finished  taking  in  water 
and  shifting  the  coal ;  the  vessel  was  ready  for  sea,  and  at  3  a.m.  on  Au- 


THE   THIRD  SUMMER  657 

gust  1 5th  the  Fram  steamed  off,  with  sails  set,  through  Sneerenburg  Bay 
and  out  to  sea. 

During  the  passage  across  we  had  good  weather  and  a  fair  and  often 
fresh  breeze,  the  vessel  making  good  speed  :  upward  of  9^  knots. 

At  9  A.M.  on  the  19th  we  saw  the  first  blue  ridges  of  our  native  moun- 
tains. By  noon  we  sighted  Logo,  and  at  8  p.m.  the  north  point  of  Loppen. 
Then  we  steered  into  Kvaenangen  Fjord,  and  anchored  off  Skjaervo  at  2 
o'clock  in  the  morning  of  August  20th. 

As  soon  as  the  anchor  had  fallen,  I  called  the  doctor  and  Scott-Ha'nsen, 
who  both  wanted  to  go  ashore  with  me.  But  as  they  were  too  slow  with 
their  toilet,  I  asked  Bentzen  to  put  me  ashore  in  the  pram,  and  was  soon 
at  the  telegraph  station,  where  I  tried  to  knock  life  into  the  people  by 
thundering  with  my  clinched  fist  first  at  one  door,  then  at  another,  but  for 
a  long  time  in  vain.  At  last  a  man  put  his  head  out  of  a  window  on  the 
second  floor  to  inquire  what  kind  of  night-prowlers  were  making  such  a 
disturbance.  It  was  the  chief  of  the  telegraph  station  himself.  He  de- 
scribes the  nocturnal  incident  in  a  letter  to  one  of  the  Christiania  news- 
papers in  the  following  pleasant  manner : 

"  It  was  with  anything  but  amiable  feelings  and  intentions  that  at  about 
half-past  four  I  turned  out  to  see  what  wretch  it  was  who  was  making  such 
a  lively  rattle  at  my  front  door.  Rather  lightly  clad,  I  put  my  head  out  of 
the  window,  and  roared  out  'Hallo!  What's  the  matter.^  Deuce  of  a 
noise  to  make  at  this  time  of  night  !*  '      -'-^'^^^  .i,A^j2'.V0' 

•'  A  man  dressed  in  gray,  with  a  heavy  beard,  stepped  forward.  There 
was  something  about  his  appearance  that  made  me  think  at  once  that  I 
had  perhaps  been  somewhat  too  hasty  in  giving  vent  to  my  displeasure  at 
being  called  up,  and  I  felt  a  little  crestfallen  when  he  slyly  remarked, '  Yes, 
that's  true ;  but  all  the  same  I  must  ask  you  to  open  the  door.  I  come 
from  the  Fram'  Immediately  it  dawned  upon  me  who  it  was.  It  could 
be  none  other  than  Sverdrup.  •  Coming  directly,  captain,'  I  answered,  and 
jumping  into  the  most  necessary  clothes,  down  I  went  to  let  him  in.  He 
was  not  at  all  annoyed  at  the  long  waiting,  or  the  unfriendly  words  with 
which  he  had  been  received,  when  he  set  foot  again  in  his  native  country 
after  the  long  and  famous  expedition,  but  was  very  kind  and  good-humored 
when  I  begged  his  pardon  for  the  rudeness  with  which  I  had  received  him. 
In  my  inmost  heart  I  made  an  even  warmer  apology  than  I  had  stammered 
out  in  my  first  embarrassment. 

"  When  Sverdrup  was  seated,  the  first  question  was  naturally  as  to  the 
way  he  had  come.  They  had  just  arrived  from  off  the  coast  of  Spitzbergen. 
On  the  13th  they  had  got  out  into  open  water,  where  they  almost  immedi- 
ately met  with  Captain  Botolfsen,  from  Tromso,  who  was  there  with  his 
whaling-ship.  They  had  brought  him  with  them.  They  had  next  visited 
Andree,  who  was  about  to  pack  up  and  go  home,  and  had  then  proceeded 
42 


658  APPENDIX 

to  this  place.  They  had  first  learned  from  Botolfsen,  and  then  from  An- 
dree,  who  ought  to  have  had  some  of  the  latest  tidings  from  Norway,  that 
nothing  was  known  about  Nansen,  whom  they  hoped  to  find  at  home,  and 
the  joy  they  were  feeling  at  the  prospect  of  reaching  home  soon  was  con- 
siderably damped  by  this  news. 

"  '  Ah,  but  I  can  give  you  news  of  Nansen,'  said  I.  '  He  arrived  at  Var- 
do  on  August  13th,  and  is  now  at  Hammerfest.  He's  propably  starting 
for  Tromso  to-day  in  an  English  yacht.' 

"  '  Has  Nansen  arrived  .'*' 

"  The  stalwart  form  bounded  up  in  a  state  of  excitement  rarely  shown 
by  this  man,  and  exclaiming,  '  I  must  tell  the  others  at  once,'  he  vanished 
out  of  the  door. 

"  A  moment  later  he  returned,  accompanied  by  Scott-Hansen,  Blessing, 
Mogstad,  and  Bentzen,  all  of  them  perfectly  wild  with  joy  at  the  latest 
news,  which  crowned  all,  and  allowed  them  to  give  full  vent  to  their  exul- 
tation at  being  once  more  in  their  native  land  after  their  long  and  weari- 
some absence,  which  the  uncertain  fate  of  their  leader  and  his  comrade 
would  otherwise  have  damped.  And  they  did  rejoice !  '  Is  it  true  }  Has 
Nansen  arrived  T  was  repeated  on  all  sides.  *  What  a  day  this  is,  what 
joy !  And  what  a  curious  coincidence  that  Nansen  should  arrive  on  the 
same  day  that  we  cleared  the  last  ice  and  steered  homeward  !'  And 
they  congratulated  each  other,  all  quivering  with  emotion,  these  sturdy 
fellows. 

"  In  the  early  morning  two  thundering  reports  were  suddenly  heard 
from  the  Fram,  followed  by  the  ringing  cheers  of  the  crew  in  honor  of  their 
absent  comrades.  The  mhabitants  of  the  place,  who  were  fast  asleep,  were 
quite  startled,  and  soon  got  out  of  bed ;  but  when  it  finally  dawned  upon 
them  that  it  could  be  none  other  than  the  Fram,  they  were  not  slow  in 
turning  out  to  have  a  look  at  her. 

"As  they  anchored  here,  the  fragrance  of  the  new-mown  hay  was 
wafted  to  them  from  the  shore,  and  to  them  it  seemed  marvellous.  The 
green  meadows  with  their  humble  flowers,  and  the  few  trees  bent  and  al- 
most withered  by  the  merciless  wind  and  weather,  looked  to  them  so  de- 
lightful that  our  poor  island  was  a  veritable  Eden  in  their  eyes.  '  Yes,  to- 
day they  would  have  a  good  roll  on  the  grass.' 

"  For  the  rest.  Mother  Nature  was  as  smiling  and  festally  arrayed  as 
could  be  expected  so  late  in  the  year  in  these  northern  latitudes.  The 
fjord  was  calm,  as  though  it  feared  by  the  faintest  ripple  to  interrupt  the 
tranquillity  which  enveloped  the  tried  and  weather-beaten  warrior  now 
resting  upon  its  smooth  surface. 

"They  were  all  quite  enthusiastic  about  the  vessel.  I  do  not  believe 
there  is  a  man  on  board  who  does  not  love  the  Fram.  Sverdrup  declared 
that  a  '  stronger  and  finer  ship  had  never  been  built,  and  was  not  to  be  found 
in  the  wide  world !'  " 


THE   THIRD  SUMMER  659 

On  my  way  to  the  fjord  I  met  five  of  our  comrades.  Nordahl  hurried 
at  once  on  board  with  the  glad  tidings,  while  the  rest  of  us  settled  down 
with  the  telegraph  manager  around  a  smoking  cup  of  coffee,  which  tasted 
delicious.  A  better  welcome  we  could  not  have  had.  But  it  did  not  end 
with  the  coffee  or  with  the  telegraph  manager.  Soon  the  popping  of 
champagne  corks  sounded  successively  in  the  houses  of  the  store-keeper 
and  the  local  magistrate,  while  the  telegraph  manager  sent  message  upon 
message  announcing  our  arrival  to  Dr.  Nansen,  his  Majesty  the  King,  the 
Norwegian  Government,  and  to  relations  and  friends. 

At  10  A.M.  we  weighed  anchor  and  set  off  to  meet  Nansen  and  Johansen 
at  Tromso,  passed  to  the  north  of  Skjaervo,  and  steamed  south.  Of!  Ulf- 
stinden  we  met  the  steamer  King  Half  dan,  with  600  passengers  on  board, 
coming  from  Tromso  to  meet  us.  We  accepted  the  offer  to  take  us  in 
tow,  and  at  8.30  p.m.  the  Frani  glided  into  the  harbor  of  Tromso,  accom- 
panied by  hundreds  of  fiag-covered  boats,  and  was  received  with  cheers  and 
hearty  welcome. 

Next  day,  August  25th,  at  4  p.m.,  Sir  George  Baden- Powell's  steam- 
yacht  Otaria,  with  Dr.  Nansen  and  Johansen  on  board,  arrived.  After  a 
separation  of  seventeen  months,  our  number  was  again  complete,  and  the 
Norwegian  Polar  Expedition  was  once  more  united. 


CONCLUSION 
By  Dr.  Nansen 

What,  then,  are  the  results  of  the  Norwegian  Polar  Expedition  ?  This 
is  a  question  which  the  reader  might  fairly  expect  to  find  answered  here; 
but  the  scientific  observations  brought  back  are  so  varied  and  voluminous 
that  it  will  be  some  time  yet  before  they  can  be  dealt  with  by  specialists 
and  before  any  general  estimate  of  their  significance  can  be  formed.  It 
will,  therefore,  be  necessary  to  publish  these  results  in  separate  scientific 
publications;  and  if  I  now  attempted  to  give  an  idea  of  them,  it  would 
necessarily  be  imperfect,  and  might  easily  prove  misleading.  I  shall, 
therefore,  confine  myself  to  pointing  out  a  few  of  their  more  important 
features. 

In  the  first  place,  we  have  demonstrated  that  the  sea  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood  of  the  Pole,  and  in  which,  in  my  opinion,  the  Pole  itself  in 
all  probability  lies,  is  a  deep  basin,  not  a  shallow  one,  containing  many  ex- 
panses of  land  and  islands,  as  people  were  formerly  inclined  to  assume.  It 
is  certainly  a  continuation  of  the  deep  channel  which  extends  from  the 
Atlantic  Ocean  northward  between  Spitzbergen  and  Greenland.  The  ex- 
tent of  this  deep  sea  is  a  question  which  it  is  not  at  present  easy  to  answer; 
but  we  at  least  know  that  it  extends  a  long  way  north  of  Franz  Josef  Land, 
and  eastward  right  to  the  New  Siberian  Islands.  I  believe  that  it  extends 
still  farther  east,  as,  I  think,  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  more  the 
Jeannette  expedition  drifted  north,  the  greater  depth  of  sea  did  they  find. 
For  various  reasons,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  in  a  northerly  direction  also 
this  deep  sea  is  of  considerable  extent.  In  the  first  place,  nothing  was  ob- 
served, either  during  the  drift  of  the  Fram  or  during  our  sledge  expedition 
to  the  north,  that  would  point  to  the  proximity  of  any  considerable  ex- 
panse of  land ;  the  ice  seemed  to  drift  unimpeded,  particularly  in  a  north- 
erly direction.  The  way  in  which  the  drift  set  straight  to  the  north  as  soon 
as  there  was  a  southerly  wind  was  most  striking.  It  was  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  that  the  wind  could  head  the  drift  back  towards  the  southeast. 
Had  there  been  any  considerable  expanse  of  land  within  reasonable  distance 
to  the  north  of  us,  it  would  have  blocked  the  free  movement  of  the  ice  in 
that  direction.  Besides,  the  large  quantity  of  drift-ice,  which  drifts  south- 
ward with  great  rapidity  along  the  east  coast  of  Greenland  all  the  way  down 


CONCLUSION  66i 

to  Cape  Farewell  and  beyond  it,  seems  to  point  in  the  same  direction. 
Such  extensive  ice-fields  must  have  a  still  larger  breadth  of  sea  to  come 
from  than  that  through  which  we  drifted.  Had  the  Fram  continued  her  drift 
instegid  of  breaking  loose  to  the  north  of  Spitzbergen,  she  would  certainly 
have  come  down  along  the  coast  of  Greenland ;  but  probably  she  would 
not  have  got  close  in  to  that  coast,  but  would  have  had  a  certain  quantity 
of  ice  between  her  and  it ;  and  that  ice  must  come  from  a  sea  lying  north 
of  our  route.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  quite  probable  that  land  may  exist 
to  a  considerable  extent  on  the  other  side  of  the  Pole  between  the  Pole 
and  the  North  American  archipelago.  It  appears  to  me  only  reasonable  to 
assume  that  this  multitude  of  islands  must  extend  farther  towards  the  north. 

As  a  result  of  our  expedition,  I  think  we  can  now  form  a  fairly  clear 
idea  of  the  way  in  which  the  drift-ice  is  continually  moving  from  one  side 
of  the  polar  basin  north  of  Bering  Strait  and  the  coast  of  Siberia,  and 
across  the  regions  around  the  Pole,  and  out  towards  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
Where  geographers  at  one  time  were  disposed  to  locate  a  solid,  immovable, 
and  massive  ice-mantle,  covering  the  northern  extremity  of  our  globe,  we 
now  find  a  continually  breaking  and  shifting  expanse  of  drift-ice.  The 
evidence  which  even  before  our  expedition  had  induced  me  to  believe  most 
strongly  in  this  theory  is  supplied  by  the  Siberian  drift-wood  that  is  con- 
tinually being  carried  to  Greenland,  as  well  as  the  mud  found  on  the  ice,  as 
it  could  scarcely  be  of  other  than  Siberian  origin.  We  found  several  in- 
dications of  this  kind  during  our  expedition,  even  when  we  were  as  far 
north  as  86°,  furnishing  valuable  indications  as  to  the  movement  of  the  ice. 

The  force  which  sets  this  ice  in  motion  is  certainly  for  the  most  part 
supplied  by  the  winds ;  and  as  in  the  sea  north  of  Siberia  the  prevailing 
winds  are  southeasterly  or  easterly,  whereas  north  of  Spitzbergen  they  are 
northeasterly,  they  must  carry  the  ice  in  the  direction  in  which  we  found 
the  drift.  From  the  numerous  observations  I  made  I  established  the  ex- 
istence of  a  slow  current  in  the  water  under  the  ice,  travelling  in  the  same 
direction.  But  it  will  be  some  time  before  the  results  of  these  investiga- 
tions can  be  calculated  and  checked. 

The  hydrographic  observations  made  during  the  expedition  furnished 
some  surprising  data.  Thus,  for  instance,  it  was  customary  to  look  upon 
the  polar  basin  as  being  filled  with  cold  water,  the  temperature  of  which 
stood  somewhere  about  —1.5"  C.  Consequently  our  observations  showing 
that  under  the  cold  surface  there  was  warmer  water,  sometimes  at  a  tem- 
perature as  high  as  -|-i°  C,  were  surprising.  Again,  this  water  was  more 
briny  than  the  water  of  the  polar  basin  has  been  assumed  to  be.  This 
warmer  and  more  strongly  saline  water  must  clearly  originate  from  the 
warmer  current  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  (the  Gulf  Stream),  flowing  in  a 
north  and  northeasterly  direction  off  Novaya  Zemlya  and  along  the  west 
coast  of  Spitzbergen,  and  then  diving  under  the  colder,  but  lighter  and 
less  briny,  water  of  the  Polar  Sea,  and  filling  up  the  depths  of  the  polar 


662  APPENDIX 

basin.  As  I  have  stated  in  the  course  of  my  narrative,  this  more  briny 
water  was,  as  a  rule,  warmest  at  a  depth  of  from  200  to  250  fathoms,  be- 
yond which  it  would  decrease  in  temperature,  though  not  uniformly,  as 
the  depth  increased.  Near  the  bottom  the  temperature  rose  again,  though 
only  slightly.  These  hydrographic  observations  appear  to  modify  to  a  not 
inconsiderable  extent  the  theories  hitherto  entertained  as  to  the  direction 
of  the  currents  in  the  northern  seas ;  but  it  is  a  difficult  matter  to  deal  with, 
as  there  is  a  great  mass  of  material,  and  its  further  treatment  will  demand 
both  time  and  patience.  It  must,  therefore,  be  left  to  subsequent  scientific 
publications. 

Still  less  do  I  contemplate  attempting  to  enter  here  into  a  discussion 
on  the  numerous  magnetic,  astronomical,  and  meteorological  observations 
taken.  At  the  end  of  this  work  I  merely  give  a  table  showing  the  mean 
temperatures  for  each  month  during  the  drift  of  the  Fram  and  during  our 
sledging  expedition. 

On  the  whole,  it  may  probably  be  said  that,  although  the  expedition 
has  left  many  problems  for  the  future  to  solve  in  connection  with  the 
polar  area,  it  has,  nevertheless,  gone  far  to  lift  the  veil  of  mystery  which 
has  hitherto  shrouded  those  regions,  and  we  have  been  put  in  a  position 
to  form  a  tolerably  clear  and  reasonable  idea  of  a  portion  of  our  globe  that 
formerly  lay  in  darkness,  which  only  the  imagination  could  penetrate.  And 
should  we  in  the  near  future  get  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  regions  around 
the  Pole  as  seen  from  a  balloon,  all  the  most  material  features  will  be  fa- 
miliar to  us. 

But  there  still  remains  a  great  deal  to  be  investigated,  and  this  can  only 
be  done  by  years  of  observation,  to  which  end  a  new  drift,  like  that  of  the 
Fram,  would  be  invaluable.  Guided  by  our  experience,  explorers  will  be 
in  a  position  to  equip  themselves  still  better ;  but  a  more  convenient  meth- 
od for  the  scientific  investigation  of  unknown  regions  cannot  easily  be  im- 
agined. On  board  a  vessel  of  this  kind  explorers  may  settle  themselves 
quite  as  comfortably  as  in  a  fixed  scientific  station.  They  can  carry  their 
laboratories  with  them,  and  the  most  delicate  experiments  of  all  kinds  can 
be  carried  out.  I  hope  that  such  an  expedition  may  be  undertaken  ere 
long,  and  if  it  goes  through  Bering  Strait  and  thence  northward,  or  per- 
haps slightly  to  the  northeast,  I  shall  be  very  much  surprised  if  observa- 
tions are  not  taken  which  will  prove  of  far  greater  scope  and  importance 
than  those  made  by  us.  But  it  will  require  patience"  the  drift  will  be  more 
protracted  than  ours,  and  the  explorers  must  be  well  equipped. 

There  is  also  another  lesson  which  I  think  our  expedition  has  taught — 
namely,  that  a  good  deal  can  be  achieved  with  small  resources.  Even  if 
explorers  have  to  live  in  Eskimo  fashion  and  content  themselves  with  the 
barest  necessaries,  they  may,  provided  they  are  suitably  equipped,  make 
good  headway  and  cover  considerable  distances  in  regions  which  have 
hitherto  been  regarded  as  almost  inaccessible. 


CONCLUSION 


663 


Mean  Temperatures  (Fahr.)  for  every  Month  during  the  Drift 
OF  THE  "Fram" 


Months 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

. 

0 

0 

0 

0 

January 

32.3 

-28.1 

-35.3 

February 

-32.1 

-34.2 

-30.5 

March    . 

-35-1 

—  30.6 

-   1.7 

April 

-  6.1 

-19.7 

-  0.6 

May.     . 

+  13-8 

+  10.2 

+  12.6 

June .     . 



+29.3 

+  28.0 

+  28.9 

uly  .     . 

+32.4 

+32.5 

+31.8 

August  . 

+30.2 

+27.3 

+34.1 

September 

-f-29.1 

+  17.1 

+  14.9 

October 

—   I.I 

-  8.5 

-  6.2 

November 

-II. 6 

-23.4 

-23.6 

December 

—  20.6 

-30.8 

-27.2 

Continuous  Periods  of  Temperature  under  —40° 


Years 

Datb 

January 

February 

March 

November 

December 

1894 

(  11  to  12 

14  to  15 

(  27  to  29 

3  to     7 
II  to  19 
23  to  24 

5  to  15 
17  to  19 
25  to  26 

14  to  15 

8  to  10 
17  to  18 
30  to     I* 

1895 

(  14  to  18 
•j  23  to  26 

9  to  10 
13  to  16 
18  to  22 

19  to  23 
26  to  28 

20  to   23 

7  to     8 

1896 

j  29f to  18 

4  to     9 
II  to  20 

4  to     5 

The  Mean  Temperature  of  the  Twenty -four  Hours  for  these  Periods 


Years 

January 

February    . 

March 

November 

December 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

(  -36.8 

-48.5 

-47-9 

-40.7 

1894 

\  -39.1 

~^l\ 

-45.8 

-42.2 

-37.3 

-40.5 

-38.6 

-40.2 

-42.7 

(  -41. 1 

-41.4 

-39-8 

1895 

j  -46.3 

-43-1 
-42.2 

-37.7 

-41. 1 

-39-5 

1896 

j  -45  8 

-41. 1 
-43-2 

-35-7 

January 


t  December 


INDEX 


Accounts,  statements,  35,  36. 

Address  before  Christiania  Geographical 

Society,  9. 
Address  to  crew  of  the  Fram,  explaining 

objects  of  sledge  expedition,  306. 
Adelaide's  Island,  479. 
Adverse  opinions  on  proposed  expedition, 

25- 
Aker's  Mechanical  Factory,  engine  of  the 

Fram  built  at,  43. 
Alcyonaria,  153, 
Alden,  the  Fram  passes,  56. 
Alexander's  Island,  495  (Note). 
Alexandra  Land,  563  (Note). 
Algae — 

Ice-water  containing,  148,  259,  260, 

261,  262,  486. 
Snow  colored  by,  486  (Note). 
Almquist's  Islands — 
Fram  passes,  iii. 

Position  on  Nordenskiold's  Map,  loi. 
American  expeditions,  sledges  used  on,  5. 
Ammonites,  581  (Note). 
Amphipoda,  132,  140,  213,  664. 
Amundsen,  Anton,  Chief  Engineer  of  the 
Fram,  656. 
Devotion  to  engine,  125. 
Indifference  to  cold,  339. 
Andree,  visited  on  Danes  Island  by  crew 

of  Fram,  656. 
Archer,  Colin,  builder  of  the  Fram,  36. 
Article    in    Norsk     Tidsskrift  fof 

SovcBseUy  37. 
Farewell  salute  to,  52. 
Nansen's    thoughts    of,   on    second 
birthday  of  the  Fram,  290. 
Arctic  Rose  Gull.     (See  Ross's  Gull.) 
Arctic  thirst,  immunity  from,  on  sledge 

journey,  379. 
Argillaceous  schist,  Helland's  Foreland, 
493. 


Armitage,  member  of  Jackson  -  Harms- 
worth  expedition,  574. 
Asplenium  (Petruschinense),  586. 
Astronomical  instruments,  45,  46,  362. 
Astronomical  observations — 
Hansen  in  charge  of,  127. 
Method  of  conducting,  191. 
Astrup,  immunity  from  scurvy,  300. 
Auks,  435,  449,  459,  485,  488,  493,  510, 
539.  540,  543,  545,  559.  560,  567,  570, 
587,  648. 
Aurora  Borealis,  131,  153,  154,  160,  162, 
163,  164,  167,  222,  224,  280,  285, 
288,  289,  293,  325. 
Inclination  of  magnetic  needle  prob- 
ably connected  with,  311. 
Streamers  influenced  by  direction  of 
wind,  Nansen's  theory,  158. 
Austria  Sound — 

Payer's  expedition  through,  Nansen 

reading,  339. 
Sledge  expedition  passing  through, 
possibility  of,  298. 
Austro- Hungarian  expedition  (1872-74), 

7. 
Awning  over  deck  of  the  Fram,  23o. 


B 

Bacteria  found  in  ice-water,  262,  263. 
Baden-Powell,  Sir  George,  meets  Nansen 
at  Hammerfest  and  places  his  yacht  at 
his  disposal,  597. 
Balaena,  583. 
Bandaging   lessons,   in    preparation    for 

sledge  expedition,  337. 
Barometers  taken  on  sledge  expedition, 

362. 
Basalt  rocks,  362  (Note),  484,  487,  493, 
495,  555.  559.  560,  581,  584- 
Cape    Flora,    formation    contrasted 
with    that    of     Spitzbergen    and 
Northeast  Land,  581. 


666 


INDEX 


Bathing  alongside  Fram,  233. 
Baths— 

Fram,  217. 
Vadso,  59. 
Bears,  93,  108,  136,  144,  145,  146,  177. 
178,  230,  231,  256,  262,  266,  291. 
311,  413,  423,  434,  462,  475,  485. 
492,  497,  499,  501.  505,  512,  516, 
518,  522.  540.  544.  546,  547.  554. 
577,  618,  640,  648,  649,  650. 
Hansen,  Blessing,  and  Johansen  at- 
tacked by,  134,  135. 
Johansen's  narrow  escape  from,  472. 
Bear's  flesh- 
Daily  meal  during  winter  in  hut,  520. 
Excellence  of,  465. 
Bearskin  bed,  461. 
Bear-trap,  177. 
Beian,  Sverdrup  and  Professor   Brdgger 

join  the  Fram  at,  58, 
Bek,  Andreas,  stories  of,  201. 
Belemnites,  581. 
Bentzen,  Bernt,  membei    of  expedition, 

50,  59- 
Bering  Strait — 

Current  (see  that  title). 

Expedition  taking  route,  8. 

Future  expedition  through,  probable 

value  of,  662. 
Ice-drift,  north  of,  661. 
Bielkoff  Island,  119. 
Bieloi  Ostrov,  85. 

Bird -life,  246,  420,  449,  459,  464,   539, 
609,  633  (see  also   names  of  different 
species). 
Bj5rnsen,  B.,  greeting  on    launching   of 

the  Fram,  314. 
Black-backed  gulls,  486. 
Black  guillemot,  246,  421,  609,  617,  648, 

650. 
Blanket-trousers,  547. 
Blessing,  Henrik  Greve,  doctor  and  bot- 
anist to  expedition,  49. 
Bandaging    lessons    to    Dr.  Nansen 
and  Johansen  previous  to  start  on 
sledge  journey,  337. 
Bear  encounter,  134,  135. 
Birthday  celebrations,  132. 
Editor  of  the  Framsjaa,  164. 
Kayak-building,  307. 
Photographs  copied  by,  342. 
Scientific    observations    undertaken 

by,  128. 
Specimen-collecting,  258. 
Blomqvist,  member  of  Jackson  -  Harms- 
worth  expedition,  574. 
Sails  on  the  Windward,  592. 
Blubber,  excellent  substitute  for  butter, 
454. 


Blue  bells,  tundra-plains  of  Asia,  69. 

Blue  gull.  246. 

Boats- 
Carried  by  the  Fram,  45. 
Long-boat,  ready  for  emergencies, 
613. 

Boats  and  sledges  combined,  first  use  for 
Arctic  expedition,  6. 

Books — 

Fram's  library,  45. 

Longing  for,  during  life  in  hut,  534. 

Boots,  "  komager,"  used  on  sledge  jour- 
ney, 349.  420,  551. 

Botolfsen,  Captain  of  the  Sostrene,  655. 

Brandy,  injurious  in  northern   regions  : 
Dr.  Nansen's  opinion,  80. 

Braun  Island,  conjecture  as  to  position, 
579. 

Bread  used  on  sledge  journey,  364,  406, 
432. 

BrOgger,  Professor,  joins  the   Fram   at 
Beian,  58. 

Brown,  Captain  of  the  Windward,  590, 
592. 

Bruce,  Dr.,  member  of  Jackson  -  Harms- 
worth  expedition,  590. 

Bruce  Island,  563  (Note). 

Brlinnich's  guillemot,  449. 

Bruun,  Apothecary,  medicine  supply  con- 
tributed by,  58. 

Bugs  on  board  the  Fram,  122,,  136. 

Burgess,  Mr.,  member  of  Jackson- Harms- 
worth  expedition,  574. 
Sails  on  the  Windward,  592. 

Burgomasters,  495,  499,  545. 

Butter  used  on  sledge  journey,  364,  431. 


Cable,  converted  into  sounding-line,  243, 

244. 
Cape  Barentz.  564  (Note). 
Cape  Buda-Pesth,  579. 
Cape  Butterless,  108. 
Cape  Chelyuskin,  113. 
Cape  Clements  Markham,  basalt  rock,  581. 
Cape  Fisher,  559  (Note). 
Cape  Fligely — 

Distance     from    proposed    starting- 
point  of  sledge  journey,  296. 
Speculations  as  to  position  with  re- 
gard to,  436,  442, 444. 
Cape  Flora — 

Geological  investigations,  580. 
Geological  investigations — Nathorst, 
Professor,  report  on,  584. 
Cape  Lapteff,  102  (Note). 
Cape  Lofley,  speculations  as  to  position 
with  regard  to,  500  (Note),  535,  554. 


INDEX 


667 


Cape  M'Clintock,  basalt  rocks,  555  (Note), 

581. 
Cape  Richthofen,  560  (Note). 

Reached  by  Jackson,  574  (Note). 
Card  -  playing  on  board  the  Pram,  192, 

264. 
Carex    oesicaria,   boots    lined    with,    on 

sledge  journey,  359. 
"  Castle"  Rock,  555, 
Cephalotaxus  Fortunei,  584. 
Chart-room,  used  as  kitchen  in  summer, 

269  (Note). 
Chatanga  River — 

Fram  passes  north  of,  n8. 
Land  lying  between   the  Chatanga 
and  the  Anabara,  118. 
Child,  Mr.,  member  of  Jackson- Harms- 
worth  expedition,  574. 
Sails  on  the  Windward,  592. 
Christiania  Fjord,  the  Fram  enters,  on 

return  from  expedition,  601. 
Christiania   Geographical   Society,  Nan- 
sen's  address  before,  idea  of  expedition 
first  propounded  in,  9. 
Christmas  festivities,  178,  318,  319,  320, 

530. 
Christofersen,  secretary  to  Nansen,  61. 
Leaves  the  Fram  at  Khabarova,  75, 

81. 
Meets  Nansen  at  Hammerfest  on  re- 
turn of  expedition,  598. 
Cladophlebis,  586. 
Clay  sandstone.  Cape  Flora,  580. 
Clements     Markham's      Foreland,     488 

(Note). 
Cleve,  Professor,  diatoms  found  in  ice- 
floes off  Greenland  Coast,  examined  by, 
24. 
Clio  Borealis,  450. 
Clothing,  209,  221,  222. 

Deplorable  condition  during  life  in 

hut,  523, 
Drying    clothes  on  sledge   journey, 

375- 
Equipment  for  sledge  journey,  308, 

357,  358. 
Equipment   for  southward  journey, 
545.  550. 
Cloudberry  flower,  tundra-plains  of  Asia, 

69. 
Cloudberry,  "Polar  champagne  83d  de- 
gree," 319. 
Coal  found  in  clay.  Cape  Flora,  581. 
Coal-oil  apparatus  for  range-heating,  269, 

279. 
Coal  supply  for  the  Fram,  48,  280,  625. 
Cod,  Polar,  436. 

Cold  in  Arctic  regions,  reports  exagger- 
ated, 209. 


Committee  of  expedition,  34. 
Compasses  taken  on  sledge  expedition, 

362. 
Cooking  arrangements — 
Fram,  269,  279. 
Hut,  520. 

Sledge  journey,  309,  360, 
Southward  journey  after  winter  in 
the  hut,  550. 
Cook's  expedition  (1776)  through  Bering 

Strait,  8. 
Coral  insects,  153. 
Crew  of  the  Fram,  48. 

Courage  and  cheerfulness,  190,  192, 

193,  238,  279. 
Faith  in  their  leader,  273. 
Health  of,  128,  186,  191,  208,  218, 

613. 
Meeting  with  Nansen  and  Johansen 

on  return  of  expedition,  659. 
Nansen's  address  to,  explaining  ob- 
jects of  sledge  journey  northward, 
306. 
News  of  safe  arrival  of  Nansen  and 

Johansen,  658. 
Occupations  during  winter,  126,  227. 
Return  to   Norway  —  meeting  with 
Nansen  at  Tromso,  599. 
Crown  Prince  Rudolf's  Land — 
Discovery  by  Payer,  7,  8. 
Sighted  by  Nansen,  469,  487. 
Speculations  as  to  position  with  re- 
gard to,  483,  535. 
Crustacea,  153,  213,  450. 
Current   from    Bering    Sea   to    Atlantic 
Ocean,  Nansen's  theory  as  to,  10,  195, 
235- 
Current,  Nansen's   theory,  existence    of 

slow  current  established,  661. 
Currents,  Hydrographic  observation,  re- 
sults, 662. 
Czekanowskia,  586, 


D 


Daily  lifo  in  hut,  523,  534,  535. 

Daily  life   on   Fram   during   drift,  128, 
129. 

Danes    Island,   Andree    expedition    sta- 
tioned on,  visited  by  the  Fram,  656. 

Danish  expedition  (Hovgaard's),  8. 

De  Long,  Letter  to  Gordon  Bennett,  8. 

Denmark  Strait,  drift-ice  of  Siberian  ori- 
gin, 15. 

Depot  of  reserve  food  during  life  in  hut, 
521,  549. 

Depots  on  ice  near  the  Fram,  604,  605, 
612,  634. 
Things  taken  on  board,  618,  642. 


668 


INDEX 


Depots  on  New  Siberian  Islands  estab- 
lished by  Baron  Von  Toll,  47. 
Diatoms — 

Ice-water,  containing,  148,  259,  260, 

261,  262. 
Identical  species  found  in  ice  -  floes 
off  the   east   coast    of   Greenland 
and  off  Bering  Strait,  24,  25. 
Dick,  A.,  contributions  to  expedition,  34, 

35. 
Dickson,  Baron  Oscar,  electric   installa- 
tion for  expedition,  provided  by,  35. 
Dickson's  Island,  intention  to  deposit  let- 
ters on,  abandoned,  87. 
Dogs — 

Arrangements  for  sledge  expedition, 

236,  297,  299,  353. 
Close  confinement  on  the  Fram,  132. 
Drives  with,  72,  147,  148,  209,  211, 

278,  343,  354,  379- 

Food,  58,  297,  352,  353,  471. 

Harness,  72,  310,  351. 

Kennels,  274,  628,  629. 

Killed  by  bears,  171,  172. 

Killed  by  their  fellows,  139,155,160. 

Killed  on  sledge  journey,  374,  385, 
389.  393.  396,  397,  400,  403,  406. 
408,  418,  423,  427,  430,  437,  443. 
445,  446,  460,  476. 

List  of  dogs  taken  on  sledge  journey, 
368,  369. 

Number  insufficient,  385,  386. 

Number  left  on  the  Fram  when  Nan- 
sen  started  on  sledge  expedition, 

643- 
Paralysis  in  legs,  464. 
Pemmican-bags  attacked  by,  399. 
Puppies,  174,  205,  217,  274,  628,  629, 
682. 

Accidents  to,  286,  292,  305. 
Convulsive    attacks,    225,   248, 

249. 
Paralysis,  249, 
Run  on  ice,  248. 
Training,  278. 
Removal  to  safe  quarters  on  occasion 

of  great  ice-pressure,  327,  331. 
Return  of  missing  dog,  175. 
Scent,  keenness  of,  223. 
Sufferings  on  sledge  journey,  377,  397. 
Summer  quarters,  249. 
Temper  of  dogs  brought  to  ship  and 
of  dogs  born  on  board,  difference 
between,  630. 
Trontheim — 

Account  of  journey  with  dogs, 

75,  76. 
Delivers  dogs   to   Dr.  Nansen, 
66,  67. 


Dogs- 
Use  of  dogs  on  previous  expeditions, 

5. 
Von  Toll,  Baron,  provides  dogs  for 
expedition,  47. 
Dolgoi,  unknown  islands  descried  near, 

Dove  Glacier,  conjecture  as  to  position 

of,  579- 
Drift  of  the  Fram — 

Chart  made  by  Hansen,  275. 

Conclusions  arrived  at  from  scientific 
observations,  661. 

Latitude  and  longitude,  statements 
indicating  general  course  of  drift, 
236,  620,  632. 

Measuring,  608. 

Northward  drift,  149,  157,  159,  161, 
162,  166,  167,  195,  196,  205,  206, 
210,  215,  216,  221,  224,  233,  234, 
235,  236,  266,  283,  286,  313,  318, 
319,  333.  335,  350,  608,  631,  632. 

Open  water,  the  Fram  emerges  into, 

655. 
Second  year's  drift  (northward)  near- 
ly south  of  that  of  first,  632. 
Southward  drift,  137,  148,  155,  159, 
193,  206,  215,  216,  217,  218,  221, 
225,  226,  235,  261,  270,  274,  312, 
340,  342. 
Sverdrup's   account    of    drift    after 

Nansen's  departure,  603. 
Temperature  for  every  month  during, 

663. 
Thickness  of  ice  under  the   Fram 

during  drift,  241. 
Winds,  strength  influencing,  661. 
Drift  cii  Jeannette,  8,  10,  276. 
Drift-ice,  continuous  motion  of,  661. 

Denmark  Strait,  Siberian  origin,  15. 
Greenland.  Siberian  origin,  24. 
Drift,  sledge  journey  (Nansen  and  Johan- 

sen),  441,  444. 
Drift-wood,  634,  661. 

Nansen's   current  theory  supported 
by,  13,  14. 
Drowning,  Nansen's  narrow  escape  from, 

in  recovering  kayak,  564. 
Drying  clothes  on  sledge  journey,  358, 

375. 
Dust  collected  on  ice-surface,  microscopic 

examination  of,  258,  259. 
Dutch  Cape,  656. 
Dutch,  early  Arctic  explorers,  4. 


Easter-day  festivities,  390. 
Echinus,  Torup's  Island,  485. 


INDEX 


669 


Eclipse  of  the  sun,  229. 

Egeberg,  Consul  Westye,  contributions  to 

expedition,  34. 
Egg-hunting,  587. 
Eider  ducks,  119,  560. 
Eightieth  degree,  festivities  on  passing, 

206,  207. 
Eighty-second  degree,  festivities,  287. 
Eighty-three  degrees  thirty- four  minutes, 

festivities,  333. 
Eighty-six  degrees  ten  minutes,  festivities, 

388'. 
Ekersund,  the  Fram  puts  in  at,  54, 
Electric  light  installation,  44. 
Packed  away,  625. 
Setting  up  for  winter,  126. 
Successful  working,  150. 
Elida  precedes  the  Fram  up  fjord  on  re- 
turn to  Christiania,  6oi. 
Engine  of  the  Fram,  43. 

Amundsen's  devotion  to,  125. 
Preparing  for  work  after  drift,  645. 
Repaired  at  Khabarova,  68. 
Trial,  as  compound  engine,  651, 
Water,  accumulation  in  engine-room, 
613,  632. 
English,  early  Arctic  explorers,  4. 
English  North  Pole   Expedition,  scurvy 

attack,  299,  300. 
Equipment — 
Fram,  36. 

Sledge  expedition  (Nansen  and  Jo- 
hansen),  355,  451,  465,  466,  549. 
Eva's  Island,  479  (Note). 


Farewell  to  home,  51. 

Farewell  to  Norway,  61. 

Farewell   to   the   Fram   on   starting  on 

sledge  expedition,  370. 
Farsund,  54. 

Fearnley,  Thomas,  member  of  committee 
of  expedition,  35. 
Contribution  to  expedition,  34. 
Feildenia,  585. 

Ferns,  fossil,  Cape  Flora,  586. 
Finn    shoes   worn    on    sledge    journey, 
358. 
"Komager"  boots  substituted  for, 

420. 
Mending,  400. 
Finsko,  sennegraes  in,  359. 
Fire- 
Petroleum  launch  on  fire,  82. 
Precautions  against,  273,  274. 
Tent  on  fire,  455. 
Fish  -  flour,  Vage's,  used  on  sledge  jour- 
ney, 363. 


Fisher,  H.,  member  of  Jackson-  Harms- 
worth  expedition,  574,  592. 
Returns  on  Windward,  592. 
Fisher  -  folks'  interest  in  expedition,  56, 

57- 
Fishing  between  ice-cracks,  140. 
"  Fiskegratin  "  suppers  on  sledge  jour- 
ney, 375. 
Flagellata,  263. 
Flora- 
Franz  Josef  Land,  583. 
Greenland  flora,  Siberian  vegetable 

forms  contained  in,  15. 
Tundra- plains  of  Asia,  69. 
Flour,  steamed,  used  on  sledge  journey, 

364. 
Food — 

Depots  on  New  vSiberian  Islands,  es- 
tablished by  Baron  von  Toll,  47. 
Fram  equipment,  45,  46,  129,  194, 
Menus  (see  that  title). 
Sledge   journey,  297,  298,  362,  375, 
377.  378. 
Daily  meals  during  life  in  hut, 

520,  521. 

Depot  of  reserve  food  near  hut, 

521,  549- 
Drying  food,  458. 

Meat  and  fat  diet,  no  injurious 

eflfects  felt  from,  465. 
Monotony  of  diet  during  life  in 

hut,  537. 
Rations,  383,  429,  431,  432,  449. 
Southward  journey  after  winter 
in  hut,  food  for,  549,  550,  562. 
Foot-gear,  sledge  expedition,  358. 
Forge,  604,  633. 

Forget-me-nots,  tundra-plains  of  Asia,  69. 
Forum,  Greely's  article  on  proposed  ex- 
pedition, 30. 
Fossils,  Cape  Flora,  580,  581,  583. 

Nathorst,  Professor,  report  on,  584. 
Foxes,  105,  152,  175,  395,  396,  398,  521, 

526,  545- 
Fram — 

Awning  stretched  over,  for  second 

winter,  280. 
Birthday  celebrations,  151,  289. 
Change  of  quarters  after  Nansen's 

departure,  605. 
Construction  and  equipment,  18,  19, 

37.  38. 
Cost  of,  35. 
Crew  (see  that  title). 
Drift  (see  that  title). 
Frozen  into  the  ice  (September  23d), 

123. 
Ice  -  pressure,  excellent  behavior  of 
ship  during,  63,  326,  333,  337. 


670 


INDEX 


Fram — 

Ice-pressure,  blasting  the  Fram  loose 

from,  619,  646  (see  also  Ice-press- 
ure). 
Leakage,  620,  632. 
Library,  45. 
Lightening,  625. 
Nansen's  farewell  to,  on  starting  on 

sledge  journey,  371. 
Photograph  taken  by  moonlight,  337. 
Safe  return  to  Norway,  599. 
Sailing  of  the  Fram,  Anniversaries, 

257,  456. 
Skjaervo,  the  Fram  anchored  at,  657. 
Spring-cleaning  on  board,  233,  612. 
Sverdrup's  account  of  voyage  after 

Nansen's  departure,  603. 
Thickness  of  ice   under   the    Fram 

during  drift,  241. 
Tromso  Harbor  entered  on  return  of 

expedition,  659. 
Trontheim's   account    of   ship    and 

crew,  79. 
Warmth  and  coziness  of,  157,  253. 
Warping   ahead   through   ice  -  floes, 

651. 
Winter  on  board,  125.  128,  129. 
Framsj'aa,  newspaper,  164,  179,  187. 
Franklin   expeditions.    Nansen    reading, 

313- 
Franz  Josef  Land — 

Expeditions  to,  7,  8. 

Extent    of  archipelago,  speculation 

as  to.  582. 
Fram,  half-way  between  New  Sibe- 
rian Islands  and  Franz  Josef  Land, 
288. 
Fram  reaching  point  north  of,  specu- 
lation as  to  possibility  of,  270,  276, 
296. 
Geological  investigations,  580,  584. 
Map,  Nansen's,  578,  579. 
Position  with   regard    to,    Nansen's 
conjectures,  221,  444,   479,    483, 
535.  562,  564,  568.  572. 
West  coast  reached  by  Nansen  and 

Johansen,  485,  488. 
Wintering  on,  500. 
"  Frederick  Jackson  Island,"  name  given 
to  land  on  which  Nansen  and  Johansen 
wintered,  580. 
Freeden  Island.  4S0,  579  (Note). 
Fucus,  Torup's  Island,  486. 
Fuel,  petroleum,  used  for  sledge  expedi- 
tion, 361. 
Fulmars,  246,  420,  448,  464,  478,  509, 

545,  559.  609,  617,  648. 
Future  expedition,  Nansen  on  possibili- 
ties of,  662. 


Gadus  Polaris,  436. 
Geelmuyden  Island,  495  (Note). 
Geelmuyden,  Professor,  supervision  of  as- 
tronomical instruments  for  expedition 
undertaken  by,  46. 
Geese,  88,  501,  558,  560. 
Geographical  Society,  London — 

Contributions  to  expedition,  34,  35. 
Nansen's  lecture  before,  20,  25,  277 
(Note). 
Geographical   Society,  Norwegian,   con- 
tributions to  expedition,  35. 
Gillis  Land — 

Proposed  sledge  expedition.  298. 
Speculation  as  to  position  with  re- 
gard to,  536,  553.  554. 
Gingkos,  585,  586. 

Glacier,  rumblings  in,  533  and  Note. 
Glaucus  gulls,  509. 
Gloves  used  on  sledge  journey,  359. 
Golden  plovers,  85. 
Goose  Island,  558,  581. 
Goose  Land,  Novaya  Zemlya,  failure  to 

land  at,  62. 
Greely  expedition  (1881-84),  highest  lati- 
tude reached  previous  to  Nansen's  ex- 
pedition, 7. 
Greely,  General,  articles  on  Nansen's  pro- 
posed expedition,  30,  32. 
Greenland — 

Drifts   on  coast,  conclusions  drawn 

from,  661, 
Flora,  Siberian  vegetable  forms  in- 
cluded in,  15. 
Sea  Route  between  Greenland  and 
Spitzbergen,  7. 
Greenland  shark,  617,  618. 
Greenland  whale,  583. 
Guillemots,  121,  246,  421,  448,  543,  617, 

650,  651. 
Gulf  Stream,  temperature  of  Polar  Sea 

affected  by,  661. 
Gulls,  246,  426,  435.  504,  509,  617. 
Glaucus,  509. 
Ivoiy,  426,  429,  432,  440,  458,  464, 

471,  478,  483,  495,  499,  546. 
Ross's,  246,  464,  465,  470,  471,  478. 
Silver,  445. 
Guns  taken   on   sledge  expedition,  362, 
552. 

H 

Haalogaland,  600. 

Hagensen,  Johan,  pilot   of  Fram   from 

Bergen  to  Vardo,  54. . 
Hagerup,  Secretary,   Nansen's  telegram 

to,  on  return  of  expedition,  595. 


INDEX 


671 


Hammerfest,  Nansen  and  Johansen  ar- 
rive at,  597. 
Hansen,  S.  S.,  member  of  expedition,  48. 
Bear  encounter,  134,  146. 
Chart  of  drift,  275. 
Christmas  presents,  179. 
Frozen  toes,  605. 
Hut,  building,  633. 
Kayak  adventure,  264. 
Map  of  route,  342. 
Meteorological  observations  conduct- 
ed by,  127. 
Snow -hut  for  observations  built  by, 

310. 
Tabular   form   for   observations   on 
sledge   expeditions,  prepared   by, 
310. 
Harelda  Glacialis,  69. 
Harald  Hardrade,  Arctic  voyage  recorded 

of,  3- 
Harp  Seals,  491. 

Harper's  Weekly,  Greely's  article  on  ex- 
pedition, 32. 
Hats,  felt,  worn  on  sledge  journey,  359. 
Hauling  harness,  446. 
Hawk  Island,  83. 

Hayward,  member  of  Jackson  -  Harms- 
worth  expedition,  577. 
Head  covering  worn  on  sledge  journey, 

359. 
Head  shaving  on  board  the  Fram^  613. 
Health  of  crew  (see  title  Crew). 
Heiberg,  Axel,  contributions  to  expedi- 
tion, 34,  35. 
Helland's  Foreland,  491,  492  (Note). 
Henriksen,  Peter  Leonard,  member  of  ex- 
pedition, 49. 
Bet  with  Juell  as  to  thickness  of  ice 

under  the  From,  241. 
Expedition  up  Yugor  Strait,  68,  69. 
Spitzbergen  stories,  201. 
Wish  to  join  Nansen  on  sledge  jour- 
ney, 371. 
Herl6  Fjord,  55. 
Herring  gull,  246. 
Hestemanden,  58. 

Hoffmann  Island,  speculation  as  to  posi- 
tion, 579. 
HoUaendernaeset,  656. 
Homeward  march  begun,  sledge  journey, 

388. 
Homeward  voyage   on   the    Windward, 

592. 

Hoods  worn  on  sledge  journey,  359. 

Hooker  Island,  562,  572. 

Hooker,  Sir  Joseph,  adverse  opinion  on 
proposed  expedition,  29. 

Houen,  Anton,  contribution  to  expedi- 
tion, 34. 


Houen's  Island,  484  (Note). 
Hovgaard  expedition,  8. 
Hovland,  pilot  from  Christiania  to  Ber- 
gen, 54. 
Hudson,    Henry,   expedition    (1607)    by 
sea-route  between  Greenland  and  Spitz- 
bergen, 7. 
Hummerdus,  54. 

Hummocks,  highest  climbed,  413. 
Hut  for  scientific  observations,  633. 
Hut,  Jackson's,  575. 
Hut,  wintering  in — 

Building  hut,  500,  501,  510,  511,  515, 

520. 
Cooking  arrangements,  520,  524. 
Daily  life,  522,  523,  534,  535,  539. 
Departure    on    southward    journey, 

553. 
Depot  of  reserve  food,  521,  549. 
"  Frederick  Jackson's  Island,"  name 
given  to  land  on  which  hut  was 
built,  580. 
Report  left  in  hut,  553. 
Sleeping- shelf,  520. 
Speculations  as  to  position,  535. 
Temperature  in  hut,  523. 
Hvidtenland  480  (Note),  535,  579. 
Hydrographic  equipment  for  expedition, 

46. 
Hydrographic  observations,  results,  662. 


I 
Ice- 
First  meeting  with,  62. 
Hummock,  highest  climbed,  413. 
Impracticability  for  sledge   expedi- 
tion, Nansen's    consideration    on 

possibility  of,  299. 
Lanes  in,  239,  394,  409,  411,  414, 

420. 
Organisms   contained  in,   148,  258, 

259,  262,  263. 
Rate  of  formation,  157,  213,  240. 
Roughness   of   surface   during   late 

spring  weather,  237. 
Rubble-ice,  387. 
Sea -ice    only   encountered,    except 

under  land,  394  (Note). 
Shore-ice,  428, 

Siberia,  ice-drift  from,  373,  396,  661. 
Stratified  formation,  214. 
Temperature,  243. 
Thickness   of  ice  under  the  Fram 

during  drift,  241. 
Thirst  quenched  by  sucking  ice,  379 

(and  Note), 
Water  for  cooking,  better  than  snow, 

419  (Note). 


6^2 


INDEX 


Ice- 
White  reflection  from,  83. 
Winds  strongly  influencing  ice-drift, 
661. 
Icebergs,  480,  484. 
Ice-blasting,  178,  619,  626,  646. 
Ice-foot,  568  (Note). 
Ice-gull,  609. 
Ice-mews,  246. 

Ice-pressure,  138,  139,  140,  141,  142,  149, 
156,  159,  162,  185,  195,  202,  212, 
219,  316,  320,  321,  322,  324,  336, 
604,  606,  607,  618,  626,  631,  637, 
651. 
Blasting,  619,  626. 
Fram  freed  from,  655. 
Preparations  for  abandonment  of  the 
Frafn  on  occasion  of  severe  ice- 
pressure,  326. 
Removal  of  high  pressure-ridge,  604. 
Infusoria  found  in  ice-water,  263. 
Inglefield,  Sir  E.,  favorable  view  of  pro- 
posed expedition,  28. 
Instruments  for  scientific  observations — 
Fram  equipment,  45. 
Sledge  expedition,  362. 
lovenskiold,  C,  contribution   to  expedi- 
tion, 34. 
Ivory  gulls,  426,  429,  432,  440,  458,  464, 
471,478,483,  495,499.546. 

J 

Jackson,  F. — 

Aid  given  to  Nansen  in  preparation 

of  maps  and  plans,  578. 
Cape    Richthofen,   most    northerly 

point  reached  by,  560. 
Hut,  575- 

Nansen  meeting  with,  570. 
Jackson's  map — 

"  King  Oscar  Land,"  error  in  posi- 
tion on,  496  (Note). 
Used  by  Nansen   in  preparing  his 
sketch-map  of  Franz  Josef  Land, 
578. 
Jackson- Harmsworth  expedition,  8. 

Nansen's  meeting  with,  570. 
Jacobsen,  T.  C,  mate  of  the  Fram,  49. 
Reindeer  stalking,  88. 
Sledge  building  for  northward  expe- 
dition, 338. 
Jarlsberg,  Baron  Harald  Wedel,  contri- 
bution to  expedition,  34. 
Jeannette  expedition  (1879-81) — 
Drift,  8,  9,  10,  276. 
Fram's  drift  compared  with,  276. 
Ice-water,  distilling  before  drinking, 

unnecessary  trouble,  419  (Note). 
Scurvy,  immunity  from,  300. 


Johansen,  F.  H.,  member  of  expedition, 

49. 
Bandaging  lessons  in  preparation  for 

sledge  journey,  337. 
Bear  attack,  narrow  escape,  472. 
Birthday  feast,  408. 
Chosen  as  Nansen's  companion  on 

sledge  journey,  302,  305. 
Kayak  building,  307. 
Meteorological     observations,     127, 

191. 
Journals — 

Difliculty  of  writing  during  life  in 

hut,  524. 
Duplicate    carried    by    Nansen    on 

sledge  expedition,  310. 
Juell,  A.,  steward  and  cook  of  the  Fram, 

49- 
Bet  with  Peter  as  to  thickness  of  ice 

under  the  Fram,  241. 
Dog-tailor,  310. 
Julianehaab,  drift   from    wreck    of    the 
Jeannette  discovered  near,  11. 


Kamenni  Islands,  87. 

Kane's   expedition,  inadequate   prepara- 

tions,  185. 
Kara  River,  83. 
Kara  Sea — 

Fram  sails  into,  83. 
View  of,  from  Siberian  coast,  70. 
Karl  Alexander  Land,  580. 
Kayaks- 
Bags  stuffed  with  pemmican  placed 

under,  342,  343. 
Building,  261. 263, 266, 268,  307,  308, 

355.  623. 
Crossing  ice-lanes,  372  (Note),  472. 
Drifting,  Nansen  nearly  drowned  in 

recovering,  564,  565. 
Food,  arrangement  in,  383. 
Hansen's  adventure  in,  264. 
Preparing  for  sledge  journey  after 

winter  in  hut,  550. 
Rate  of  progress,  481. 
Repairing,  399,  427,  428,  431,  432, 

460,  464,  550. 
Sledges  to  be  abandoned  for,  449.  476. 
Kelch,  Nikolai,  contribution  to  expedi- 
tion, 47. 
Khabarova — 

Churches,  66,  67. 
Festival  of  St.  Elias,  73. 
Fram  puts  in  at,  65. 
Russian  traders,  78. 
Trontheim's  meeting  with  Nansen, 
65. 


INDEX 


673 


King  Half  dan  tows  the  Fram  into  Trom- 

s6  harbor,  659. 
King  of  Norway — 

Contribution  to  expedition,  34. 
Medal  presented  to  Trontheim,  80. 
King  Oscar's  Bay,  115. 
King  Oscar's  Land — 

Extent  probably  not  great,  582. 
Jackson's  Map,  error  as  to  position, 

496  (Note). 
Speculation  as  to  position  with  re- 
gard to,  535, 
xvinn,  56. 
Kitchen,  chart-room  used  as,  in  summer, 

269. 
Kittiwakes,  246,  478,  510,  560,  609,  651. 
Kjellman  Islands — 

Fram  anchors  at,  88. 
Unknown  lands  near,  88. 
Kjollefjord,  the  Fram  puts  in  at,  59. 
Kjosterud,  A.  S.,  contribution  to  expedi- 
tion, 34. 
Knipa  Sound,  99. 
Knudtzon,  Consul  N.  H.,  contribution  to 

expedition,  34. 
Koetlitz,  Dr.,  member  of  Jackson- Harms- 
worth  expedition,  574,  580. 
Koldewey  expedition  (1869-70),  7. 
"  Komager"  boots  worn  on  sledge  jour- 
ney, 358,  420,  551. 
Repairing,  551. 
Kongespeilet,  polar  ice  described  in,  3. 
Kopepoda  (or  Copepoda),  140. 
Kotelnoi,  119. 
KrylofF,  account  of  Trontheim's  journey 

with  dogs,  written  by,  75. 
Kvaenangan  Fjord,  657. 
Kvarvan,  54. 


Laminaria,  486. 
Lamps — 

Fire  caused  by  explosion,  455. 

"  Primus,"  cooking  with,  on   sledge 

expedition,  361. 
Train-oil,  484,  519,  524. 
Land — 

Frames  first  sight  of,  on  homeward 

voyage,  656. 
Sledge  journey,  Nansen's  first  sight 
of,  468. 
Lanes  in  ice,  kayaks  or  sledges  crossing, 

472. 
Langoia,  unknown  islands  descried  near, 

64. 
Lapteff,  Cape,  in. 
Larus  argentatus,  426,  440,  445. 
I-arus  eburneus,  246,  458. 
Larus  glaucus,  545. 

43 


Larus  tridactylus,  609. 
Latitude  and  longitude :  statements  show- 
ing drift  of  the  Fram^  236,  620,  632. 
Leigh  Smith — 

Franz  Josef  Land  visited  by,  8. 
Nansen's  speculations  as  to  position 
with  regard  to  Leigh  Smith's  quar- 
ters, 491,  568. 
Length  of  voyage,  speculations  as  to,  265, 

275,  276. 
Lestris  parasiticus,  88,  246,  634. 
Library  on  board  the  Fram,  45. 
Lister  Fjord,  the  Fram  puts  in  at,  54. 
Little  auks,  435,  449,  459,  485,  488,  493, 

510,  539,  540,  543.  545,  560.  609,  617, 

648,  650. 
Liv's  birthday,  336,  534. 
"  Liv's  Island,"  480  (Note). 
Lobscouse  suppers,  375. 
Lockwood,  highest  latitude  reached  by, 

previous  to  Nansen's  expedition,  7. 
Lofoten,  58. 

Log-line  for  measuring  drift,  608. 
Long-boat,  preparing  for  emergencies, 

613,  625. 
Long-tailed  ducks,  69,  85. 
**  Longing  Camp,"  465. 
Farewell  to,  465. 

Iceberg  or  land  sighted  from,  460, 
467. 
Loon,  Yalmal,  84. 
"  Lovunden  "  hummock,  606. 
Lovunen,  58. 

Lumbago,  sufferings  from,  469,  470. 
Lytzen,  Mr.,  discovery  at  Julianehaabof 

drift  from  X\it  Jeannette,  n. 

M 

Mack,  Advocate,  contribution  to  expedi- 
tion, 58. 
M'Clintock  expedition — 

Arrangement,  good,  313. 
Scurvy,  immunity  from,  300. 
Sledge  journey,  5. 
M'Clintock,  Sir  Leopold,  adverse  opinion 

of  proposed  expedition,  25,  26. 
Magero,  59. 

Magnetic    constant,    Hansen's    observa- 
tions, 128. 
Magnetic  equipment  carried  by  the  Fram, 
46. 
Supervised  by  Neumeyer,  46. 
Magnetic  needle,  singular  inclination  of, 

310. 
Mangerland,  55. 
Markham,  Albert — 

High  latitude  reached  by,  7. 
Sledge  journeys,  5,  6,  299. 


674 


INDEX 


Markham  Sound,  speculation  as  to  posi 

tion  with  regard  to,  562. 
Maiy  Elizabeth  Island,  558  (Note). 
Matches,  precautions  against   fire,   273 

274. 
May    17th    celebrations,  250,  413,  614 

644. 
Meat- 
Fresh,  remarkable  preservation    of 

256. 
Preparations  taken  on  sledge  jour 
ney,  363. 
Meat-chocolate,  afternoon  refreshment  on 

sledge  journey,  378. 
Medicine-chest,  58, 

Sledge  journey  equipment,  364. 
Store   in  long-boat,  contents  unin- 
jured, 624. 
Medusae,  153. 
Members  of  expedition  (see  Crew  of  the 

Frani). 
Menus,  feast-days,  133,  183, 189,  206,251, 
252,  282,  287,  313,  319,  388,  390,  408, 
413.  468,  530. 
Menus,  ordinary  days,  208. 
Mergulus  alle,  435,  539. 
Meteorological  observations — 
Huts  built  for,  310,  633. 
Instruments  carried  by  Fratn,  46. 
Instruments  carried  on  sledge  jour 

ney,  362. 
Method  of  conducting,  127,  191. 
Microscopical  research,  Nansen's  absorp 

tion  in,  261,  262,  293. 
Midsummer-eve,  255,  257,  456. 
Mittens  used  on  sledge  journey,  359. 
Mogstad,  Otto  Irgens,  member  of  expedi 
tion,  50. 
Kayak  and  sledge-building,  307,  336, 
33S. 
Mohn,  Professor — 

Lecture  on  drift  from  iht  Jeamie tie 

II. 
Meteorological  instruments  for  expe 

dition  supervised  by,  46. 
Nansen's  expedition  and  theories  ap 

proved  of,  25. 
Nansen's  meeting  with,  on  return 

596. 
Moltke  Moe,  farewell  telegram,  188. 
Moons,  remarkable,  150,  152,  158,  177 

316,  329,  336. 
Mountain  poppies,  tundra-plains  of  Asia 

69. 
Mud  on  ice  surface,  organisms  contained 

in,  153,  259. 
Multer,  319. 

Murray's  silk  net,  fishing  with,  140. 
Musical  instruments  on  Fram,  79. 


N 

Nares,  Sir  George — 

Adverse  opinion  on  proposed  expe- 
dition, 26. 
Letters  of  congratulation  to  Nansen, 
28  (Note). 
Nares'  expedition   (1875-76)  by  Smith 

Sound  Route,  7. 
Narwhals,  411,  412,  421,  429,  616,  617, 

634. 

Nathorst,  Professor,  report  on  vegetable 
fossils  found  near  Cape  Flora,  584. 

Naturen  map,  Nansen's  conjectures  ap- 
parently verified  by  the  Fratns  drift, 

277. 
Naze,  storm  off,  53. 

Neumeyer,  Dr. ,  magnetic  equipment  su- 
perintended by,  46. 
New  Lands  within  Arctic  Circle,  quota- 
tion from,  579  (Note). 
New  Siberian  Islands — 

Food    depots    established    on,    47 

(Note). 
Jeannette  expedition,  9,  17. 
Russian  expeditions,  5. 
New-year's  day,  187,  323,  533,  636. 
Nicolaysen's   plaster   used    for    caulking 

kayaks,  364. 
Night  in  Arctic  regions,  130,  228,  284, 

288. 
Norbeck,  engine  of  the  Fram  constructed 

by.  43- 
Nordahl,  Bernhard,  member  of  expedi- 
tion, 49. 
Assistant  in  meteorological  observa- 
tions, 127. 
Hut-building,  633. 
Nordenfjeldske  Steamship  Co.,  of  Trond- 
hjem,   pilots   for   expedition   supplied 
by,  54  (Note). 
Nordenskield's  map — 

Islands  marked  on,  not  seen  by  Nan- 
sen's expedition,  87. 
Nansen's  remarks  on,  loi,  102,  103, 
105,  106,  108,  113. 
Nordstjernen  precedes  the  Fram  up  fjord 

to  Christiania,  601. 
Norsk    Tidsskrift  for    Sovasen,    Colin 

Archer's  article  in,  37. 
Norsksundet,  656. 
North  Cape,  59, 
Northbrook  Island,  562  (Note). 
Basalt  rocks,  581. 
Change  in  sea-level,  583. 
Speculations  as  to  position  with  re- 
gard to,  572. 
Northeast  Island,  proposed  sledge  expe- 
dition, 298. 


INDEX 


675 


Northeast  Land — 
Basalt  rocks,  581. 

Speculations  as  to  position  with  re- 
gard to,  536,  537. 
Northeast  Passage,  Weyprecht  and  Pay- 
er's expedition,  7. 
Northernmost  point  reached,  388. 
Norway — 

Farewell  to,  61. 

First  sight  of,  from  Fram,  on  home- 
ward voyage,  657. 
First  sight  of,  from   Windward,  on 
homeward  voyage,  594. 
Norwegian  Geographical  Society's  Year- 
Book— 
Nansen's  conjectures,  277  (Note). 
Norwegian  Government — 

Contributions  to  expedition,  34,  35. 
Telegram  to,  on  return,  595. 
Norwegian  Sound,  656. 
Novaya  Zemlya — 

Goose  Land,  sighted  by  the  Fram, 

62. 
Proposed  sledge  expedition,  298. 
Windward  steers  for,  593. 


Odometer  carried  on  sledge  expedition, 

350  (Note),  372,  373. 
Onychiopsis,  586. 
Open  water,  the  Fram  enters,  after  drift, 

655. 
Otaria,  Nansen  sails  up  Norwegian  coast 

on,  597,  599- 
Othar,  voyage  round  the  North  Cape,  3. 


Painting  kayaks,  difficulties  of,  460. 
Papaver  nudicaule,  69,  484. 
Parry's  expedition — 

Arrangement  good,  313. 

Boats  and  sledges  first  used  on,  6. 
Payer — 

Expedition,  7,  339,  426,  479  (Note). 

Map,  578,  582. 

New   Lands   within   Arctic    Circle, 
quotation  from,  579  (Note). 
Peary  expedition — 

Scurvy,  immunity  from,  300. 

Sledge  journeys,  5. 
Pemmican — 

Bags  of,  placed  under  kayaks,  342, 

343- 
Supply  for  sledge  expedition,  unsat- 
isfactory, 363  (Note). 
Pepperviken — 

Fram  sails  from,  51. 


Pepperviken — 

Welcome  on  return  of  the  Fram,  602. 
Peter  Head,  563  (Note). 
Petermann's  Land — 

Discovery  by  Payer,  8. 

Extent,  probably  not  great,  582, 

Speculations  as  to  position  with  re- 
gard to,  418. 
Peternianns  Mitteilungen,  article  on  pro- 
posed expedition,  33. 
Petrified  wood.  Cape  Flora,  581. 
Petroleum  fuel  used  on  sledge  journey, 

361,  362. 
Petroleum  launch — 

Accident  to,  71,  82,  86. 

Destruction  of,  623. 
Petroleum  store,  279,  362,  406,  484. 
Pettersen,  Lars,  member  of  the  expedi- 
tion, 49. 

Cooking  undertaken  by,  633. 

Dancing  powers,  315,  320. 

Nail-making,  338. 

Shooting  practice,  617. 

Sledge  expedition,  willingness  to  join, 
266,  272. 

Stove  explosion,  270. 
Phoca  barbata,  103,  450,  452,  617. 
Phoca  fcetida,  123,  422. 
Phoca  groenlandica,  491. 
Phosphorescent  water,  140. 
Photographic  camera  taken  on  sledge  ex- 
pedition, 362. 
Pine-tree,  vegetable  fossils.  Cape   Flora, 

584. 

Polar  cod,  436. 

Polar  Sea,  depth  of,  194,  244,  611,  62c, 
626,  642,  660,  661. 

Pole,  shifting  of,  conjectures  as  to,  252. 

Pools  on  ice-floes,  238. 

Poppies,  69,  484. 

Preparations  for  expedition,  34. 

Preparations  for  sledge  expedition.  (See 
Sledge  Journeys.) 

Preparations  for  southward  journey  after 
M'inter  in  hut,  549,  550. 

"Primus"  lamp  for  cooking,  taken  on 
sledge  expedition,  361. 

Procellaria  glacialis,  246,  420,  545,  559. 

Ptarmigan,  85. 

Pterepoda.  450. 

Pulverized  food  taken  on  sledge  expedi- 
tion, 363. 

Puppies  (see  title  "  Dogs"  ). 

R 

Rhodostethia  rosea,  246,  464. 
Raekvik,  the ,  Fram   takes  up  her  long- 
boats at,  52. 


(i-J^i 


INDEX 


Rainfall,  i6,  17,  431,  461,  470,  478,  627. 
Range,  coal  -  oil   apparatus  for  heating, 

269,  279. 
Rawlinson's  Sound,  483. 
Red  Bay,  656. 
Red  snow,  486,  493. 
Reindeer,  84,  88,  108,  112. 
Reports — 

Nansen's,  deposited  in  hut,  553. 
Sverdrup's,  of  the  Frames  drift  after 
departure  of  Nansen  and  Johansen, 
603. 
Rheumatism,  Nansen  suffering  from,  148, 

534. 

Richards,  Sir  G.  H.,  adverse  opinion  on 
proposed  expedition,  28. 

Richardson  expedition,  well  arranged, 
313. 

Rifle,  loss  of,  107. 

Ringed  seals,  422. 

Ringnes,  Ellef,  member  of  committee  of 
expedition,  35. 

Ringnes,  T.,  and  Co.,  contribution  to  ex- 
pedition, 34. 

Rink,  Dr.,  drift-timber  found  on  Green- 
land coast  presented  to,  13. 

Rissi  tridactyla,  246. 

Rope-walk  on  ice,  126,  243. 

Ross  expedition,  arrangements  good,  313. 

Ross's  gulls,  246,  464,  465,  470,  471,  478, 

479- 
Royal    Geographical    Society,    London. 

(See  "Geographical  Society.") 
Rubble-ice,  387. 
Russian    expeditions,   sledges   first   used 

on,  5. 
Russian  traders,  Khabarova,  65,  78. 


Saddleback  seals,  491. 

Sailing  on  fresh-water  pools,  239. 

Sails  for  sledges,  344. 

St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul  Islands,  failing  to 

see,  116. 
Sand-hoppers,  132. 
Sandpipers,  430. 
Sannikoff  Land,  121. 
Saxifrage,  69,  484. 
Schist,  argillaceous,  Helland's  Foreland, 

493- 
Schou,  Halve,  contributor  to  expedition, 

34. 

Scientific  observations  made  on  expedi- 
tion, separate  publication  necessary, 
660. 

Scott- Hansen  (see  Hansen.) 

Scurvy,  immunity   from,   299,   300,   362, 

539- 
Sea-slugs,  153. 


Sea-urchins,  485. 
Seaweed,  Torup's  Island,  486. 
Seals,  103,  105,  108,  123,  422,  429,  450, 
451,  452,  456,  458,  476,  478,  486,  489, 
491,  608,  617,  648. 
Sennegraes,  boots  lined  with  on   sledge 

journey,  359. 
Seven  Islands,  proposed  journey  to,  over 

ice,  297. 
Seven  Sisters,  58. 

Sextant  carried  on  sledge  expedition,  362. 
Sharks,  617. 
Shellfish,  153. 
Shoes  used   on   sledge  expedition,  358, 

400. 
Shooting  competition,  264. 
Shooting-stars,  152,  527. 
Shrimps  vomited  by  Arctic  rose  gull,  247. 
Siberia,  sledge  first  used  for  Arctic  ex- 
plorations, 5. 
Siberian  drift-wood,  14,  634,  66r. 
Sibiriakoff  colony,  Khabarova,  65. 

Trontheim's  account  of  life  in,  78,  79. 
Silver  gull,  445. 

Simon,  H,,  contribution  to  expedition.  35. 
SkjaervO,  the  Fram  anchors  at  on  return 

from  expedition,  657. 
Skuas,  246,  495,  510,  634,  648,  650. 
Sledge    journey   (Nansen's    and   Johan- 
sen's) — 
Ash-sledges,  342. 
Birch-sledge  broken  up,  407. 
Cross-bars   and   bows   snapping  at 

start,  return  for  repairs,  349. 
Curtailing  sledges,  482. 
Dogs,  list  of,  368,  369  (see  also  title 

"Dogs"). 
Equipment,  297,  355,  464,  466. 
Food  (see  that  title). 
Grips  for  sledges,  451,  460,  464. 
Hand-sledges,  308. 
Hauling  harness,  446  (Note). 
Health  good  during,  431,  432. 
Homeward  journey  begun,  388. 
Hut  (see  that  title). 
Johansen  chosen  as  companion,  302, 

305. 
Kayaks  (see  that  title). 
Lanes,    method    of     crossing,    472 

(Note). 
Maple  -  guards  under  sledges,    342, 

412. 
Northernmost  point  reached,  388. 
Packing  sledges  on  kayaks,  490. 
Pattern  of  sledge  used,  356. 
Preparations  for  journey,  224    236, 

247,  261,  268,  270,  277,  278,  295, 

302,  310,  336,  337,  338,  341,  342, 

349- 


INDEX 


677 


Sledge    journey  (Nansen's    and  Johan- 

sen's) — 
Rate   of  travelling,   371,   372,   374, 

385,  387,  388,  389*  390.  392,  393. 

395.  396,  401,  403,  407.  412,  414. 

417,  422,  437,  439,  441,  442. 
Sails  used  on,  344,  367. 
Sleeping-bag  (see  that  title). 
Start,  349,  350,  352,  354,  370. 
Sverdrup  left  in  charge  of  ship,  302, 

346,  354. 
Temperature  of  every  month,  table 
showing,  602. 
Sledge  journey.  Payer's,  339. 
Sledge    journey    southward,    Sverdrup's 
preparation  for,  in  case  of  abandonment 
of  ship.  605,  623,  624,  634. 
Sleep,  time  passed  in,  during  life  in  hut, 

539- 
Sleeping-bag,  310,  343,  359,  376,  377, 

381,  465.  466,  523.  545.  551. 
Sleeping- shelf  in  hut,  520. 
Sleeplessness,  complaints  of,  186. 
Smith  Sound  route,  expedition  by,  6. 
Smoking  on  board,  regulations,  276. 
Snails,  485. 

Sneerenburg  Bay,  657. 
Snipe,  84,  121. 
Snow,  red,  486,  493. 
Snow-blindness,  cases  of,  254. 
Snow-buntings,  486,  609,  642. 
Snow-owls,  70. 

Snow-shoe  practice,  277,  278,  294,  606. 
Snow-shoes — 

Hut  roof  supported  by,  500. 

Kayaks  stiffened  with,  477. 

Indian  snow-shoes  probably  best  for 
sledge  expeditions,  407. 

Making,  340,  606. 

Paddles  made  of,  477. 

Taken  on  sledge  expeditions,  362. 
Socks  worn  on  sledge  journey,  358. 
Sokolii,  83. 
,  Sostrene,  the  Fram  meets,  on  sailing  into 
open  waters,  655, 
Sounding-line,  cable  converted  into,  243. 
Southward  journey  after  winter  in  hut,  549. 
Spadella,  140. 
Spaerella  nivalis,  snow  colored  by,  486 

(Note). 
Spitzbergen — 

Basalt  rocks,  581. 

Development  of,   news  brought  by 
the  Windward,  590,  591. 

Flora,  586. 

Ice-free  waters,  3. 

Peter's  stories,  201,  202. 

Speculation  as  to  position  with  regard 
to,  444,  536,  562,  568. 


Sponges,  153. 
Star-fish,  153. 
Steinen  Island,  496  (Note). 
Stellaria,  484. 

Stercorarius  crepidata,  510. 
Stocking-legs  or  socks  worn  on  sledge  ex- 
pedition, 358. 
Strand-ice,  507. 

Subscriptions  to  expedition,  34,  35. 
Summer  day,  mildness  of,  254,  263. 
Sun- 
Disappearance  of,  151,  271,  634. 
Eclipse,  229. 
Mirage,  210,  211. 
Reappearance,  340,  353,  641. 
Sundt,  E. ,  contribution  to  expedition,  34. 
Supan,  Professor,  favorable  view  of  pro- 
posed expedition,  33. 
Sverdrup,  Otto  Neumann,    Commander 
of  the  Fram,  48,  58. 
Bags  for  kayaks  made  by,  342. 
Birthday  celebration,  153. 
Command  of  expedition  handed  over 
to,  on  Nansen's  departure  on  sledge 
journey,  346,  354,  603. 
Expedition  up  Yugor  Strait,  68,  69. 
Illness,  312,  316. 
Island  discovered  by,  86. 
Kayak  building,  307. 
Reindeer  stalking,  91. 
Report  of  drifting  of  the  Fram  after 

departure  of  Nansen,  603. 
Sledge  journey,    talking  over   with 

Nansen,  295,  302. 
Steamship    sailing    to    Spitzbergen, 

commanded  by,  590  (Note). 
Telegram  to  Nansen,  on  arrival  of 
the  Fram,  599. 
Sverdrup's  Island,  86. 


Taimur  Bay,  iii. 
Taimur  Island,  loi,  102,  103,  ill. 
Taimur  Strait,  102,  106. 
Taxites,  584. 

Tegethoff  expedition,  6,  9. 
Telescope  taken  on  sledge  journey,  362. 
Temperature  of  ice,  243. 
Temperature  statements,  245,  602,  632, 
663. 
Polar    Seas   warmer   than   hitherto 
supposed  ;    conclusion  arrived  at 
from    hydrographic    observations, 
661, 
Tent  taken  on  sledge  expedition,  309,  360. 
Fire  caused  by  lamp  explosion,  455. 
Hut  roofed  with,  500. 
Substitute  for,  551,  552. 


678 


INDEX 


Terns,  478. 

Theodolite  taken  on  sledge  expedition, 

362. 
Thermometer  taken  on  sledge  expedition, 

362,  522. 
Thornoe — 

Electric    appartus   constructed    by, 

46. 
Hydrographic   department,  superin- 
tended by,  46. 
Threads,   procured  from  twine  and  un- 
ravelling of  bags,  540. 
Thyrsopteris,  586. 

Tidal  wave,  ice-pressure  probably  influ- 
enced by,  142. 
Tobolsk  official  newspaper,  Trontheim's 

account  of  journey  with  dogs,  75,  76. 
Tools  used  in  building  hut,  510. 
Torellia,  585. 
Torgersen,  Johan,  dogs  for  expedition  to 

be  delivered  by,  47. 
Torghatten,  58. 
Tornebohm,  Dr.,  analysis  of  mud  deposit 

on  drift-ice,  24. 
Torup,  Professor,  physiological  medicinal 

preparations  undertaken  by,  46. 
Torup's  Island,  485  (Note). 
Traenen,  58. 
Troms5 — 

Fram's  outward  voyage,  58,  59.    * 
Pram's  return,  599,  659. 
Trondhjem,  58. 

Trontheim,  Alexander  Ivanovitch,  47. 
Account  of  journey  with  dogs,  given 
in  Tobolsk  official  newspaper,  75, 
76. 
Medal  presented  to,  75,  80,  81. 
Nansen's  meeting  with,  at  Khabaro- 

va,  65. 
Sails  for  Vard5  in  Urania,  81. 
Tundra-plains  of  Asia,  69,  77. 

U 

Ulfstinden,    King   Hal/dan   meets    the 

Fram  off,  659. 
Unknown  lands,  86,  88,  99,  100,  103,  479, 
561. 
Nansen's    farewell    instructions    to 
Sverdrup  on  importance  of  explor- 
ing, 354.  355. 
Urania — 

Coal  supply  to  be  conveyed  to  Kha- 

barova  by,  48. 
Delay  in  arrival,  66,  74,  81. 
Trontheim  and  Christofersen  sail  in 
her  for  Vardd,  81. 
Uria  BrUnnichii,  448. 
Uria  grylle,  246,  421,  523. 


"  Vadmel"  squares  used  on  sledge  jour- 

'  ney,  359. 

Vagen,  Fram  touches  at,  lecture  and  ban- 

^quet,  54,  55. 
Vages'  fish  -  flour  used  on  sledge  expedi- 
tion, 363. 
Vaigats  Island,  64. 
Valkyrie  precedes  the  Fram  up  fjord  on 

return  to  Christiania,  601. 
Yards— 

Bath,  59,  60. 

Christofersen  and  Trontheim  return 
-to,  81. 
Fram  puts  in  at,  banquet,  ball,  and 

farewells,  59,  61. 
Windward  returns  to,  593,  594. 
Venus,  first  appearance  above  horizon, 

195. 
Vesteraalen  Company,  steamboat  service 

to  Spitzbergen,  590. 
Vikings,  first  Arctic  voyagers,  2. 
Virgo,  steamship  of  Andree  expedition, 

656. 
Von  Toll,  Baron- 
Dogs  for   expedition  provided  by, 

47. 
Provision  depots  on  New  Siberian 
Islands,  47. 


W 


Walruses,  103,  116,  480,  481,  489,  497, 

498,  501,  502,  507,  508,  509,  511,  514, 

515,  516,  517,  556,  558,  559,  566,  567, 

568. 

Wardroper,  Mr.,  help  in  promising  dogs 

for  expedition,  47. 
Watches  run  down,  389,  390. 

Comparison  with  Jackson's  chronom- 
eter, 578. 
Water-samples,  examination  of,  156. 
Waving  star-fish,  153. 
Wedding-day  anniversaries,  109,  270. 
Weight  of  members  of  expedition — 
Decrease,  613. 
Increase,  208,  277,  651, 
Weyprecht  and  Payer  expedition  (1872- 

74),  7. 

Whales,  421,  509,  583.  616,  648  (see  also 
"  Narwhals"). 

Wharton,  Captain,  favorable  view  of  pro- 
posed expedition,  28. 

Whey -powder  and  water,  beverage  on 
sledge  journey,  377. 

White  Island,  85. 

White  Land  (see  "  Hvidtenland  "). 

Whitsuntide,  427,  613. 


INDEX 


679 


Wilczek  Land — 

Extent  probably  not  great,  582. 

Probability  of  open  water  along  coast, 
419. 

Speculations  with  regard  to,  442,  579, 
580. 
Willow-grouse,  112. 

Wilton,  Mr.,  member  of  Jackson- Harms- 
worth  expedition,  590. 
Wind- 
Current     influenced    by,    Nansen's 
theory,  18. 

Drift  strongly  influenced  by,  661. 

Temperature  raised  by,  197. 
Wind-clothes,  222,  357,  523. 
Windmill  tor  electric-light  dynamo,  126, 
150. 

Accidents,  283,  286. 

Amundsen  repairing,  338,  341. 

Taken  down,  609. 
Windward — 

Arrival  of,  589,  590. 

Homeward  voyage  in,  592. 
Winter  on  board  the  Frain— 

Account  of  day  during,  128,  129. 


Winter  on  board  the  Fram — 

Preparations  for,  125. 
Wintering  on  Franz  Josef  Land,  Nansen 

and  Johansen,  500. 
Wolfskin  garments,  too  warm  for  sledge 

expedition,  357, 
Work-room,  Nansen's,  271. 
Workshops  on  board  the  Fram,  126,  227, 
Wounds — 

Caused   by   sticking   of   clothes   to 

skin  during  life  in  hut,  537. 
Wrist  sores  caused  by  frozen  sleeve, 
376. 
Wrangel    Land,  Jeannette    stuck    fast 
near,  8,  17. 


Yalmal,  landing  on,  83. 

Young,   Sir  Allen,  adverse    opinion  on 

proposed  expedition,  28. 
Yugor  Strait,  the  Fram  enters,  64. 


Zachau,  Captain,  of  the  Virgo,  656. 


THE   END 


,# 


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